"The Photographic Experience" is a curriculum web designed during the Web Institute for Teachers, a summer seminar of the Graham School at the Univeristy of Chicago. The module is designed for use in the classroom and consists of activities that can be utilized individually, or as a part of the curriculum designated in the module. The activites invoke the creative aspects of both photography and composition.
"The Photographic Experience" is designed to introduce students to photographic images and their contexts. The context of a photograph is the world of meaning that surrounds the image: that which gives clues to unraveling the mystery of the image. The stories of the objects/figures in the photographs, the stories of the photographers, the stories the viewers create in their minds, and the story of the art form itself all make up the context, and thus define the image. Each of the activities associated with this module encourage the student to explore the meaning and purpose of photographic images: to unravel its mystery.
"The Photographic Experience" has been created by Christine McAllister and Christie Thomas. Christine McAllister currently teaches photography and desktop publishing at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. This is the second year that she has attended such a program, having attended WIT in its inception. Christie Thomas is Technology Resource Advisor for CUIP, the Chicago Public Schools / University of Chicago Internet Project.