1, 2, 3... (say) CHEESE! *snap*

You have just bought a new digital camera. You snap 100s of pictures with ease, but what do you do with those pictures after that?

Using Flickr with your Clickr
There are many photosharing sites out there besides Flickr, such as Snapfish, Picasa, etc. Basically, now that we don't have to use film, digital photos have the freedom to be placed anywhere and be viewed by anyone you allow to look at your photography. Photosharing has been made so easy that with the click of your mouse, you can add pictures, modify pictures, organize pictures into albums, tag your pictures, add write descriptions of your pictures, even give each picture a title. It's no longer a photo album you are creating, you are basically creating a pictoral story album.

I have to admit, this isn't the first time I've used photosharing. I started to use it when my friends moved to countries shortly after university and I used it a lot to share with my family my life overseas. Even my colleagues, we all share our photos on Facebook even though we see each other everyday and/or were present at the time of when the photo was taken. There's just something so attractive about the ease of photosharing. You no longer have to carry heavy albums, or to make a special trip to drop off your film and pick up the prints - you can even order your prints online for those you want to frame! I think the best part is the ease of finding the picture, knowing exactly where it is or just searching the keywords.

It is easy, but time consuming at the same time! Hours pass by as you add narrations to your photos, or geotag them to where they were taken. Is it all worth it? I think so. Your photos stay stored on the photosharing host site so, you can login to any computer and share your pictures, you can email your friends and family about your latest photos. Yes, initially it takes time to set up your photos and albums, but once you're done, the sharing is endless and effortless. Don't believe me? Here, check out my lastest album called Travel Memories.

Flickr in the Classroom
Photosharing is not a new phenomenon for most of our students. They've already got the basic skills to take digital pictures using cellphones and cameras, to set pictures for their online profiles, to search for images, etc. and even if they don't, it's not difficult to give a tutorial on how to attain these skills.

How are teachers using Flickr in the classroom?
As Jakesonline.org points out in his Education and Technology Conference paper, the purpose of using a web tool like Flickr is to "promote and build visual literacy skills in students." Pamela Aucoin believes that Flickr "invites student collaboration and participation." Here's just a taste of how appications of Flickr have been used in classrooms:

1. Anywhere visual images are required, such as presentation, etc.
2. Multiple image digital storytelling projects
3. Virtual Field Trips
4. Using Flickr with Google Earth to teach Geography
5. Creating slides shows within Flickr
6. Creation of visual arguments
e.g. biology classroom-The Case for Genetic Engineering
7. Visual documentation of school events, student work, etc.

...and more. Also available are Flickr resources and sites.

Why is Flickr the teacher's choice?
Flickr has partnered with Creative Commons licensing to provide a way for its community members to legally share content and use photographs for non-commercial use. (LearnHub-Teaching Flickr in the K-12 Classroom) As well as allowing Teachers to set privacy modes for who can view the pictures.

Creative Commons who?
Watch this video http://revver.com/video/89072/wanna-work-together/ (LearnHub)

What does this mean for my classroom?
I definitely agree with choosing Flickr because of their partnership with Creative Commons. Because my English classroom is an EFL learning environment, I believe that using Flickr for a slideshow to introduce new visual concepts would be helpful for my students to access background knowledge they may lack due to their different cultural experiences or lack of (unbiased) worldly knowledge. This may even be an opportunity for them to search for visuals that represent the descriptions of the setting of a novel per se or visuals that will help them remember meanings of vocabulary words. Many of my male students dislike drawing and this is a great solution, while they can practice reading English online. There are many equivalent sites but all in Chinese. Having students using a Flickr account would ensure that they are using an English host site that would enable them to practice reading and writing in English.

What does this mean for the school library?
Teaching students about why we need something like the Creative Commons is a great way to introduce how plagiarism is not acceptable. I also see Flickr as a great addition to research reports and assignments for visual learners to express what they have learned and not be limited to expressing with words. Students can also spice up their "reading blogs", book reviews, etc. by adding photos they have found or taken.

Flickr ... Friend or Foe?
Definitely, Friend. Need I say more?