Integrating Technology in the Foreign Language Classroom

Digital cameras can produce images that are as good as, in fact generally better than, anything that can be done with a typical scanner. For most classroom purposes, they yield superior results more quickly and for less money.

Digital cameras have a variety of features. The two examples shown here are both 5 megapixel cameras. A pixel is a picture element or dot in an image. This is a measure of resolution and refers to the number light sensitive spots that combine to form the image inside the camera. 5 megapixels is 5 million pixels. This number can be found by multiplying together the width and height of the largest image that the camera is able to produce. For instance, the Cannon PowerShot A530 has a maximum image size of 2592 x 1944 dots. This gives us 5,038,848 pixels. Here are a few sample images to help you see typical image sizes. It can be a good idea to set your camera to the smallest image size that will meet your needs. This will allow you to store more images in the camera's memory. Note that if your computer screen is set to 1280x1024, that is about 1/4 the size of a 5 megapixel resolution.


Kodak EasyShare z740, 5 megapixels, connecting ring, telephoto, wide angle, 10x optical zoom.

The 10x zoom on this camera can zoom in considerably. The camera also uses a connecting ring to attach additional lenses such as a wide angle lens or a telephoto lens. Most digital cameras have both optical and digital zoom. The optical zoom tends to be good quality and works like the zoom on any other camera. The digital zoom uses computing power to simulate more telephoto effect than the camera's optics can really produce. This results of digital zoom do not tend to be very good.



A cable connects the camera to a computer via a USB port to transfer images.



Canon PowerShot A530, 5 megapixels, 4x optical zoom

The Canon PowerShot is also a 5 megapixel camera, but it is smaller, has smaller optics, and less zoom. Still, it is much more powerful than is generally needed for web development work.

Your digital camera may come with software for downloading and managing your pictures. Windows also has built-in software for transferring images from a camera or scanner.