10 Things that Will Make You a Better Photographer – Guaranteed

1.  Rotate your camera.  If you subject is mostly vertical, turn your camera 90 degrees.  This will create a vertical

Rotate the camera to make a vertical composition

photograph that makes you subject more prominent.

2.  Move in closer.  Standing too far away from your subject diminishes the impact of your photograph.

3.  Use the “Rule of Thirds.”  Avoid putting your subject in the dead center of your image.

 If you divide the image re into

Avoid "centering," create interest

thirds horizontally and vertically, placing your subject close to the intersection of the lines creates a far more interesting photography.

4.  Take lots of photos.  With digital photography, there is no reason to take only one of two shots.  Especially when you have people in the photo, take several of the same pose.  You will be surprised to see that there are small differences

Taking several shots can "capture the moment"

that will make one of these the “keeper.”  Delete the rest.  Also, often great photographs "capture the moment" and taking multiple shots will let you select that moment.

5.  Move.  Do not stay in the same place and fire off a bunch of shots.  Move closer and move from side to side.  If you have a series of photographs and they are all from the same spot, with the same background, they will be boring.

6.  Watch the background.  Even a well-composed photograph can be made worthless if there are poles or

Contrasting, soft background enhances subject

trees coming out of the subject’s head.  Try to find a neutral, uncluttered background where the contrast of that background and the subject will make the subject “pop.”  Also, avoid having the sun or extreme brightness behind your subject.

7.  Hold steady.  A blurry photograph is usually not what you want.  Hold your camera steady.  Practice pushing your camera’s shutter button with a smooth, steady pressure.  Sometimes you will need to consider a camera support such as a tripod or monopod.

8.  Shoot at the proper level & angle.  Bend down if your subject is lower, such as a child or a pet.  Shooting at an extreme angle of up or down can be an effect you want, but

Bend down

in most cases, get to the eye level of a subject.

9.  Use lines, angles, and framing.  Lines and angles are powerful visual elements; they can direct the viewer’s eye to

Opening in wall as a frame

your subject.  Also, consider suing some element of the environment to frame a photo.  For example, a bit of a tree branch can make the subject stand out and have perspective.

10.  Learn as much as you can about your camera.  Even the simple “point and shoot” models have controls that will make you a better photographer if you know how to use them.  One example is ISO setting.  This lets you adjust the sensitivity of your camera to light.

Try these ides and see what people say about your talents as a photographer!

One Laptop Per Child – Where Can this Take Us?

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) has a mission – to empower the world's poorest children through education.  The primary methodology is to provide every child with a laptop computer to help them learn.  Yes, every child – in the world!  The

good news is that this is happening right now.  According to the project website, worldwide over 2.4 million children and teachers have XO laptops.

OLPC is a project managed by the One Laptop per Child Association (OLPCA) with support from its partner the OLPC Foundation (OLPCF).  Both are U.S. non-profit organizations set up to oversee the creation of affordable educational devices for use primarily in the developing world.

The XO-1 laptop itself, perhaps more aptly called a “subnotebook,” is manufactured for OLPC by Quanta Computer, a Taiwanese company that is the largest manufacturer of notebook computers in the world with Apple, HP, and Dell among its customers.  The XO-1 is designed as a rugged, low-power device using flash memory with a variant of Red Hat Fedora Linux as their operating system.  The devices use WiFi “mesh networking” and operate with multiple machines wirelessly connected to a router or other access point.  There is a more

current XO-4 version that is in use and a tablet version using Android OS ready for sale at some WalMart stores for $150.  It is likely that the project will shift its focus toward more tablet distribution.

Dive into some of the press covering the OLPC effort and you will find some truly amazing stories.  From Armenia to Nicaragua to Uruguay, the impact of these devices is already profound for those communities where they are deployed.  The effort in Uruguay is actually the first instance where a national government has committed to universal distribution in its nation.

It makes you wonder what we could do in the United States with a commitment to provide One Laptop Per Child here at home.

Distribution of OLPC devices

My New Educational Hero - Finland

Congratulations Finland - you are leading the world in educational attainment and efficiency. 

Finland, with a population of 5.4 million (a million less that the state of Tennessee), spends about $10 billion annually on education.  That puts them among a group of 12 countries compared in an Infographic created by the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California.   The United States lays out $809.6 billion per year.  On a per student basis, The US spending tops the dozen countries with $7,743 compared to Finland’s fifth place $5,653 per student.  Yet, Finland has a 100% literacy rate and the highest rank for both math and science scores. The US is 10^th ranked in Math scores and 8^th in Science.

Take a look at the Infographic HERE.  The first thing that jumps out is the huge difference there is in spending by the United States compared to the other 11.  On a total spending basis, our annual output of $809.6 billion dwarfs the next country – Japan with $160.5 billion.  This reminds me so much of healthcare where the US spends much more than anyone else, yet our health outcomes, like those of education, are not so hot.

It is a complex issue to unravel the multiple failings of the United States in education.  One thing I do know, however -  I want to learn more about Finland’s education system.  They must be doing some things very well.

Thanks to Edudemic for leading me to the Rossier Infographic - How 12 Countries Spend Education Money (And If It Makes A Difference)

Rob Jenkins Weighs in On MOOCs - And He is Right

One of the best writers for the Chronicle of Higher Education is Rob Jenkins.  He really makes sense most all of the time.  Perhaps this is due in part to the fact that he is a an actual faculty member at a community college (Georgia Perimeter College).

In a recent article in the Chronicle titled Who Is Driving the Online Locomotive? Rob voices a healthy skepticism about the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) phenomena.  I encourage you to read his entire column, but his summation is telling.  He warns that "the only way to slow it down is for enough of us to refuse to get on board and instead line the tracks, signaling 'proceed with caution' with all our might."

I know there are some good things that will develop from MOOCs, not the least of which is that it has spawned discussion about broader issues with learning and learning online.  However, I am personally concerned about

Used under Flickr Creative Commons

fundamental issues concerning educational quality, expectations, and outcome.  In addition, there is an element of control by mega-universities (or their consortia) and by corporate entities that rubs me the wrong way.  Finally, for the students at community, technical and junior colleges, we know that they typically do better with traditional classroom courses than online.  So why would we want to put them in a MOOC with 70,000 other students?

I am trying to keep an open mind on MOOCs.  In fact, I will be enrolling in a MOOC offered by Harvard next month.  I want to have that student perspective.

I am with Rob Jenkins - we need to proceed with caution.  Time will tell who is driving this train.

Associate Degree Program Requirements Typically Top 60 Credits

The reasons for the low graduation rate for most community college students are multiple, but a recent study, conducted last year for Complete College America and reported in Issues in Higher Education, blames credit hour expansion as a primary cause.

The study found that "half of the community colleges surveyed did not have a single program limited to 60 credits, including general education degrees and those aimed at students who transfer to four-year institutions."  The assumption is that the added credit hour requirements that most two-year degree programs have is a deterrent to graduation.

I am not sure that I buy this argument.  

One only has to look at healthcare programs, especially nursing, to see that there is something else beyond simply numbers of credits at play.  Associate degree nursing programs typically require 70 or more credits hours for graduation.  Yet, these programs almost always have a very high completion rate - often in excess of 90% graduate in nursing.

Granted, it is not unusual for students at two-year colleges to take way more than two years to complete a degree.  Some of the most recognized obstacles include:

• Most community college students must take remedial or development courses, especially in math.  
• Students in these colleges often do not seek advising, or perhaps they get bad advice
• It is common for students to change majors
• Most students at two-year schools work, often full-time
• The part-time student attitude is also influenced by family obligations
• Many of these students fail to recognize that completing their Associate degree is in their best interest - they transfer out without completion

I agree that community, technical and junior colleges should not add credit hour requirements that extend the time to graduation - for the most part.  I am also a huge fan of certificate programs that are "nested" within an Associate degree.  This is a great way to "ladder" the progress of students, especially in career and technical programs.  15 - 20 credit hours can add up to a certificate, which means a form of completion that is often under-appreciated.

Associate degree program requirements typically top 60 credits | Inside Higher Ed

Framework for 21st Century Learning from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills

I think this is an important step in grappling with what students need to learn in this century. Too much of our educational systems is still focused upon old skill sets that will not have relevance in the future.

The basic framework includes:

1. Core Subjects (the 3 Rs) and 21st Century Themes

2. Learning and Innovation Skills 

• Creativity and Innovation
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Communication and Collaboration

3. Information, Media and Technology Skills

• Information Literacy
• Media Literacy
• ICT Literacy

4. Life and Career Skills 

Source:  

Framework for 21st Century Learning - The Partnership for 21st Century Skills | Diigo

In the Digital Age, What Becomes of the Library?

This is a thoughtful article that addresses a vexing question - what is the library to be in the digital age?  Clearly, the era of the library as a repository of physical books has some value, but with information accessible through digital formats, the role for the library must change.

Clark Library, Lockhart TX

A couple of years ago, I was the Chief Academic Officer at a community college that had a large collection of bound volumes.  The problem was, nobody used them.  I could randomly select book after book and see that actual circulation (check out) of the books almost never happened.  The college had a situation the required us to occupy the library building for other purposes.  We developed a process for the faculty to select the books that they wanted to retain.  We held the other volumes in storage for over a year, then we recycled the culled books and bound periodicals.  The collection was reduced by over 25,000 volumes.  There were no complaints.  Today, this college has recreated the library as a gathering place and a source of assistance in obtaining information - mostly online.

For public libraries, the situation is a bit different.  One of the most important assets of a public library is the provision of freely distributed books for children.  The access to reading material provided, especially for low-income families, is very important.  Yes, the public libraries also face the digital dilemma - how to remain relevant in the information age.  The article below covers many of the important issues.  I especially like the comment of Youth Services Librarian and blogger Louise Capizzo who states, "Ask yourself what you want to see in your library. Talk to your librarian. Then, advocate for those changes. You are to blame if your library doesn’t have what you want.”

Good advice. From Mind/Shift, a collaboration between
NPR and San Francisco public media station KQED

In the Digital Age, What Becomes of the Library? | MindShift