Flickr Fun

If you are looking for a Web 2.0 app that allows you to incorporate photography into your lessons, than Flickr is the tool for you.  Flickr is an image and video hosting website that allows users to share photos and videos, essentially creating an online community of digital photographers.  Like with any of the tools I have discussed this semester, it is important to first explore the components of Flickr to assure its compatibility to your classroom.  From an educational perspective, this app has the potential to really raise the levels creativity of our students.

Since Flickr has millions of photographs on their site already, a great introductory lesson for middle and high school students can deal with the issues of intellectual property and Creative Commons licensing.  Before I started using Flickr, I had never heard of Creative Commons, and that may also be the case for certain students.  Teaching them about the importance of Copyright and about having the ability to refine it on their terms, so that others may expand on their ideas, is a valuable lesson to teach in this day and age.  We can't assume students know all the facts, and while it may not be a riveting lesson, it is important for students to be aware of Copyright and understand that giving credit where it's due is the right thing. 

Another way to utilize Flickr with students is by using photos to tell a digital story.  What's great about a lesson like this is its flexibility to work with almost any grade level.  For instance, in a 2nd or 3rd grade classroom, teachers can log in to Flickr and find 5 or more photos to show to the class.  Each student can then write a story to go along with the images presented.  It's a way to work on spelling and sentence structure, but with a little more imagination.  If you teach a higher-grade level, the lesson can become more complex.  Students can create their own Flickr accounts to find photos to write a story, or if you want to turn it into a larger end of semester project, you might consider allowing students to use Photo Story software with the pictures they choose to enhance the elements of storytelling by adding sound effects, narration and even music.         
 
Flickr also allows students to create virtual field trips.  By creating a Flickr page for the entire class, each student can by allowed to upload a certain number of pictures and collaboratively, as a whole, students can organize, tag, map and share what they experienced at the local museum or wherever it was the class went for the day.  Parents and other members of the school's faculty can then view your trip to see that a day out of the classroom can still be educational. 

Because of the ease of smart phones, taking pictures has become a habit.  Even kids are fascinated with taking pictures (my niece is always grabbing my phone to take pictures of things she sees at the park).  Why not apply something our students like into the assignments we present to them in class.