I am at a point in the semester at which I think it is time to wrap up my twenty percent project and focus on my digital pedagogy project (DPP). For my DPP I will share some of what I've learned about photography and about the Nikon D3100 through video tutorials and links to helpful tools and guides. The goal of my twenty percent project was to learn how to better use my DSLR camera - to become more familiar with its tools and features and learn how to shoot in manual mode. I did learn a lot about my camera and about taking pictures in manual setting, but more than that, I learned about myself - about what motivates me and the importance of carving out time for activities and projects I want to do. I felt excited every time I took out my camera. Despite many moments of frustration because I didn't get the lighting right or my hand wasn't quite steady enough to avoid blurring, my desire to get better grew. My own enthusiasm for the project also resulted in overwhelming support from friends and family who provided encouragement, sent along websites or links that they thought would be helpful, and who, when we went out together, waited patiently as I fiddled with my camera to find the right setting. One of the other exciting features of the twenty percent project was getting to be in charge of my own learning. Over the last few months I had the chance to test out different methods for learning. Utilizing blogs, photography groups, videos, cheat sheets, and podcasts I was able to identify how I learn best. This gave me the opportunity to reflect on my teaching style and think about how I could use the insights I gained about my own learning to improve my trainings and workshops. I have already begun trying out some new tools with very positive results! While I plan to continue my learning, I have developed a collection of pictures in manual setting that I am proud of, and that I am sharing below as the culmination of my twenty percent project. Thank you to all of you who have been following my process, and who have provided encouragement, ideas and support. I really appreciate it! A question I hear in all of my classes, in the blogs and stories I read online, and in conversations with friends and colleagues is: What do we need to do to equip our young people for the new and changing workforce? As I made my way through Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, I found plenty of great advice.
Pink first shares that the best way for students to get the skills they need is for them to feel excited and motivated by what they are tasked with. Just like us adults, to feel engaged and bring out their creativity students need to have a level of autonomy over what they are doing. One road block to their autonomy however, is report cards. Too many students walk through their classroom doors with the sole goal of getting good grades. In doing so, they avoid taking risks or pursuing concepts and activities of interest and instead focus on pleasing their teacher. Grades thus become a reward for compliance, rather than a reflection of learning. This needs to change. To do so, in addition to providing students with autonomy they must be encouraged to go as deep as they wish on topics of interest to them. This encouragement, Pink points out, helps to facilitate mastery. Mastery is a mindset, requiring each of us to see our abilities as infinitely improvable. I believe this is the lesson we want to ingrain in our students, as it is integral to their future success in the workforce. Finally, Pink suggests that rather than focusing on compliance we need to approach classroom learning around intrinsic motivation, around the desire to do things because they matter, because they are part of something important. By approaching student learning with an intrinsic motivation orientation, we can help students see the big picture - enable them see why they are doing what they are doing. And, ultimately help them explore how what they are doing is relevant to our world. These are some of the ways in which Pink helped me answer that big question of how we prepare our students for our changing world. I hope it's helpful to others as well! Excited to delve into the multitude of ideas, experiences, opinions and resources of teachers and administrators across the country, I participated in my second twitter chat. This time asynchronously. Here is a summary of things said and shared that captured my attention! This past week I had friends visiting from out of town and we decided to go to the zoo. The perfect opportunity to practice my picture taking! I read a few blogs with tips for taking pictures at the zoo (Top Tips for Zoo Pics & 7 Tips for Photography at the Zoo), that I've pinned to my photography board. We went mid afternoon which was very bright, and left me struggling to find the perfect light. After a few outtakes though, I found my groove! I'm posting a few more pictures below, so you can judge for yourself.
Last week in class we discussed what the milestone of success would be for each of our projects - and were given the task of trying to think of a goal that we could achieved by the end of the semester. I've decided that mine will be having a set of 10 pictures taken in manual setting (based on what I've learned) that I feel proud of and can share with all of you here. Stay tuned! Throughout the semester I have been focusing on learning how to take better pictures with my DSLR camera, and while doing so reflecting on my experience as a learner. Now, through my digital pedagogy project I am going to switch from being the student to being the teacher.
Based on what I have learned about my camera thus far, I am going to create a learning experience for others just starting out with their own Nikon DSLR camera. I plan to create a learning experience integrating the tips, tricks and resources that I found to be most useful. My hope is that it will be both, a good tool for others wanting to improve their photography and another way for me to better my own learning and practice with my camera. Wish me luck! After watching several tutorials and podcasts on taking pictures in low light I went out at sunset to test my new found knowledge. Trying to remember all the things I learned was not easy, and it took me several attempts to get my camera to take anything but pitch black shots of the beach. I played around with the settings, trying to follow the recommendations I had received. Once I finally got the lighting right, my next challenge was to avoid blurring. Not having a tripod yet, I used some of the tricks I learned - resting the camera on one of my arms or legs, and finding ledges from which I could take some clear shots. It paid off! I was amazed to see the difference of using manual vs. automatic, and how much more clarity I had in my pictures if I got all the settings right and was able to stay still. This was a good, though at times extremely frustrating first attempt. I caught myself wanting to stop because I wasn't great at it right away. I knew that attitude wasn't going to make me a better photographer - It was time to remind myself that part of learning something new was taking the time to practice. Being a good photographer, wouldn't just happen. It would take effort and would sometimes be confusing and frustrating. The plan for this week: practice! practice! practice!
The podcasts I've begun watching are from iTunes and can be found here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/photography-101/id183589475?mt=2 Light as you may know is the single most important element in photography. That's why this week I spent time studying video's and blogs on how I can take control of the light around me (see my pinterest board for these resources) and use it to take the pictures I want. One great and easy tip I learned for when you need to use your flash, but don't want to wash your subject out is to place a sheer tissue over the flash to subdue the impact. Ideally, with a DSLR you want to get an external flash (that can be manipulated and turned to bounce off of a wall or the ceiling so you’re lighting your subject from the top or the side), but if you don't have one, this is a good interim way to get the light you want.
Another important tip for when you're taking pictures using available light is to ensure your hands don't shake. I don't have a tripod yet, but much of what I read suggests that getting one will make a big difference. Having the camera steady can ensure that you avoid any blurring. However, without a tripod, there are still options. You can seek out alternative steady surfaces like a table, a wall, the floor, or even use your leg or your knee to avoid ruining your picture. I plan on trying out these tips and a few others this week and hopefully sharing the photographic results in my next post. Stay tuned! I am about halfway through Daniel Pink's Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. His basic premise is that there are three elements of true motivation: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. According to Pink our basic nature is to be curious and self-directed. This doesn't mean we are independent, but rather it means being able to make our own choices about our time. As pink points out, without sovereignty over our own time, we can't have autonomy over our own lives. This really resonated with me as I thought about my own response when I'm in an environment where I feel constrained. My stress level increases, my productivity slows, and my desire to work on things that I was initially passionate about drops. Conversely, when I'm in an environment where my ideas are encouraged and sought out and I'm given space and time to develop them, I feel ownership over them - a deep desire to see them through and give them my all. “We’re designed to be active and engaged. We know that the richest experiences in our lives aren’t when we’re clamoring for validation from others, but when we’re listening to our own voice- doing something that matters, doing it well, and doing it in the service of a cause larger than ourselves.” This philosophy has huge implications for my own work with communities and in leadership and education. One of the most contentious debates in humanitarian aid is around handouts and stipends at trainings and forums - and if those handouts have distorted the reasons people had originally started coming to them. One of the challenges we grapple with is a worry around whether people are coming with the motivation to learn/work on a joint issue, or if they are there only to collect the stipend associated with it. Now, don't get me wrong. Just as Pink points out in his book, people's needs need to be met, and there is a time and place for "free pizza." However, if those are further used to encourage engagement or affinity, we are wasting our time and money. We need to instead be creating opportunities and spaces for those individuals and groups to develop their autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
With a focus on learning how to take pictures in a manual setting, I found myself watching several how to video's, carefully studying online blogs and aiming to memorize cheat sheets for finding the right aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
This past weekend, I took a trip up to LA which was a great opportunity to test out what I've been learning. At first I took pictures in various different settings to see the how they turned out, and then as I got more confident in my understanding of each of the setting I was able to find the right setting more quickly. It felt great to have more control over the pictures I was taking, and to try out other manual settings and not feel completely lost. Next, I plan on checking out some of the Nikon specific on-line instructional video's that have just started airing (available here: http://www.youtube.com/nikonusa) and test out what I learn. |