Flicking Around With Flickr...

Out With the Old & In With the New...

I have distinct memories of the numerous boxes of ancient National Geographic magazines that my mom would store in our attic for us kids to use for school research projects.  These magazines were not organized in any way, just left in the boxes that the people hosting the garage sale which we acquired them from put them in.  We used these National Geographics to clip pictures to paste on our posters etc.  I remember my grade 7 “Mesopotamia” poster project clearly and how my dad lugged all the magazine boxes out of the attic and gave each family member a box to search through looking for anything remotely resembling Mesopotamia.  Needless to say, we didn’t find anything authentic, but found a few images of dry looking fields with emaciated cattle roaming them - I proudly glued these pictures on my poster and got the A I was going for!  Times have changed, no longer do we have to aimlessly search through old magazines to find images on our topics (ok...close to our topics)...Thank you online photosharing...!

Photosharing is something I thought I understood...turns out my knowledge of what is possible with photosharing was as shallow as a rain barrel in the desert.  Numerous friends have sent me links to their online photo albums, which I diligently look through and comment on.  Little did I know, this is only the surface of photosharing capabilities.  This week I learned that photosharing is a dynamic and very sophisticated online culture with thousands (perhaps even millions) of very talented people posting and tagging incredible images from around the world.  Many of these images are mere hours or days old when posted, while others are archival images from some of the world’s most extensive and important collections.  As a teacher and an individual, I am very intrigued with what I discovered in my photosharing exploration...

“An Eye-opening Experience” - My Learning About Photosharing

As I mentioned above, I thought I “got” photosharing, but I was humbled as I dug deeper into these tools.  Flickr and Photobucket were the two photosharing sites I chose to explore.  Firtly, I`ll admit that I didn`t realise you could explore other people’s photos; I thought you could only explore photos in albums you were given permission to view.  This feature alone has changed my view of image searching online as I always default to google images and now have another source to search from.  I gave Photobucket a try and was impressed by the trendiness of its homepage.  Photobucket has a number of buttons linking users to popular tags including fun quotes, seasonal and best tattoo images!  Students would love exploring these links (one word of caution though – some of these images were not appropriate for students).  Flickr has a “Recently Added” and “Interesting” images section showcasing many of the most intriguing images online today.  I didn’t see any inappropriate images on Flickr, however that doesn’t mean they don’t exist (the site is self-policed) so be careful there too!  All in all, both sites offer similar services – photo organization, management and sharing.  I found I “clicked” (a little techie pun, haha...) best with Flickr so I chose to examine it further for this post...

Through reading chapter 8 in Will Richardson’s book, “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts” and viewing this powerpoint presentation, I got a good background on what Flickr is and how to use it. 

Flickr is the kind of site you can get lost in.  I had lots of fun clicking through the search results of my favourite tags (Italy, horses, food, beaches...to name a few).  I found the more time I spent exploring, the more aware of the site’s capabilities I became.  The geotagging feature was particularly fun to play with as I looked up images from my favourite destinations (Italy was on that list too...).

“Oh...I ‘Get It’” - Flickr and My Life

I’ve never been big on photos (I always seem to forget my camera) so I haven’t spent much time using Flickr in my personal life.  A few of my friends are big on Flickr, and have tried to get me onto it, but they’ve never succeeded.  Since I truly didn’t understand the site and was unaware of what I could do with it, I never considered becoming a member.  Really, as a naive photosharer, I didn’t see the point – I didn’t “get it”. I now see that Flickr can really work for me. 

Flickr can offer an easy and safe way to share photos with my friends and family.  Gone are the days of having to send 12 emails to your friends and family with attachments of photos from your recent trip to Mexico - THANK GOODNESS!  With Flickr, friends and family can view and comment on photos in one easy step.  On a practical note, Flickr allows you to store your photos online rather than just on your computer – now you won’t lose your photos just because your computer is on the fritz! 

In regards to my own learning, Flickr is a wonderful resource for up-to-the-minute images on all current events.  Members post images they have captured as news has broken and now I don’t have to wait for biased (oops...did I say that??!!!) mainstream media reports, but rather can explore images posted by amateur photo journalists.  Amateur or “citizen” journalism is on the rise (Center For Citizen Media Blog), another exciting opportunity for students to partake in and learn about.  Professionally, I could see Flickr being a powerful tool in idea sharing.  I would enjoy sharing images of displays, activities and/or graphic organizers with colleagues.  Teachers working on the same units could upload images of their ideas encouraging collaboration while protecting professional autonomy.

 

“A Picture is Worth a Thousand Learning Activities” - Using Flickr for Teaching & Learning

If you’re wondering how Flickr can be used in the classroom, check out this extensive Flickr Wiki on applications for teaching and learning K-12.  I’ve decided to discuss a few of my favourite ideas below...

*As a Teacher/TL:

Posting photos of students, student work & school activities for parents to view 

A great way to encourage dialogue between students and parents while including parents in their child’s education.  While posting photos of students online isn’t always safe, privacy settings can be set to ensure only those given permission are able to view the images.

Photography Archives

The TL in me is most excited about this Flickr feature.  Flickr offers exclusive access to images from the world’s most valuable collections.  My personal favourites are the Library of Congress and Smithsonian archival collections.  Who needs to go on a fieldtrip when you can have a virtual Flickr fieldtrip...for free!


*As a School Leader:

Image Libraries

As the T-L I can use Flickr to assemble image banks on specific topics.  Teachers and students can use the image banks for research and/or add their own images.

Idea Sharing:

Flickr is a great way for teachers to share and store ideas – albums can be organized by grade level and/or topic.


*Student Uses:

Visual Portfolios

Students can create image portfolios of work, friends and favourite memories from the school year in a Flickr album.  Students can annotate their work through Flickr – a great way to reflect on the process.

 Explore “geotagged” images

The geotagging tool in Flickr is a fun way for students to find images.  Flickr members geotag images with the location in which they were taken/created.  I love the idea that my students are not getting “postcard” images online, but images that are taken by everyday people of everyday things.  I could see this tool being particularly useful in country studies.

Digital Storytelling

Challenging students to tell a story in exactly 5 images is a fun way for students to “play” with digital photography.  Some humorous examples are available here.

Like everything online, Flickr is not fool proof and needs to be used with caution in regards to safety and appropriateness.  That being said, Flickr is a wonderful resource and inspiration for teaching, learning and social applications.  While not all images on Flickr are of high quality, the vast majority are.  I am in awe of the number of people posting photos they have captured for the world to see – thanks to all of you!  Not only that, these photos are authentic and have a distinctly human element to them.  The many Flickr members worldwide have created an incredible collection of images.  Get out there and explore Flickr with your students, better yet – get your students sharing their own images!  Flick around with Flickr!

Some thoughts as I journey into 2.0...

I was reading Jen Scott Curwood's article "Beyond Google" and she made a fantastic point.  She points out that students primarily use the web as a reseach tool, which is a wonderful use of it, however through tools such as blogging, wikis, flickr, facebook and twitter to name few, they can actually create and publish their work on the web!  How exciting for both students and teachers alike!

As I’ve mentioned a few times already, using Web 2.0 in the classroom is new to me...  I’ve been reading Will Richardson’s book, “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms” and have found myself both humbled and inspired.  I feel as though I have so much to learn.  While I’m familiar with most of the tools he talks about, I didn’t realise their sophistication and all of the possibilities within them.  Not only that, if I want to employ these Web 2.0 tools, I need to rethink/restructure how I plan, teach and facilitate for learning.  I see one common thread running through these suggested web teaching tools – the idea that using web tools in the classroom allows student to learn globally – suddenly the world is their classroom.  I love the idea that students can connect with and/or learn from others around the world, from all walks of life.  I believe the global aspect of these tools is reason enough for my putting effort into learning about them and trying them out with my students.

While excited about these Web 2.0 tools, I have questions about using them in the classroom setting. 

            -How can I ensure student safety when working online?

            -What age is too young to use these tools?

-How can teachers working in schools with limited internet/computer access use these tools effectively?

-How can a busy teacher like me keep up with the ever-changing online world?

-In what ways can Web 2.0 tools be used to maximize student learning in classroom and library settings?

Maiden Blog Post

It’s hard to believe I’m actually blogging! It’s something I didn’t anticipate doing, however I’m excited to get started with. Truth be told, I had to start this blog to satisfy the criteria for the major assignment for my EDES 501 course in the Teacher-Librarianship master’s program I’m in, but I’m really having a lot of fun with it. There’s something powerful yet very mysterious about publishing online. I keep wondering who will get their eyes on my blog, and what they are reading it for. I’m intrigued by the idea that this post can potentially be read by people all around the world. I know, I know...I’m no big name in blogging (yet), but the potential for international readership is there!

As my blog’s name indicates, I’m no technology expert. I’m just your average elementary/middle school teacher who admittedly under uses technology in both my personal and professional lives. After all I got my first cell phone when I was 23 and have never owned an ipod! Over the next few months I’m going to be exploring many Web 2.0 tools and hopefully (...hopefully) I’ll begin employing them at home and/or school.  Here goes nothing!