.

Projects That Merge the Digital with the Physical

This post is sponsored by Groupon.

There are a lot of cool projects that a parent or an educator can do with kids that are in the digital realm.  Kids tend to gravitate more towards the digital world today. Although it is great to see young children being tech savvy with their smartphones, tablets and computers, often times they lose out on many possible experiences because they are too busy with their eyes glued to that device.  When they do something, like a digital piece of art or take a photo, it is becoming rare to have a physical item that they can say they made.

Merging the digital world with the physical world. Ideas for turning your digital projects into physical items. Shutterfly on Groupon


A company that can help with bridging that digital divide is Shutterfly. They sell prints made from your digital photo files, as well as books and personalized items.  Their prices are quite good too!  Here are a few inexpensive project ideas that you could do with a single child, small group or your whole class.

      Wall of Selfies

4x6 prints are just a few cents apiece at Shutterfly. If you join their newsletter, you will occasionally get coupon code for 50 free prints or other items.  Take some of those common selfies and have them all printed and mailed back to you.  Then make them into a collage, perhaps with other creative treatments, that can be displayed on a wall.

To add a little educational twist, have students take a selfie with their favorite book (great for advertising reading to their peers), geometric items when studying geometry, items that start with a certain letter sound, etc.

      Custom Book

Shutterfly has simple tools for designing a book complete with photos, artwork and text. You could make books like “What we learned about dinosaurs” or “My Family Vacation” or “About Us” where kids compose a book with something personal about them.  The experience will give them many lessons about graphic design & makes for a special keepsake.

      Fundraisers

Your students could create a calendar out of artwork or photos that they took themselves. Then they could be sold to raise funds for things such as classroom supplies, trips or for charity.

      Have a photo contest

Have a group of kids take photos, perhaps conforming to a theme/content area, then submit them to you. Then have the group vote on winners. Give the winner a large print of his winning photo, then hang a print on the classroom wall, to be enjoyed by all.

      From crayons to coffee mug

Take a photo of a crayon drawing or painting, then have it made into an inexpensive coffee mug that the child can give to someone. We always need ideas for Mother's Day, Father's Day and Parent Volunteer gifts! Chances are it will become a treasured memento for that special person.


Take a look at their offerings and you will surely come up with dozens of creative ideas for projects. Join their newsletter and take advantage of their sales and Groupon Coupons, to save even more.