iPad Photo Projects w/Early Years Students

13 Nov

Today I met with a group of teachers who were interested in looking at a variety of apps that can be installed on the iPad to creatively and effectively engage our early learners. We know the iPad as being a variable tool for consumption, yet how can we adapt it to use with multiple media, various learning needs/styles and allow for creativity, collaboration and publication?

Let’s look at the photography opportunities:

PHOTOGRAPHY enhances literacy, writing, science, math, social studies, and second languages. From vocabulary building, sequencing, creative writing, experimentation, and problem solving, the iPad opens up the way students see the world around them and how they can further learn from it.

Learning can be documented with the iPad in various ways:

  • word building centre, take a photo of work
  • screen shots of app game scores/work
  • outdoor pictures while on nature walks, field trips, walkabouts, PE


PhotoCam Apps include: PhotoBooth, OrangeCam, CamWow, WeCam, AT Magic Mirror, ClassicBooth ($0.99), iStrips, Dr. Seuss Camera ($1.99).


  1. With CamWow, take pictures of students and make an Andy Warhol style pop art photo wall/bulletin board. Students could then write about their photos.photo_Warholwall
  2. Use ClassicBooth/iStrips to take photos of students with projects (like an experiment) to create a series of photos on a topic.

Photos with Text Apps include: Labelbox, Labels, Phonto, A+ Signature (free/$1.99), Skitch, Phoster ($1.99), Balloon Stickies, Doodle Buddy, Instaframe, WordFoto.


  1. Use Balloon Stickies to add text bubbles to a person, place, thing.
  2. With Phonto, take many Fall photos or find some copyright free images and save those to your camera roll. Then write a poem and combine it with the photo. Or even use it with Math vocabulary and a relevant photo from the school/community. For Language Arts, it could be describing adjectives or with Science you could concentrate on visually representing a topic.


3. llustrate concepts like parts of a plant by trying Skitch/Doodle Buddy. Take photos of students     portraying themselves as parts of a plant, then annotate over the photo by labeling the parts.


4. Use Labelbox to write down your goals for the year or for a particular topic. This app could also be used to describe yourself, your Mom/Dad, etc.

Photo Collage Apps include: PicStitch, PicCollage, PolyFrame ($1.99), Layout ($1.99), Shape Collage ($1.99), Hello Crayons.


  1. Students take photos around the school of a particular color. Using PolyFrame, they choose their four best photos to showcase to the class. While researching a particular country for a Social Studies project, students could save photos to their camera roll and put together a title page.Photo_frames
  2. Try PicCollage for thank you notes, reports, things I like, things that begin with the letter….., specific shapes, etc.

Photo Art Generator Apps include: Face on Coin Booth, Face on Stamp Booth, Wanted Poster Pro ($0.99), Trading Cards.


  1. Use trading cards when reporting on famous musicians, mathematicians, etc. Go to to find the Trading Cards lessons and templates.

We live in a visual world. Let’s make use of it in our learning environments!

Please share any Photo Apps that you like to use.


One response to “iPad Photo Projects w/Early Years Students

Leave a Reply


You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo


Twitter picture


Facebook photo


Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: