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Postcards from Abroad
Postcards from Abroad is a unit which allows students to create a postcard from a city or country which they might visit in the future.
Students will use the Internet to research their chosen site. Students will learn to use a digital camera, scanner and a multimedia program. Students will use these and other resources like the encyclopedia CD to create and print a postcard with their pictures on backgrounds from their chosen site.
Lesson 1: Capturing and editing an image
Lesson 2: Using the Internet and multimedia CDs to search for background photographs
Lesson 3: Importing photos to be used for backgrounds and editing pictures to create compositions
Lesson 4: Creating a "virtual postcard"
NYS Standards:
MST 1 - Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.
MST 2 - Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.
MST 5 - Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.
Lesson 1: Capturing and editing an image
Aims:
1. Students will learn how to use a digital camera individually and in groups.
2. Students will learn how to use a scanner individually and in groups.
3. Students will learn how to edit a picture using HyperStudio.
4. Students will plan "virtual vacations" and document their journeys through
writing and photography.
Grade Level: 7th grade computer classes
Estimated Time: 8 -10 sessions (longer time if there are less computers than
one per student)
Setting: Computer classroom
Interdisciplinary areas: Technology, Art, Language Arts, Geography
Vocabulary: document, digital, scanning, dpi, editing, image, cropping, lasso
Motivation:
1. Discussion on “Vacations, Sightseeing, Day trips”
Pivotal Questions:
-How many of you (students) have been on a vacation or trip lately?
-What kind of things did you see?
-Besides remembering your vacation, How could you document or share the experience with family and friends?
2. Brainstorm ideas and write them on the board or a chart.
-writing letters, a journal, pictures, drawings, videos, recording on tape, etc.
3. Introduce the project: Creating of postcards from a vacation site without the cost, preparation and journey.
Materials: Digital Camera, Old photos of groups and outdoor sights, scanner,
computer, HyperStudio software, charts of procedures
Charts: These should be posted on the board or a bulletin board. All the procedures for completing the different steps of this project should be written and posted for students to refer to until the completion of the project.
1. Demonstrate using the Digital Camera to take group pictures.
-suggest that the background be as plain as possible, in front of a blackboard or white board. This will help later in editing the picture .
2. Have students form groups of 3-5.
3. Teacher takes the groups' pictures. Students can take smaller group pictures within their group. This will allow each student to experience using the digital camera.
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Pivotal Questions:
-What type of background should you use? Why? What is an example of a good background in the room or just outside the room?
-What are differences between a digital and non-digital camera?
[film vs disk, card or computer chip, developing]
-What are the advantages of using a digital camera?
[no film, instant results, can be loaded onto a computer, sent via Internet]
-What if any, are the disadvantages of using a digital camera?
[quality not always the best, print of pictures]
4. As groups are using the digital camera, teacher can demonstrate the procedures for scanning photos. (This will be necessary when a digital camera is not available or when someone wants to edit old photos)
Tip: Scanned photos should be scanned at 72dpi (Dots per inch) so that the file size will be small and easier to manipulate or save to a disk.
Another tip: Scanned photos should also be saved as a jpeg file which is smaller.
Students should be informed about the new advancements available at the camera shop. They can have their photos placed on either a disk or CD when developing them.
Medial Summary Questions:
-Why should we scan an image at a lower dpi number? smaller file size
-Why should we save it as jpeg? [smaller file size, easy to send via Internet]
-How else can you prepare your photos for use on a computer? [scan them or have them place on a CD when developed at store]
5. When all students have their group pictures, it is time to edit the picture. Discuss the use of editing pictures to later combine them with other pictures or backgrounds.
6. Using HyperStudio students will bring in the picture as a clipart and insert it onto a card. In HyperStudio the work area is called a "card."
Students can do some of the editing of the picture in the process of bringing in the picture by "lassoing" the group using the program tools, thereby covering some of the background. The students crop the picture by lassoing. (You may want to ask the students the origins of the word "lasso" and can they think of any other words we use in technology class that are taken from other sources, e.g. web, import/export.)
It is suggested that a copy of the card be made and saved as a backup.
Pivotal Questions:
-What do we mean by cropping an image?
-How can we crop an image before editing it?
-Why is important to backup your work on a regular basis? [In case computer crashes, or power source is interrupted.]
7. Using the HyperStudio tools, students will erase the background around the group and any other area objects which they wish to remove. Students are encouraged to use the magnifying tool to get up close to the areas that need to be erased. Students are reminded to "save" on a regular basis.
8. Students will save the edited group picture and share it with the class.
-What is the difference between your original image and the edited version?
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(Edited picture with background deleted)
Evaluation: Students should be able to answer the following questions based on the lesson's content:
What qualities create an attractive and effective postcard?
How can we get pictures to create a postcard?
What steps should we follow when using the digital camera?
What type of background is needed to create the postcard?
How can a scanner or photograph on disk be used instead of a digital camera?
How can we make the picture files smaller? Why is this recommended?
How and why do we edit pictures?
What are some of the new technological terms we have learned in this unit?
Related Links:
http://hyperstudio.com/ - official website of HyperStudio
http://webs.kodak.com/US/en/digital/dlc/ - Free on-line digital learning center from Kodak
Go to Lesson 2: Using the Internet and multimedia CDs to search for background photographs
