Digital Cameras in the Classroom

Moderation state
funded
Grant Applicant
Valarie Anagnos
School Site
Glenshire Elementary
Grant Category
Technology
Grant Date
2018-04-30T12:00:00
Description

I would like to purchase digital cameras to be used by my third grade students.  Digital cameras would be used to document our learning throughout the year as well as communicate with parents and others about what is happening in our classroom through the eyes of the students.  In third grade we go on many field trips throughout the year and having digital cameras in the hands of the students would allow us to see things from their perspective.  They would help my students learn new digital skills as well and allow us to experiment and try new emerging technologies in education.  

Benefits of Program

The students in my third grade classroom in particular would greatly benefit from this program.  They would learn new tech skills such as how to edit and add images to their work.  They would also learn digital citizenship skills and how to share and communicate responsibly on the internet.  They would be able to become more self directed learners and take charge of their learning more.  Each year I have between 20 and 25 students in my classroom.  Over time the number of students that would benefit would only increase.  The students in the classrooms of my colleagues would also benefit.  Once the other teachers were able to see how to successfully implement the use of digital cameras in the classroom my students and I could help them learn to implement digital cameras with their students as well.   

Success of Program

Digital cameras would enhance our classroom and help create a more student centered classroom.  They would place more power in the hands of my students.  They would have the power to create, explore, share, and communicate with others.  The success of this program would be easily visible through their work.  It would be viewable through our classroom website, digital student portfolios, as well as the digital projects I hope to use them with.  

Implementation

I plan to use the digital cameras for a variety of projects in my classroom.  Having digital cameras for student use would allow me to continue to create a more student centered classroom.  My students would be able to use them to document our many field trips and events throughout the year.  We would be able to view our many adventures through their eyes.  They could become the photographers and be more in control of what is documented and shared with others.  Their photos could be used to showcase our year on the 3rd grade yearbook page as well as our photo gallery on our classroom website.  They could also use the cameras to post pictures to their digital portfolios that are shared with parents.  In addition digital cameras would allow us the opportunity to try new and upcoming technologies.  As our school LITE (leader integrating technology in education) I work the district technology team to discover and share new trends in educational technology.  Some of these new technologies such as Augmented Reality require digital cameras in order to be implemented.   

Can you share this grant with your grade level or subject team?

If I were able to purchase these digital cameras they would not only be useful to my students but could be shared amongst my grade level team for use with their students as well.  We could take turns using them on different days or distribute them between our four third grade classes to allow for each class to use 3 at the same time.

Sustainability
The digital cameras I would order are shockproof as well as waterproof. They would be able to withstand the wear and tear that may occur from student use as they are specifically designed for kids. This will allow them to be used for many years to come. After purchasing the digital cameras and micro SD cards there would be no additional cost.
Amount Funded
$730.00
Individual Budget Items(s)
$56 - Kids Digital Camera
$14 - SanDisk Ultra 32GB Micro SD Card
Budget Notes

The total amount requested is for 10 digital cameras.  The prices listed above are the price per camera and micro SD card.  The listed price for each camera is $56.00 x 10= $560.  The listed price for the micro SD cards is $14 x 10=$140.00.  The shipping and tax were calculated by Amazon and were approximately $30.

Shipping
$14.00
Taxes
$12.00
Other funding sources

After discussing this proposal with my principal I was told that Measure A funds would be able to partially fund this project.  My principal will use some of our Measure A funds to purchase 2 digital cameras.  Together that would total 12 digital cameras for student use which be approximately 1 camera for every 2 students.  

Supporting Links
Digital Camera
Micro SD Card
Notes

Thank you for your consideration.