Teaching with Technology

Using photography in geography instruction has been part of the classroom as in other disciplines for many years. Traditionally, photographs have answered the question “what is this place like” and provides the viewer with far more information than can be imparted in words. Like digital story telling presented by Kim and Jennifer, photographs can be used as “transparent windows that allow us to peer into places we would never otherwise see and conveys a truth about a place that is hard to portray using other means”. Having students use digital cameras enhances their visual understanding of geographic case studies, and helps them to view subjects in a spatial realm. With some forethought on correct theme, use of the camera and image taking gets the students out of the classroom and into the field where issues have a better chance of becoming real. Photography connects concepts discussed inside the classroom with both the real world outside and the cyber-world on the web. It provides students with an innovative way to express their thoughts on a given subject. This can be either an un-touched photograph, or something manipulated using software. Their ideas can then be presented to a community of interest; be that the classroom, the community they live in (family & friends) or even across the globe using the internet. Gillian Rose describes the use of photographs as a representation of images that are shaped by specific cultural meaning. They are used as examples of understanding people, places and their interaction. One of the strongest photographic representations I have viewed was about a small village in Japan that had been grossly affected by lead poisoning stemming from a local factory. It provided incredible images of the people, specifically children born with deformities, that lived, suffered and worked in the region. Another way of using photographs is to ask what is to be done with the photograph once taken. It raises the issue of who will use the photograph, how do they use them and why? An example provided in the article describes the use of the family photo album by Japanese-Canadians interned during WWII; it provided them with a sense of “stability, identity and of home in the midst of a traumatic upheaval in their lives. This example shows that sometimes the content of a photograph is less important than how it is seen or what is done with it. Using photography in the classroom can be instituted in a number of ways. Often you will be surprised at how students make it work in their own understanding of the geographical studies you are trying to convey.
Cited Work:
Rose, Gillian. “Using Photographs as Illustrations in Human Geography”. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, (2007): pg 151-160. Web.