William Noland, Associate Professor of the Practice, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Arts & Sciences
Project Description
William Noland redesigned his photography course in order to improve methods for introducing students with varying levels of experience to the basic concepts of documentary photography and image authenticity, and integrate the use of image manipulation tools in the course.
In Noland’s course, students learned about the history of documentary photography and applied methods learned to creating their own digital photographs; students used the images to create their own photography book using iPhoto and other tools. Noland addressed issues such as the authenticity of photographs by having students examine and discuss images, including examples from Flickr. Noland designed group activities to allow students who had taken photography courses in the past to help new students get familiar with concepts. CIT provided support by consulting on possible classroom activities, pointing to copyight and Fair Use resources, and helping plan training for the students on software used in the book project.
The redesigned course was taught in Spring 2007. Noland felt that the students were successful in the activities, including gaining a better understanding of documentary photography concepts, and that the book project was better organized [better organized than in prior semesters? better organized than it would have been if CIT hadn’t been involved?] and a good learning experience for the students.
Project start date: 5/2006
Funding awarded: $5,000