Reflections on learning to use Flickr
Flickr was easy to sign up to and use, as there were prompts suggesting how you should get started. However, it does require that you have a Yahoo account. The site clearly explains three options for uploading pictures and videos and I was able to upload them from my computer without a problem. I didn’t like the fact that I could only select one item at a time, but it may be possible to select more with one of the other uploading options. Within a few minutes I was able to provide a title, description, tag and place my pictures in a newly created folder. The features were quick to use; I was able to add notes, map the location of the photos and edit my pictures via Picnik (another web 2.0 technology to edit photos). Picnik automatically loaded when the editing tool was selected and it too was easy to navigate, but I dislike the fact that you have to pay for many of the more interesting features. Depending on what type of picture editing software users have on their home computer, they may be better off doing their own editing before uploading pictures to Flickr. Adding videos was as easy as adding pictures, but my video has failed to play beyond the first 17 seconds and I’m not sure if this is a Flickr problem or if there is a technical issue with the video clip that I selected (my new computer won’t play any of my videos). The tag and organize features simplify the organization of your photos, as you can easily find photos by searching for specific tag words and then organize them according to self-created categories. Flickr also made it easy to join and create network groups and to comment on other people’s photos from around the world. Additionally, the more you can do section allows users to go beyond traditional photo viewing and create tangible objects; of course many of these applications are associated with a price tag. Users should be aware that there is a 100 MB photo limit and a two 90 second video limit per month, but additional space can be purchased. View my Flicker account at www.flickr.com/photos/canadanz or even better view my slide show of New Zealand at http://www.flickr.com/photos/canadanz/sets/72157622413414748/show/
Flickr – For my own Personal Learning
Flickr has arrived at a point in my life when I need it the most! My husband and I do a lot of travelling and have thousands of photos saved on our computer and burnt onto a plethora of CDs. This method of storage is a) not secure (theft, house fire, decomposing CDs) b) pretty much only accessible in our house and c) only organized according to date. Being the type A personality that I am, Flickr allows for greater security and accessibility and can be organized in more ways than I am able to dream of. I love the fact that I can control the privacy settings and that my family and friends can easily view our photos, as it previously took me a considerable amount of time to e-mail them with captions. My favourite feature is the mapping function, allowing me to quickly identify exactly where a photo was taken right down to the specific street. This will be a good reminder for us in a few year’s time when we’ve forgotten the little details of our trips. I’m excited about some of the more you can do options, such as Tiny Prints, Blurb, and ImageKind, and am thinking that there are some potential personalized Christmas presents waiting to be created. The networking possibilities were a real treat for me when I located a New Zealand I Spy group where you have to try and identify the location of a photo. This has potential to turn into a little household game! It was also exciting to see that other people were actually interested in my photos, with a comment being made 2 minutes after uploading them. I am a budding photographer and Flickr is providing me with the encouragement to spend more time on this hobby, as I learn tricks of the trade from others. I look forward to producing more contemporary photos to compete (oops, I mean share!!!) with others.
Flickr – for my Professional Learning
Click! This is one web 2.0 technology that I’ll be thrilled to incorporate into my classroom practice Monday morning! With its privacy setting feature it allows students to work safely with photos and videos in a controlled environment that still has the benefit of off-site storage (filling up the school’s server can be a problem). With some instruction, Flickr would be easy for students (more likely for grades 3 and up) to use in terms of working with photos and networking.
The educational benefits in all aspects of the curriculum seem endless. For example, in language arts students could use photos to create a story board, as a story starter, to practice their descriptive language skills, to categorize, and to identify similarities and difference. It could be used as part of a presentation, to visually represent ideas, to create a slide show on a specific topic, as a starting point for a group discussion, to represent a timeline, identify specifics on a diagram, locate particulars on a map, share their school experience with others, etc. etc., ETC!!! And those are just some of the options for language arts! Visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/265279980/ or
http://misterteacher.blogspot.com/2005/04/flickr-for-teachers-blogging-photos.html or http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/649749:Topic:106255?page=1&commentId=649749%3AComment%3A170983&x=1#649749Comment170983 for more ideas on how to use Flickr in the classroom.
For students who are English Language Learners (ELLs), Flickr again offers a surplus of learning opportunities from helping them learn the English language to providing opportunities for them to share their culture. More specifically, Flickr could be used with ELL students to make meaningful picture books, identify objects and share their ideas visually, perhaps in a slide show. It would also allow them to visually share their culture with others, in order for others to gain an understanding and appreciation for who they are and where they come from. When language is a barrier, pictures really do say a thousand words (particularly when they are associated with a map!). The Flicker network may also be a link to remaining in or making contact with their homeland and an opportunity to practice their mother tongue. For more ideas on working with ELLs and web 2.0 check out: http://eflclassroom.ning.com/index.php
As an educator, Flickr has the ability to offer me another way to connect with my students via the Flickr groups and comment function. It also allows me the opportunity to provide visuals during lessons and the ability to focus attention on details and/or identify the location of a photo/video on the classroom Smartboard. Later this week we are going to start a guided reading theme entitled Time Detectives and I plan on using Flickr to search for photos taken in the locations of our books settings. I’m thinking that the photos will make the books seem more real to the students. Although I am new to the Flickr teacher group, I expect that it will create an opportunity for me to connect with other teachers, whom I’m hoping will guide me in refining best practices and stretch my imagination with more Flickr lesson ideas. http://www.flickr.com/groups/teachers/
Flickr was easy to sign up to and use, as there were prompts suggesting how you should get started. However, it does require that you have a Yahoo account. The site clearly explains three options for uploading pictures and videos and I was able to upload them from my computer without a problem. I didn’t like the fact that I could only select one item at a time, but it may be possible to select more with one of the other uploading options. Within a few minutes I was able to provide a title, description, tag and place my pictures in a newly created folder. The features were quick to use; I was able to add notes, map the location of the photos and edit my pictures via Picnik (another web 2.0 technology to edit photos). Picnik automatically loaded when the editing tool was selected and it too was easy to navigate, but I dislike the fact that you have to pay for many of the more interesting features. Depending on what type of picture editing software users have on their home computer, they may be better off doing their own editing before uploading pictures to Flickr. Adding videos was as easy as adding pictures, but my video has failed to play beyond the first 17 seconds and I’m not sure if this is a Flickr problem or if there is a technical issue with the video clip that I selected (my new computer won’t play any of my videos). The tag and organize features simplify the organization of your photos, as you can easily find photos by searching for specific tag words and then organize them according to self-created categories. Flickr also made it easy to join and create network groups and to comment on other people’s photos from around the world. Additionally, the more you can do section allows users to go beyond traditional photo viewing and create tangible objects; of course many of these applications are associated with a price tag. Users should be aware that there is a 100 MB photo limit and a two 90 second video limit per month, but additional space can be purchased. View my Flicker account at www.flickr.com/photos/canadanz or even better view my slide show of New Zealand at http://www.flickr.com/photos/canadanz/sets/72157622413414748/show/
Flickr – For my own Personal Learning
Flickr has arrived at a point in my life when I need it the most! My husband and I do a lot of travelling and have thousands of photos saved on our computer and burnt onto a plethora of CDs. This method of storage is a) not secure (theft, house fire, decomposing CDs) b) pretty much only accessible in our house and c) only organized according to date. Being the type A personality that I am, Flickr allows for greater security and accessibility and can be organized in more ways than I am able to dream of. I love the fact that I can control the privacy settings and that my family and friends can easily view our photos, as it previously took me a considerable amount of time to e-mail them with captions. My favourite feature is the mapping function, allowing me to quickly identify exactly where a photo was taken right down to the specific street. This will be a good reminder for us in a few year’s time when we’ve forgotten the little details of our trips. I’m excited about some of the more you can do options, such as Tiny Prints, Blurb, and ImageKind, and am thinking that there are some potential personalized Christmas presents waiting to be created. The networking possibilities were a real treat for me when I located a New Zealand I Spy group where you have to try and identify the location of a photo. This has potential to turn into a little household game! It was also exciting to see that other people were actually interested in my photos, with a comment being made 2 minutes after uploading them. I am a budding photographer and Flickr is providing me with the encouragement to spend more time on this hobby, as I learn tricks of the trade from others. I look forward to producing more contemporary photos to compete (oops, I mean share!!!) with others.
Flickr – for my Professional Learning
Click! This is one web 2.0 technology that I’ll be thrilled to incorporate into my classroom practice Monday morning! With its privacy setting feature it allows students to work safely with photos and videos in a controlled environment that still has the benefit of off-site storage (filling up the school’s server can be a problem). With some instruction, Flickr would be easy for students (more likely for grades 3 and up) to use in terms of working with photos and networking.
The educational benefits in all aspects of the curriculum seem endless. For example, in language arts students could use photos to create a story board, as a story starter, to practice their descriptive language skills, to categorize, and to identify similarities and difference. It could be used as part of a presentation, to visually represent ideas, to create a slide show on a specific topic, as a starting point for a group discussion, to represent a timeline, identify specifics on a diagram, locate particulars on a map, share their school experience with others, etc. etc., ETC!!! And those are just some of the options for language arts! Visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/265279980/ or
http://misterteacher.blogspot.com/2005/04/flickr-for-teachers-blogging-photos.html or http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/649749:Topic:106255?page=1&commentId=649749%3AComment%3A170983&x=1#649749Comment170983 for more ideas on how to use Flickr in the classroom.
For students who are English Language Learners (ELLs), Flickr again offers a surplus of learning opportunities from helping them learn the English language to providing opportunities for them to share their culture. More specifically, Flickr could be used with ELL students to make meaningful picture books, identify objects and share their ideas visually, perhaps in a slide show. It would also allow them to visually share their culture with others, in order for others to gain an understanding and appreciation for who they are and where they come from. When language is a barrier, pictures really do say a thousand words (particularly when they are associated with a map!). The Flicker network may also be a link to remaining in or making contact with their homeland and an opportunity to practice their mother tongue. For more ideas on working with ELLs and web 2.0 check out: http://eflclassroom.ning.com/index.php
As an educator, Flickr has the ability to offer me another way to connect with my students via the Flickr groups and comment function. It also allows me the opportunity to provide visuals during lessons and the ability to focus attention on details and/or identify the location of a photo/video on the classroom Smartboard. Later this week we are going to start a guided reading theme entitled Time Detectives and I plan on using Flickr to search for photos taken in the locations of our books settings. I’m thinking that the photos will make the books seem more real to the students. Although I am new to the Flickr teacher group, I expect that it will create an opportunity for me to connect with other teachers, whom I’m hoping will guide me in refining best practices and stretch my imagination with more Flickr lesson ideas. http://www.flickr.com/groups/teachers/
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good luck on using the Flickr teacher application! it sure sounds like fun!
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas!! My internet is shot today but I will check out your links when my internet speed is back to normal.
ReplyDeleteI used Photobucket so I am unfamiliar with Flikr. Is there a way to ensure that students are using the right privacy settings? I am just picturing having a class of 25 students and having to make sure that they follow the plan.
Your comment about Flickr being an alternative to email hit home. Having to upload once can be tough enough if the your connection is bad. Having to wait for emails to be sent to multiple locations....I would rather drive. I am going to bring this spin on things to my wife as she is a budding northern pic enthusiast who wants to share her "stuff" with the world.
Is Flikr worth checking out even without the "pay for" services?
Yes, even if you don't pay for the extra services it is a useful program! Furthermore, the privacy setting can be controlled, which makes this program appealing in a classroom setting.
ReplyDelete