Last week I introduced Flickr and this week I want to focus on what you can do with Flickr in your classroom. Here are some ideas:
Use Flickr . . .
1. anywhere visual images are required, such as a presentation
2. for single image analysis - a good way to encourage discussion in an art class
3. as a single image writing prompt - let someone post an image and then have a student start a story as a comment, with the story continuing by other students adding to it through comments
4. for multiple digital storytelling projects
5. for creating slideshows
6. for virtual field trips
7. for the creation of visual arguments
8. for illustrating poetry
9. for visual documentation of school events
10. for visual documentation of student artwork
Thanks to David Jakes, an educational technology coordinator in Illinois for these suggestions.
One of the most useful tools in Flickr is the annotation feature. You can add notes to parts of an image simply by dragging a box across an area and type test into a form. When you move your mouse across that area of the image, the boxes and annotations will pop up. Click here for an example of how this could be used. (This example of Jane Goodall's camp was created by a 3rd grader!)
Organizing photos in Flickr is easy because you can create separate albums for different sets of pictures. So, students can create their own personalized collections of photos and images, complete with annotations and comments. This way it can become a reflective online portfolio. What if a student took pictures of all his/her artwork throughout school, put them on Filckr, and then used that as a way to share the work with potential scholarship donors or university art departments.
Or, just look for a good random photo on Flickr, display it for your class and ask them to play "Flicktion". Let them write a fictional story about the photo. A simple photo can often bring out creativity in students!
Hopefully you will begin to see the possibilities of using Flickr in your classroom. Even if you don't add your own images to Flickr, you can utilize the thousands of images that are already there. Have fun exploring!
