I have been mulling over what quality might mean when applied to a digital image and have come to the conclusion that it is not an especially useful concept!

Appropriate, yes!

How good an image is can be defined in how well it meets its purpose and this could conceivably be a blurry, poorly lit and composed image taken by a child in a role play area of the classroom that totally encapsulated what was going on for a particular child.

Did you read Presentation Zen (http://www.presentationzen.com/)? Garr Reynolds argues persuasively for the use of professional images in our presentations- getting the right image is important and adds enormously to a professional presentation (presumably the cost of acquiring fantastic images from iStockphoto.com is peanuts compared with the fees that he gets for presenting!- actually I loved the book and will never do bulleted PowerPoints ever again).

Lovely images can take your breath away but we are not just looking to wow our classes.

These images (among others), used as stimulus, were found last week by children in a class who were investigating the dangers of electricity. They provided an excellent introduction and discussion point.

and this one promoted a lot of discussion about insulators and conductors in real life. These are ordinary pictures but they did prove powerful in a particular context and did promote lively discussion.

How do images add value to learning? I’m going for the personal experience rather than theoretical stance; I know there is lots written about learning style preferences: what I take from it is that we all learn in many different ways and that these are not fixed. My personal, classroom and parenting experience tells me that images are powerful when linked to ideas, can be very memorable and can engage one quickly at a fairly deep level. Everything I have ever read about page design, the ways we look at printed material and the power of advertising points to the link between images and learning. Is it too simplistic to say that John Lewis spent £6.2m on their Christmas 2007 advertising campaign because it was the most effective way to teach/influence consumers to buy their products?

How did the marketers design the campaign? Images of the products arranged to cast a shadow of the person for whom the product would make a great gift: images, ideas about quality and plenty to actively engage the viewer in how it might apply to them.

How should teachers choose images? Well much depends on purpose but when we consider actively engaging children then a stunning image that raises relevant questions would be a good starting point- and the £6.2m just reinforces the point!