Digital Pictures Create An Atmosphere for Learning February 27, 2007
Posted by Jeff Giddens in : Astronomy, Earth Science, Science , trackbackOkay, Earth Science teachers, I’m going to take a cue from SEGATech founder Michael Stokes and try to entice all of you into using technology with some stunning atmospheric images. Michael and I know that lecture alone is not enough to capture the young minds in a Science classroom. We’re dealing with a generation of learners who see technology being used in all manner of industry outside of school, technology that enhances and perpetuates visual literacy. Why should schools be any different? Even the most tech-challenged instructor can make Science-related images available to pupils. For example, those of you teaching about the boundary between earth and space could be using stunning images from NASA’s rich Earth Observatory site (by the way, my thanks go out to stevenstclair for his nifty sharing at Digg that prompted this post). The Visible Earth is another treasure trove of stunning photography. Give your learners the earth and sky! Get them excited about exploring the world! Whether you take students to pre-screened, content-specific websites or have them capture or create digital pictures that illustrate key concepts, adding images to your instructional palette is time well spent. Bottome-line: if you’re going to talk at learners for an hour at least be kind enough to give them something pleasing to look while you’re lecturing.
Comments
Jeff, I have a question about the image of earth’s atmosphere you posed on segatech. It does not appear to be a photograph. Is it digitally created or processed from a NASA print? Who made it? Thx -Laura