Flickr

Ever had a problem tracking down the right picture for a project? Flickr can help. Because pictures posted to Flickr are typically presented JPEG format, the are available for download. Not only are Flickr items easily downloaded and free for all users, they are organized more efficiently than other image search engines. The key to Flickr's organization relies in user labeling and tagging. These two practices ensure that searches yield exactly what the user is looking for. Most images are available in multiple sizes.

Flickr was founded by Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake and went live in 2004 by Ludicorp. The following year it was bought by Yahoo!. The site is a social media site where users can view photos, and members can post pictures, upload them from different sources, tag them, edit them, organize them, view other photos from around the world, add comments and notes to photos, search for friends, and connect your Flickr photos to other social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Creating an account is free and the user can use their Google or Facebook account to log in if they have usernames.

Follow this link for a how to video on Flickr: [|How to video]

Now, an example for application in the classroom. Propose a class field trip visits an Earth Science museum. Provide cameras to students and assign them discovery goals/tasks. Have them document their activity, post the pictures (complete with tags, descriptions, etc), create a group, and now the class as a visual story book of their exploration of an Earth Science museum. This project is adaptable to any type of field trip whether it be to a Renaissance fair, musical festival, ecological trip, or volunteer service. In addition, Flickr can serve as learning tools when educating students about current events, animals of a country, or an analysis of art vocabulary. While using this tool it is vital that educators take precautionary steps to ensure that the safety of the students. Just as Wiki and other sharing websites, Flickr allows for private groups to be created. This allows for only the selected members to see photos. When assigning usernames and addressing specific students avoid using students actual names, instead, give them a number or use initials. If you are publishing photos of the students at some point during the lesson be sure to get permission from their parents first.

Since Flickr is an international site, pictures are posted from around the world. A visual study of geography, culture, and language would be greatly augmented by the incorporation of Flickr. As discussed in previous posts, Flickr provides teachers with the opportunity to show students the world, albeit in picture format, but it only takes a single glimpse into the unknown world to spark an interest in learning.

One of the best things about Flickr is the ability to create and join groups. This makes it extremely useful in any lesson in a classroom where visual representation could enhance or strengthen learning. For example, lets say your 12th grade English class is reading the book "The Kite Runner." (Which my high school has every 12th grader read) The novel is set in Kabul, Afghanistan. A teacher has to simply log into Flickr, search the groups pages for the keyword 'Kabul,' and a huge list of groups pop up. They each contain a compilation of hundreds of pictures of Kabul Afghanistan. How is this useful in the classroom? It would be enormously helpful for students to be able to actually see the city itself, instead of just visualizing it. They can see the markets and the partially destroyed houses and the old soviet tanks left from the war. If a history class is studying the D-Day invasion, a simple search in Flickr would bring up modern day pictures of the German bunkers and beach defenses. There is literally endless possibilities when it comes to using Flickr. The ability to not only search a certain type of picture, but to be able to find a group specific to that topic makes it a very useful source in the classroom.

How Flickr Works:

Like other search engines, Flickr utilizes a search bar. Users need to identify the subject of their search, in this example, the tag-line is "Consumerist.com." Flickr will compile the results and list them in thumbnail format. Once the search is complete, users may scroll through the results and select objects they wish to see enlarged.



Once the object is selected, a new page will load with many options to choose from. First, the picture will be enlarged but the more important changes to note are the new set of options available. Seated just above image are a collection of useful tools. Users can manipulate the file in many useful ways from enlarging the image further, downloading the file, tagging the photo, and adding the photo to a group page, favorite images, or another folder. Also available on this page are comments. It is common to see dozens of comments heralding from several different countries.



Once the user has completed their work with a given image, the fun starts all over with the next image. Flickr is a unique, original, and comprehensive search engine for photographers, students, and teachers all over the world.

Links To Help You Learn More:
 * http://www.flickr.com/
 * http://macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2005/08/02/flickr.html
 * http://www.flickr.com/photos/drandyoliver/557065560/?q=educational%20uses%20for%20flickr
 * http://blog.simplek12.com/?s=flickr&x=0&y=

Kyle Hagedorn

Kristian Hinders Many people see flickr as a social site where you can share pictures and explore other people’s pictures, but it can also be used as an educational tool. One of the ways to use flickr as an educational tool is to create a class group. A class group could be used for in-class assignments, homework assignments, group projects, keep everyone informed, and so much more. For younger grades, the group could also be used to keep parents in the loop. Pictures from class could be added to the group site so parents can see pictures from class, and parents can also see assignments that you do in class, and they could help their child do homework assignments on flickr. In order to create a group, click on the arrow next to groups at the top of the page, and select Create a New Group. The privacy settings page now comes up. For a class site, it would be safest to go with a Private group- click Create. This way you as the teacher can control who is in the group and who sees the group. With a private group, you can upload pictures of the class without showing them to the general public (it would still be necessary to get permission from the parents to put pictures on the group site). Next you will need to create a group name, and write the description of your group in the text box. Also make sure to select “This group is safe for everyone” as the group safety level, since you are working in a school setting! Then you can name the titles of your group. For example I named the group administrator, teacher, and the members, students. Once you create the group you can create an alias for the group, to make it easy for your students and parents to get to the site. To do this, click flickr web address and create your alias! One use of the class site would be to create a discussion board. Especially for older students this would be a great way to encourage communication and discussion about a book the students are reading, or discussion about a topic brought up in class. This would be an easy way to assign a homework assignment. Other ways to use the class site would be to add pictures or presentations. You can do this by clicking on Add to the Pool, and upload any pictures or presentations you want to use. A virtual field trip is an interactive way of using flickr. This can be done by slideshow or video using pictures from the place that you are going. For example if the class is studying geography and at the moment you are studying Greece, you could look up pictures of Greece, and perhaps look up specific places that you would want to take them. Or maybe you are studying art and you want to take your class to the art museum. The beginning could show pictures from the front of the art museum, and then once you’re inside, a slideshow can begin with the pieces of artwork inside the museum. The same idea can also be extended to individual or group projects. If the students have to research a country, they can create a presentation on flickr and upload it to the class site. This way their presentations are automatically shared with their classmates. Also since flickr is a place to find shared pictures, they could easily find pictures of what they are researching on flickr.

Laura Barbe