Implications & Teaching Opportunities for Camera Use in Teaching & Learning

From the data Dr. Strange provided, I saw that too many young adults are almost addicted to their smartphones, and yes I do mean addicted. Check out this article from Psychology Today, it IS a noticed and researched disorder! I try hard not to be one of those young adults because I look for every opportunity not to have my phone at an arm's length away. Although, I do believe that cameras in smart phones can be a great tool for learning-in the right way. I believe cameras and smart phone technology can either inhibit or heighten education in schools; but, in order to make it work it must be monitored and evaluated properly. For the school, unfortunate and improper use could lead to serious problems with parents and board members who don't agree with the use of cameras/phones.

Additionally, if the cameras and smartphones do work well within the school the students have an endless supply of resources and possibilities right in the palm of their hand. It's no doubt that kids, and young adults, love using technology and when we show them the learning tools within their phone/iPad they can begin to love learning. I think the use of a phones/iPad can also assist teachers. Apps of all sorts can be downloaded by the touch of a screen and used to lighten the teacher's workload without taking away any of the work! I want my readers to understand that I do desire a school environment where hand-held technology does not cause tension, but I just haven't experienced that scenario yet.

Looking at this with an optimistic perspective there could be an extremely long list of teaching strategies, learning games, and projects if a teacher incorporated a camera phone/iPad. Here are some that I have thought of:
1. A QR code scavenger hunt-the teacher would hide QR codes around the class room/library/gym/where ever and the students role would be to find them, collect the clues hidden in the codes, and then use those clues to solve the question or problem.
2. Matching pictures with definitions introduced in class-this would help the students learn and retain the key terms better.
3. Providing visual examples-some students are visual learners and seeing a demonstration would assist those students.
4. Learning basic and proper research skills-they have the access to technology and now they need to learn how to use it efficiently.
5. Bringing information to their teacher-let's face it, some people cannot draw, and if a student were able to take a picture of something they didn't understand the teacher would be able to give a clearer explanation.