About us

This resource provides guidelines for using digital images in teaching and learning at the University of Reading. It has been created as part of a project to develop ways of promoting excellence in the use of digital images in teaching and learning, and was funded by a small project grant from the Teaching and Learning Development Fund in 2007/8.

The project was initiated by the School of Humanities' Visual Resources Manager, Nicky Ransom, in order to support staff and students in making the move from using analogue materials, such as 35mm slides, in lectures and presentations to using digital images; a move caused by the demise of the slide projector, the growing availability of digital images, and the emphasis on digital projection facilities within the University.

The project aimed to identify existing levels of skills and knowledge in using digital images, the barriers that prevented their further use, and to find out what support staff and students needed in order to use images more confidently and expertly. Although the project was initiated within the School of Humanities, a range of departments were invited to complete a short questionnaire to discover more about image use across the University in order that the guidance would be relevant to a wider audience.

The results of the questionnaire identified that although the most respondents used digital images in teaching and learning, a sizeable number were still using analogue images, mostly due to a lack of time, technical skills and suitable equipment. Particular areas where support was requested included locating sources of good quality images, advice on scanning and editing images, explanations about image format, size and resolution, and help with organising image files.

It is hoped that these guidelines will answer some of these questions and help staff and students to become more proficient in their use of images. Feedback on the contents would be welcomed, as would suggestions for further development. Please send any comments by email, or fill in the Feedback survey.