Crossing Borders – Power of Image

	What information can a picture give? How should images be used in online & mobile communications? Can publishing an image be hurtful?

Pedagogical Value

ICT Literacy & Knowledge Building

Pupils taking part in the project will have to work in groups and analyse safety aspects of ICT tools. This will help them build their ICT literacy, an important asset today. While they are discovering the possibilities these tools offer, they will also realise potential dangers and come up with ways of avoiding them.

ICT tools in this case will not only be the thematic focus but also the means to achieve cross-border communication and synthesis of the final outcome.

Safety, Privacy and Netiquette

Pupils will reflect on netiquette and how to manage privacy and safety issues when they use tools that offer a huge potential for public exposure. They will have to reflect on responsibility and solidarity.

Cross-cultural and Cross-border Communication

Pupils will become aware of cultural similarities and differences and find ways of overcoming the latter. By working on internet and mobile safety issues with a partner school from another country, they will also realise the universal character of the chosen topic.

Working in a Group: Planning, Organising, Delivering 

Pupils will have to create a project plan for their own class, as well as for the team, and deliver within the given 3-month framework.

Working together with teachers, pupils will not only have to master group collaboration, they will also have to manage working with peers at a distance. For teachers, this will be the ideal occasion to experiment with new teaching methodologies.

Practical Tips

After signing up for the competition and registering at the eTwinning portal (if both partners are in the EU, Norway, Iceland or Bulgaria)

• Decide which communication tools to use
• Examine how to use them
• If necessary, register and get an account for each of the tools to be used
• Install all the necessary software, subject to school software and firewall policy
• Decide which language you are going to use with your partner school
• Identify the person(s) who could deal with translating and proofreading tasks
• Set up a work programme, using a calendar to plan dates and times for group meetings and exchanges with the partner school
• Decide on how tasks will be shared, create working groups & assign rapporteurs
• Decide on how you will evaluate the material produced

Suggested Thematic Work

You could start by discussing the concept of image in its many facets. Partner schools could hold a joint brainstorming session to initiate the discussion/debate. You may decide to work in smaller groups on some of the questions arising, using relevant material. The suggestions below are meant as guidelines:

Let pupils reflect on the role of images:

• Do we believe only what we see, and can we always believe what we see?
• Where are images used in everyday life?

Have students compare traditional images to digital ones – what are the main differences?

• How easily could they get a picture of themselves published in a traditional means of communication?
• How easy is it to have a personal picture published online or sent over a mobile phone?
• What personal information can be obtained from the usual digital or “traditional” pictures?

Ideas for workshops:

Make pupils use paper clippings from magazines to illustrate the points of the discussion. Get them to compare images found in the press to images they find online, in particular on social networking web sites.

• Have the class examine pictures in their environment. How powerful can a text be when combined with an image?
• Why is their attention attracted by images? Do images somehow dictate their actions?

Have pupils bring in pictures of themselves and see what information these pictures convey (age, personality, personal choices, etc.). Could people extract information about your life and habits such as where you live, which school you attend, the sports you do, etc. if they studied them carefully? This test can be of particular interest when studying traditional vs. digital photos.

• Have the class reflect on how they want their images to be used. What do they need to think about when using pictures of other people?
• Can they always trust others who post pictures online or send them via mobile phone?
• How will they feel when their pictures are still available on the internet in 5 years’ time?
• What can they do if someone is misusing a picture of them, or of one of their friends?
• What are the issues of concern when images are published online?
• Can any picture found online be used for any purpose (copyright)?

Ask pupils to keep note of the ideas they come up with and think about what they would like to tell their peers or grown-ups about images and their power.

Before your pupils start constructing their awareness material, make sure they clearly define their target audience so that their material will be structured suitably.

	Публикувано :	11/10/2006

	Последна промяна :	22/06/2007

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