ITUG-DE Minutes
December 12, 2001


TOPIC: Digital Imaging

Attendees

Judith Conway
Richard Nabb
Joyce Nerlinger

Peter Olson
Wendy Modzelewski
Tara Williams


Meeting was called to order at 5:20 PM.
Attendees introduced themselves.

General Business

  • Because of the small group, we jumped right into the topic and didn't discuss general business.

     

Major Topic: Digital Imaging

The group held an informal discussion aboutcameras, digital imaging, and its application on instruction. Content was as follows:

  • Legal issues - publishing student work and photos to the web is a concern for many teachers. Every district should have an acceptable use policy in place, or possibly a photo release form and teachers are encouraged to find out what their district policy is before they begin publishing either student photos or work. One note of caution - remember, that ALL student work is copyrighted.

  • Sony Mavicas - Offer floppy storage, no reader needs to be installed, they have a digital vs optical (true) zoom and you can get a memory stick for them. They are ideal if a camera is going to move from class to class because images are stored on a floppy that any computer can read.

  • Kodak DX3600 - has a docking station and flash memory card (Joyce Nerlinger suggested giving a memory card to every teacher or grade as it has considerable storage capacity over a floppy; then teachers share the camera and memory card reader)

  • PhotoEditor is software that is part of Microsoft Office. It does not automatically install, and you must request it as part of a custom install. A suggestion was given that you should take your picture in a low resolution and then in PhotoEditor, you can improve the quality of the picture using the Quick Auto Balance option. Note, however, that it does increase the size of the file. In the trial we did, the file almost doubled in size, but the quality improved considerably.

  • File types - Usually, .jpg files are for photos, .gif files are for clipart. .bmp files are larger and highly detailed.

  • What to do with digital images - post in portfolios, include in documents, put into PowerPoint presentations, post to the web (with permission).

  • Printing photos - suggestions made include trying a lower print quality (although you may think the highest quality printing will produce the best photo, it may not depending on the quality of your image) and use photo quality paper for the best final product.

Meeting was adjourned at 7:15. Next meeting is Monday, January 14, 2002.

 

As before, copies are available to any group members by visiting the DCET website or contacting Wendy Modzelewski if you would like an "official" printed version.

It was noted that many of the private schools have not received the chart. Wendy will arrange for this group to be made aware of this resource and will provide copies of the chart if they are requested.

Next Meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 12, 2001. The topic will be Digital Imaging and our annual holiday party.

Meeting adjourned at 7:10 PM.