David Bryson: March 2005 Archives
The creation of learning objects is not just about putting together a flash object or photograph together with metadata and text to explain it. It is about how the object is used or in many cases how many ways can the object be used. After all I can use a series of photographs to demonstrate how to take a series of photographs over time year on year but these could also show changes in vegetation, growth or development.
Above all we need learning objects to do something - communicate!
They are used to put a point across as part of a learning experience or learning design. In many ways the whole talk of them has become overcomplicated.
The flash file "How a lens can be reversed for close-up work to use its optics to best effect". The learning object doesn't have any significance without an explanation unless you are a photographer interested in close-up photography.
High speed photography at its best requires great accuracy in timing which part of the splash is recorded. However, with a very simple disposable camera or digital camera with an integral flash it is possible to take photographs of splashes or using a video camera extract individual frames each of 1/25th of a second to see the processes involved.
Useful websites include:
http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/exhibit-splashes.html
http://courses.ncssm.edu/hsi/class2000/splashes
http://courses.ncssm.edu/hsi/splashes
One of the problems with scientific photography has been the need to do one if not more tests of exposure on a film. One method has been to use black and white film for the test (carefully recording exposure s used on paper), process, check exposure then take colour photographs. This whole process can be shortened with a digital camera.
Not only that but a digital camera also records the lens and camera data including exposure and aperture used which is embedded into the file format. This helps in refining exposure but also can be used in image management software to detail length of exposure, aperture which seem to be so popular in photographic magazines.
Images can be taken, techniques can be tried without having to wait for feedback after processing hours or days later enabling quicker feedback. There is really now no excuse for not using scientific photographic techniques in science teaching or communication.
