I teach art to behaviorally and emotionally challenged kids in a special education school. My classes are small (no more than 6 kids)and I have use of 2 Sony Mavica digital cameras (the 81 and 91). I have a great computer, a decent printer (hp 712) a scanner and some high end graphic programs. I would love some suggestions for activities my high school students can do with all this great technology. The kids have expressed real interest in this medium.

I started out using my own Cannon AE-1 but the kids broke it twice and it's getting fixed again because they tore the black lining that sealed the film from light. The digital cameras are great as they offer immediate pictures and I can keep them busy while the images print.

My students are not receptive to the traditional "composing" of a picture but rather a concrete activity in doing something with a picture they took. To date I have developed activities that allowed them to re-assemble a self portrait in verticle strips, with the order reversed. This showed movement, as though the face was in a blender. They are busy doing friend's portraits too. We also did a photo cube showing points of view (sort of a block head thing). I have altered their image to print in greyscale to a transparency for enlarging and they will copy that to watercolor paper using various methods to make a self portrait (posterization, stipple technique, watercolor washes over india ink highlights) You get the idea. If anyone has a neat activity the kids might enjoy, I sure would appreciate the help. I have a healthy budget too, so I can be open minded.

-- Deb Sterner (dsterner@pcom.net), October 17, 1999

Answers

How old are your students (developmentally and chronologically)? It's hard for to make suggestions unless I have a rough idea of your students' mental skills and motor skills.

It sounds like you're taking full advantage of all the fun effects available by digital photography. As far as "traditional composing", your students may be more receptive if you break down the elements of composition. For example, perhaps a session whereby they use the camera to identify shapes in their environment. While a table looks 3D when we look at it, it becomes a circle or oval or square when it is photographed from various angles. To keep it fun for them, once they've identified the shapes in the photographs, they can alter the shapes with the digital effects you're already using.

Once they start to see obvious shapes, you could try to direct their attention to less obvious shapes. For example, look at the table from the side and note that a square is formed by the borders between the floor, table legs, and table top.

Is your digital equipment capable of double exposure? That's always fun to play with.

Good luck.

-- Asher (schachter@a1.tch.harvard.edu), October 18, 1999.