Journal #4: If you give a kid a video camera...

Campbell, L. (2012, February). If you give a kid a video camera. Learning & Leading With Technology, 30-33. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/February-2012.aspx

The journal article is a cause and effect article, similar to the book "If you give a mouse a cookie". In this aricle, "If you give a kid a video camera, he will want to learn more." Laurie Campbell gives suggestions for classroom activities involving video cameras. In Language Arts, she suggests that students can create 1-minute videos of vocabulary words. This is will increase the students likelihood he will remember the words and meanings. If students are required to give question responses, he will be able to answer more effectively on camera, rather than on a worksheet, where information from the brain can be lost from translating from mind to writing it. In math, students can use a camera to make a math scavenger hunt on finding angles around their school. Teachers can also ask students to use cameras while they ask a math story problem. In science, students could document steps in an experiment. They can also film processes, such as grass growing, which are events that the human eye cannot register. Finally, in Social Studies, cameras can be used to make maps, and also for interviewing people, such as war veterans. The article recognizes that students' ability to learn can be extended with the use of technology.

Q1: How would you incorporate the use of a camera in you classroom?

  If I become a math teacher, I would incorporate the use of a video camera to have my students learn proportionality, and have them make a 3D model of an object and have them create the dimensions of the object for the larger model. The camera would show their steps in how they make it, such as measuring, and then it is also proof for me, as the teacher, to see that they really did the project correctly and that they in fact, did the project, and not their little brother!

Q2. What may be some disadvantages for the use of a video camera in activities?

 I think that not having the knowledge of video camera can be a disadvantage for the activity. For example, if a student does not know how to handle the camera, it could be a very expensive loss in different ways. For example, if they don't know how to handle the camera, they could drop it, costing some serious coin. If they don't know how to use it, they may not get the results taped as they want it. For example, if they are required to tape the reaction to an experiment, and forget to hit the record button, their data may be lost forever.