Fun with Flickr, not Flicka

I will admit that I had fun with Flickr (not Flicka, although I enjoyed that book and movie as well.)  At one time, I was able to try my hand at photography.  I enjoyed capturing a complete and complex story within a single simple frame.  It seemed to balance nicely with my appreciation for the written word’s ability to vividly paint a picture of a scene.  I can see many potential uses for this within a Language Arts or English classroom.  Viewing images and then writing about them as well as posting pictures of images brought to mind from selected readings could serve as very useful tools when teaching composition.  Viewing actual pictures from the settings of books can help students better understand stories and themes.  Nothing can be more powerful than making the reading tangible.  Reading about the horrors of Nazi Germany in Anne Frank:  The Diary of a Young Girl is very moving.  But, to see actual pictures of Auschwitz not only as it was during that time but as it stands today as a reminder of that dark mark in human history would bring that book to life.  And, if that picture comes to the classroom from a person who lived through that experience, the effect would be unfathomable.

Just about any visual aid used in a classroom could be converted to a Flickr image.  Annotated pictures of science experiments would reinforce learning, a series of “how to” pictures would help when acquiring a new skill such as playing an instrument or mastering a jump shot.  Classes could photo tour a specific region in Geography class.  Photos of current events could encourage more in-depth discussion of a topic in Social Studies rather than putting a writing prompt on the board.  If students have access to camera phones, a Math class could participate in a video scavenger hunt for real world use of math.  They could take the pictures of people using math in their everyday lives and post it to the class site for analysis and discussion at a later date.  Then there is the obvious application in a class wiki.  Parents, grandparents and students from other classes from around the world could see the learning that is taking place within a classroom.  Which brings me to my major concern with tools such as this, which is posting pictures of students on the web.

I would not want my class web- and video-log to become a hunting ground for predators.  When publishing pictures of students on the web, strict policy must be in place as to who has access as a means of protecting the students.  Many times on Facebook or MySpace, pictures are posted without much thought of the consequences.  Protecting students while they are online includes protecting their identity.  Posting names of students in conjunction with their pictures seems risky, especially if it can be connected to a physical location. 

I can see this as a very useful tool when addressing students with different learning styles.  Many are visual learners and if used correctly, this tool could ignite a student’s passion.  A subject that once seemed boring or hard to understand may all of a sudden seem inviting.  This tool could help to bridge that gap between left-brain analytical thinking and right-brain free form creative thinking.