Recent update
- Thing 2300: And I think to myself…
- Thing 22: Networking has definitely gone digital!
- Thing 21: Look outside! I see Flakes …and the drifts are the size of pagecasts!
- Thing 20: One Doc + Multiple Viewers and/or Collaborators; How Bad Could That Be?
- Thing 7c: Am I teaching my students to learn?
- Thing 19: In the Mood for Tubing?
- Thing 18: Audio Podcast Debut
- Thing 17: Revived and Doing Nicely…Thanks for Asking!
- Thing 16: I Never Met a Library I Didn’t Like
- Thing 15: Social Bookmarking Helps Me Organize!
Thing 11: Why Re-invent the Wheel…or Photo?
June 26th, 2008 by Barbara Perkins
Don’t get me wrong. I love my digital camera. As a matter of fact, I have two. One is pocket-sized and thinks for me. The other allows for videos as well as still photography and is kind enough to let me add my two cents when I want. On the other hand, if for whatever reason I can’t get the shots that I need –let’s say for a PowerPoint to use in my Harper Lee unit– why not explore the Creative Commons section of Flickr? I might possibly find just what I need.
If you teach literature –or any other subject for that matter– you must visit David Jake’s Classroom Uses of Flickr. I love his ideas on digital storytelling in the blog Sandburg Meets Flickr. David speaks of this new literacy as the “the ability to take a personal story, add voice, video, imagery and music to create a truly compelling message that can be shared online.”
The photo in this blog is of Harper Lee’s Monroeville, AL courthouse, the setting for the trial in To Kill a Mockingbird. I’m happy to share that it was found in Flickr’s Creative Commons section via the advanced search. I am free to “copy, distribute, display, and perform [this] copyrighted work –and derivative works based upon it” as long as I give credit to the originators. WooHoo! …I have created dozens of PowerPoint presentations for my classes, but now that I can use Flickr as a source, I will revise some of them. Admittedly, some of my presentations contain photos obtained through ill-be-gotten means on my part. I vow to do better.
A worthy postscript: In the text, “7 things you should know about Flickr,” Educause discusses the implications of Flickr on teaching and learning. “Students who are engaged with content demonstrate better learning outcomes, and the immediacy of visual media facilitates that sense of connection to subject material.” Whether it’s related to the visual arts, language arts, or sciences, sources abound to show us how Flickr can be a valuable tool for us as teachers and for our students as they learn. [Please check out other interesting reads in the monthly Educause series, “Everything you should know about…”. Educause boasts the mission of “Transforming Education through Information Technologies.”
Don’t get me wrong. I love my digital camera. But, let’s get real. If Flickr can provide us access to resources that we can confidently use in our lesson plans, why not take advantage of it?
Posted in Uncategorized | tagged Creative Commons, digital stories, Educause, Flickr, Mockingbird | | 1 Comments
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on June 29th, 2008 at 10:28 am
You make a good point here. I definitely take advantage of the resources flickr provides me in the Creative Commons photos. However, I do not feel comfortable sending my students there. It did not take me long before I found very objectionable images even in the Creative Commons section. Maybe this is a difference between JH and HS students? At what age do we send the students to these kinds of tools after teaching them how to handle objectionable material online? What’s the magical age?