Lauren McLean's Education Blog

This week we interviewed our past professor Jodi Streelasky. In our course with her, she showed a few examples of how she used photography in her past classroom, so we thought she could give us some insight into photography in the classroom.

Jodi loves to use photography in the classroom. She values it as a project for students to do (examples below), as a way to create ownership in the space for students, and as an assessment tool. Jodi sees photography as a way for students to express themselves and document their own life and learning. She sees it as a tool that educators can use to document their students’ learning and as a way to incorporate new ways of discovering information. Through this, she warns teachers to be careful on the ethics behind using photography. Teachers must gain a blanket release form from admin to send home to guardians to allow for the use of photography which includes students. This goes for photos used inside or outside of the classroom. She also warns that there is a bit of panic from new teachers on if they violate these contracts or not with certain projects. She suggests being very open with admin, students, and parents  about projects to make sure that all parties consent to each step of the process, and to make sure that those important release forms are in place. Once this is done, educators have the freedom to explore photography with their students freely. 

One project that Jodi spearheaded was the photography club for grades 7 and 8. There were 12 students of varying genders that were a part of this club. One project that was given was a series focused on the history of their city. The students were tasked with researching a historical building, landmark or site within Regina and capturing the selected thing on film. Students would research in their spare time and then capture images over their lunch break. Jodi along with a coworker would drive students around the city to take the pictures. Due to the car space and limited time, they would alternate the group of students that would go every other week. It is important to note that parent permission forms were needed to participate. 

After the images were captured they were printed and hung up around the school as a homage to the history of their city. This project was created to help spur a natural desire to learn about history. Students who participated were excited about learning about the history of these places and about history in general after doing this project. 

How Photography can Bridge the Gap Between School and Home

As educators, it is crucial that we never forget each child comes into our classroom with a story- a complex web of experiences that shape them into the individuals they are. 

Even the youngest of students carry unique sets of intricate encounters with them, as recognized with University of Victoria professor and former teacher Jodi Streelasky. Jodi taught in primary classrooms for many years, and always focussed on the individuality of each child. In her pedagogy and research, she was interested in collapsing the all-too-present barrier between school and home life. 

One of the ways that Jodi was able to actualize this was through a sixteen-week photography project with a class of grade one students. Each student had the opportunity to take a digital camera home for a week, after instruction on how to properly hold, point and shoot the devices . They were tasked with taking photographs of aspects from their daily lives that held importance to them. Granting children the right to handle and use cameras showed respect for their capabilities- the students rose to the occasion and no cameras were lost or damaged. 

The resulting photographs acted as a set of data that allowed for insight into the lives of Jodi’s students. Not only was she able to realize the vastly different worlds of each child, but the themes that emerged were indicative of certain tropes that hold great relevance for students of that age group. To elaborate, many children took photos of pets (such as cats) and family members. This goes to show that such motifs reign heavy in the minds of grade one children. Such insight is beneficial in designing lesson plans and adjusting our teaching to captivate student interest. 

To go further, this task bridged the disconnect that often exists between school and the rest of student’s worlds. Dissociating one’s outside experiences from the events that take place within the classroom stifles the holistic education that benefits students throughout their lives. Once children realize that school and home are not two separate entities, deeper learning can take place. 

All in all, Jodi’s grade one photography project acted as a multifaceted medium for deep, engaging teaching. Not only did the students gain a sense of independence and responsibility but their further learning was improved by the insight their teacher gained into their interests. Perhaps most important of all, this task was a huge step towards erasing the arbitrary line children often drawn between home and school. 

Photography not only can be explored as a student but as a teacher. The new curriculum and wave of educational reform that has begun in the last five years caused a new grading system to match. The new grading system that has emerged is the proficiency scale and within this the idea of using a portfolio. In the time of technology, this has never been easier for teachers. They can snap pictures of students’ work, take videos of them practicing a skill and take pictures of students’ progression throughout the year. Curating these portfolios is a way to justify the grades given to the students on the proficiency scale. Having concrete photographic evidence can help parents grasp the new system of no letter grades and hopefully show a progression over time. It lessens the chance of losing the cumbersome paper versions of portfolios of 20 plus students and can be easily shared with parents and administration. 

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Below is a video about the pros of portfolios as an assessment. It does not address the use of photography and video, but it is certainly another medium that can be used in portfolio making. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sacuuqjHPXo (video on portfolio making)

Capturing those organic moments in the classroom that a concrete paper and pen can not, can be a window into the classroom for parents. Allowing for another medium of expression for kids and a more low stakes form of assessment through photography in the video allows for the endless opportunity for both student and teacher. 

FreshGrade is a new grading app that allows for a teacher to have everything in one place. FreshGrade has many different avenues that teachers can use to connect to their students and parents, grade and assess students, and finally, communicate with students. This app is completely customizable to each teacher and how they wish to use it. You can customize what type of assessment you are using, and how you wish grades (or lack of grades) to be displayed. Within the assessment area, you can create portfolios, and use photography and video taken by the students or by 

you as the teacher to be evidence towards a particular grade. These videos and pictures can also show the student and parent their growth throughout the year. Connected to assessment is the live grade book that teachers can use so that parents can always see how their student is doing. Finally, there is a chat feature that allows for communication between the teacher, students, and parents.  This Communication can allow for important clarification on projects, grades, or progress. Overall, FreshGrade is a simple and all-in-one way to grade and access your students at the click of a few buttons. 

Is there any better way to capture a moment in time than with a photo? 

We have all looked back at old snapshots and videos and remarked at just how much we’ve changed. Whether consciously or not, most individuals are well versed in the use of photography as a tool for self-reflection. When we are able to recognize the value of this as educators- and apply it to our teaching practice- multiple parties benefit. 

To elaborate, creating portfolios of photos and videos of student achievement through the year is a great way to document progress. Young children especially have a characteristic lack of self-awareness, so may be able to better pick out areas to improve upon if they see a video or photo of themself completing a certain task. 

This can be especially beneficial in subject areas that do not “leave a paper trail” through other projects or areas of assessment. Take Phys. Ed, for example. Snapping photos of children completing yoga positions allow for their skills to be presented back to them. Assigning students with the task of analyzing their positioning as presented in a photo will enable them to realize how their efforts are perceived by others. As students progress through a unit, guided by photo-reflections, they will be able to alter their form adjust accordingly.

All things considered, self reflection can be highly beneficial for advancing students while in the midst of their learning. In addition, looking back at a task progression as documented in photos will enable students to see how far they have come. This can be very empowering, as it will prove to a discouraged child that they are capable of growth. 

Incorporating self-reflection is an important way to maximize student learning. Photography is a great avenue by which to achieve this, as it increases self-awareness and creates accurate skill documentation. 

-Katie, Lauren M, Alexa

Here are a few more ways that photography can be used in the classroom!

1. Photographer Badge: Give the camera to the student and ask them to photograph their “learning story”. This will give them a chance to show their perspective of their learning. Allow for a place to post these photos like a class blog.
   1. We think that you could set up a google drive folder that is accessible to all students to upload their learning pictures. These could be used in a Reggio Emilia approach to displaying children’s learning.
2. Participating in Project 365: Take a photo of something good each day. This could be done as a whole class or independently. Again have a place for students to upload their photos.
   1. You could put all the pictures together at the end of the year into a slide show or movie to practice the digital literacy of fill making and photo editing. 
3. End-of-year-slideshow: put all of these photos into a slideshow set to music that the children can take home to have and share with parents. The article suggests “10,000 Maniacs’ “These Are the Days,” Graham Colton’s “Best Days,” Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” Rascal Flatts’ “My Wish” and my personal favorite, Stephen Kellogg’s “Roots and Wings.” as good songs to set the video to
   1. Choose a song that is important to your class in some way to add even more meaning. You could attach a card written to the video CD and use this as a gift for each student at the end of the year.
4. Family connection: They say that pictures speak a thousand words, so photography is a great way to effectively represent classroom life to parents. With middle schoolers who respond to “what did you do at school today?” With a snarky “nothing” and kindergartners who only talk snack time, parents are rarely granted accurate insight into their children’s day to day lives. This tip from the website can be actualized to a variety of degrees. Here are some ideas (requiring different levels of commitment) as to how to use to photography to communicate with parents: 
   1. Send out a monthly or weekly email newsletter full of photos from what students have been up to 
   2. Start a class blog! Make it private, so that only parents can view the images and text about their children. For younger grades, you may choose to do all the blogging yourself, but older students could be featured as “blogger of the week” with the duty of summarizing the week’s events to all student’s families. 
5. Multi-media art projects: The website suggests having students snap pictures of items around the classroom, print them out, and add googly eyes. This is just one of many fun ways to tie photography into other art projects! Another similar task could involve taking pictures and collecting items on a nature walk, then glueing on found items such as leaves, sticks or even litter onto printed photos. This is a great way to incorporate multi-modality into art instruction.
6. Decorating the class with students photographs: As discussed in the article “Consider the Walls” by Patricia Tarr it is extremely important to keep walls in the classroom decorated in a way that does not overstimulate children, is not full of commercial products and has student imput or work on the walls. The idea of decorating the walls with student’s photos directly supports this idea and is a great way for students to feel ownership over their classroom. It creates a safe space where students’ voices are heard and celebrated. To accomplish this there is a website called PicMonkey.com that allows children to edit photos and add text to them if they want to. Students can explore an additional technology source through this process creating edited photos or posters for the wall. All of this should be done with the students’ consent as it is important to have consent to put a student’s photo on the wall. Additionally, having the photos rotate so that all the students who want their photos to be on the wall can have a chance. In all reality there is not enough space to fit 25+ pictures in a classroom in a not over stimulating way, so it is important to rotate the selection. 
7. Collage of the class: Create a collage of individual pictures of all of the students holding signs saying what they want for their future career. This can be accomplished through apps like PicCollage and given to the students at the end of the year as a memento of the class and as a reminder of why they are in school. 

Link to article 

-Lauren M, Alexa and Katie