digital camera for a K-8 art classroom

I teach K-8 art and we are upgrading our digital cameras. Most of the time we have used the cameras for just still shots. Any recommendations for an affordable camera that can be easily used in a K-8 classroom setting, that might have a few bells and whistles we can play around with. I don't know much about the art of photography, but I am a quick learner when it comes to this kind of stuff.

Are they to be used by instructors only or by the kids too? What are you currently using and how do you find them limiting?

With a background in teaching as well as photography and art, I would suggest that considering the fact that you have an extreme range of students, you should have an equal range of cameras from the point and shoot Sony's with few adjustments all the way up to a few EVF viewfinder all-in-one cameras with the super zoom for the talented Grade 8 students. For a top end EVF, I like the Minolta A200 or even the Nikon Coolpix with the lens that goes to 300mm. However I am sure that there are other good possibilities too.

Ronnoco

hello SE and welcome to PR. My grandchildren have used the Kodak Easyshare cameras for a couple of years. I started my granddaughter using it when she was 3. Now she takes better pics than I do and she is only 7. I am starting to teach her my Coolpix prosumer and my Pentax *ist DL. The Kodaks produce nice photographs and are easy to use. Basically any good p/s will probably work for your younger kids, but some of your older ones might benefit from a prosumer or even an entry level DSLR such as the D50/D70, *ist DL or similar price range camera.
Good luck and we'd love to see some of the projects your students come up with.
Ken