Kodak was issued a film patent on October 14, 1884.
Event Description
On October 14, 1884, George Eastman received his patent for photographic film. This led the way for the production of the first small hand-held box camera, bringing photography out of the exclusive realm of the professional photographer. Today, the possibilities for bringing photography into the classroom are nearly boundless.
Classroom Activity
Explore photography and digital imaging to discover new ways of combining visual and textual composition to enhance every area of the curriculum. Create a scrapbook that includes photographs, video clips, audio clips, and student work. First, choose a format based on your available resources. Examples include PowerPoint presentations, websites, videotapes, or booklets. Keep a camera/video equipment handy, and include some of these in your project:
- Students' favorite pieces of writing or artwork, including descriptive captions or commentary
- Videotapes of songs or skits
- Students' descriptions of what they are learning, via a video or audio interview or in writing
- Photomontages of units studied
Work on your scrapbook throughout the year, and then present it to parents at an end-of-year party!
Websites
This U.S. Patent and Trademark Office press release describes how George Eastman's invention allowed for the mass production of cameras.
This article from Education World offers two dozen different classroom activities that make use of a digital camera.
On this page of educational technologist Kathy Schrock's website, she provides links to resource pages specifically designed to enhance the use of cameras and other devices in the K–12 classroom.
This lesson plan from Scholastic is designed for grades 6–12.