Collecting Images Model Two: Creating Local Image Collections

Many classrooms create collections of images on curricular themes so that students may use them for projects. Often, the teacher will create a starter set and students will add to the collection over the years. Images can be stored on a server, on a CD or set of identical CDs, or on a hard drive that the class can use.

Here is the process a 4th grade classroom teacher might use to create a local image collection for a unit on Native American culture:

1. Create a folder on the desktop or network server that the students can access.
2. Collect images from CD-ROM clip art collections and/or the Web, renaming them if necessary so that they'll be easy to identify.
3. Organize saved images into folders by category.
4. Set up file folders so students can view thumbnails of images instead of having to open each one.