February 2005 — Features

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Increasing Visual Literacy Skills With Digital Imagery

By Dr. Lance Wilhelm, Arizona State University - West Campus

  • Ease of use - This particular model is simple for users to pick up and learn the basic operations.

  • Durability - Many K-12 schools use Sony Mavica cameras because they are able to withstand the wear and tear from students.

  • Cost - This Mavica model was midrange in terms of pricing. One key component of a digital camera’s cost is the level of megapixels it can capture. This model takes pictures up to 2.0 megapixels, which is sufficient for our student projects.

  • Storage options - We teach C'E 313 in both Macintosh-based and Windows-based labs, and every computer in each lab has a floppy drive. The Mavica model stores its pictures in JPEG format directly to floppy disks, enabling quick transfer of pictures from the camera to the computer. This camera model also has the option of saving to a memory stick, with capacities of 512 MB or more, which allows you to capture movies of up to several minutes in length.

In addition, it’s important that you make it as convenient as possible to download pictures and movies from your set of digital cameras. If you plan to use memory sticks or other storage media, you need to make sure that readers for those media devices are widely available and easily accessible. Many computers have USB ports, but they are often located in spots on the CPU that are not easy to reach.

Choosing the Camera Cart

Once you have purchased the cameras, you can decide on the specifications for the cart. Although a cart is not necessary for maintaining a set of digital cameras, there are a number of reasons to purchase one. First, a cart is convenient for moving the cameras; more important, it provides a secure place to store and charge them. As with any technology relying on battery power, keeping the cameras fully charged is another crucial aspect in keeping them easily usable.

We had a difficult time finding a cart that would meet our needs, but following a great deal of research by our school’s technology support analyst, we found one that, with a bit of retrofitting, would serve us well (see image above). On the top and bottom shelves, behind the cameras, is a power strip that accommodates the power cord for each camera on that shelf, as well as for several cameras from the middle shelf. All of the power cables and adaptors for each camera remain in the cart while the cameras are in use. The cords are secured by twist ties, reducing the amount of tangling. In the back of the cart, at the top and bottom, are two openings through which the power strips are plugged into an electrical outlet. Through the use of the cart and the power strips, the cameras only require a small space and one outlet to remain charged.

Lessons Learned

While we are generally pleased with the digital cameras and the cart we selected, we have learned many lessons: