Images are not utilised to their full potential in the 21st century classroom, which is kind of silly really. It is commonly understood that pictures can tell a thousand words and they are not a new development in history. Images have been around for hundreds of years and they are still not being utilized as teaching tools. Why do we, as teachers, stand in the front of the classroom and talk for hours on end and go home with a sore throat, when we could show students so many amazing things through visuals. Why talk to students about different perspectives throughout history and the world, when you can simply show students. The ever-changing role of women over the centuries can be shown through television ads and programs, product promotions, etc.
An article by Sarie Drake (2011) on Mainstreet Host showed the following image of an add for ketchup in the fifties. How much clearer can the role of women in this day and age be explained? There is no way a teacher could explain this concept to students and get the full effect:
Images can also be taken of students work to show a progression over time. Images can be taken of hand writing, drawing and colouring in, etc. I have also heard of teachers taking images of students writing techniques (of their actual hand) to show parents what they are doing wrong or how they have corrected it (J. Appo, 2012). Photos could be taken of students cooking or decorative skills in a Hospitality class to be added to their portfolio. This image of the coffee shown below (attribution of coffee art to April Fleming, 2012) was taken by myself to be used as an example of how pictures of students work can be taken to show improvements. I also resized this image.
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