The aim of this activity is to use technology as a STEM subject in a real-life situation. Accordingly, we used it for our Christmas photo session and enjoyed it very much.
Description of the Activity
Technology is an inherent part of our lives and the objective of this activity is to teach our pupils about the development of cameras.
The pupils know that you can take a photo or record a video using a mobile phone. We want to show them some older analogue cameras and a modern instant digital camera and its features, e.g., that it is charged through an USB charger, the same as a mobile phone and that photos can be taken, stored into the camera’s memory, and sent to a mobile phone using a Bluetooth connection.
What Do You Need For the Activity?
We used the Polaroid Pop Instant Digital Camera and the Polaroid printing paper, photos showing some old cameras, two cameras that we own, and photo albums. The activity took place during the Christmas time so that we were able to use our instant camera for a fun activity of taking Christmas photos.
We compared old cameras to the new ones regarding their size (small-big), technological advancement (modern – old), the way of use (difficult – easy), the weight (heavy – light).
We also explained that once you pushed a button on an old analogue camera, you could not delete the picture. In order to see the picture, you had to take the photo film to a photography studio and wait for a couple of days for your film to be developed and photos to be printed. The disadvantage was that you often ended up with pictures that looked bad because you were not able to correct them or choose which ones to print. Therefore, people did not take pictures often as at was expensive and practiced usually on special occasions.
Photos of Old Cameras
Photo by Bart van
Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash
Photo by Lindsay Moe on Unsplash
Photo by Yoann Siloine on Unsplash
Our Digital Cameras
Photo by Dječji vrtić Medenjak
A Photo Film
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash
The pupils know that a mobile phone is always ready to take as many photos as you like. However, you rarely print out your photos. Unfortunately, most of them never get stored in a photo album or displayed in a photo frame. And how could they since we have so many of them?
Additionally, we asked our pupils where they keep their photos. They answered that they keep them in their phones or computers, and some said that they had photo albums and photo frames.
A Photoalbum
Photo by Laura Fuhrman
We showed the pupils some old photos taken by the photography studio Kerner from our town Vinkovci.
Regarding the old photos, you can ask children the following questions: Do you like this photo/these photo? Are they old or new? How do you know that they are old?
Then, we showed our Polaroid Pop instant camera and explained that in our recent past there have been cameras that could print out photos immediately. The first company to make an instant camera was Polaroid and in 2017 the company celebrated the 80th anniversary of this type of camera.
Finally, the children took some photos and shared them to their teachers’ mobile phones. Before we printed the photos, the pupils draw some small flowers, hearts, and other signs on the phones display and then we printed the photos. All this magic happened using just one device. Each time a paper photo came out of the camera the pupils (and the teachers) were delighted!
STEM content:
Technology – using a digital instant camera, USB charger
Comparision of size, weight, use, and technological advancement
English Language Content
Nouns: instant camera, photo, Polaroid, USB charger, mobile phone, smartphone
Verbs: take, look
Adjectives: big/small; new/old; easy/difficult; light/heavy
Questions: Is this heavy? Is this camera old or new? Is this smartphone easy to use?
Imperative: Smile! Take a photo! Look at this photo!
Idiom: Say cheese!
Follow-up Activities
Ask your pupils to bring some photos when they were smaller or pictures they like very much. Let them describe the photos so that they learn more about each other and to help them build their self-esteem.
Include the parents in the activity by asking them to describe a particular event/situation depicted in the photo to their child so that the child can explain it to their friends.