What's the deal? Photosharing with Flickr.

Introduction

Digital cameras makes taking pictures so very easy and having memory cards that can hold over 500 pictures makes taking pictures that much more easier. But alas, what to do with all those pictures when your camera's memory card is full. I suppose one could make 500 prints! Or you could, like the commercial on TV, begin to delete pictures to make room on the memory card for more pictures.

Part of the solution to this dilemma may be to join a photosharing site on the Internet such as Flickr, available at http://www.flickr.com/. Esther Rosenfeld in her article, Useful Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers and Students (2008) states Flickr is one of the earliest read/write web tools and has grown to gigantic proportions.

In its About pages Flickr discusses its two main goals: 1. Help people make their content available to those people who matter to them. and 2. Enable new ways of organizing photos and videos.

Flickr's first goal is met by allowing users to make their pictures private or public. Pictures, with a click of a button, may be shared with the whole world via the Internet or kept private for only family or friends to view.

Flickr's second goal is met by allowing users to collaboratively organize, comment, and add tags to your photos. In Flickr you can give permission to your family, friends and contacts to contribute their thoughts and comments to your photos.

However, Flickr is more than a site to upload, organize and share your digital photos, it also a tool to connect with others who have similar interests. By joining groups you not only have access to photos you have a distinct interest in, but you also have the opportunity to join in on their discussions. With this tool you have the voices of experience at your fingertips.

Reflections on the Process of Learning About the Tool

Up until this course started I had never heard of Flickr or any other photosharing sites on the Web other than Facebook. I also knew very little of Facebook for that matter, but that's another Blog.

Unsure of photosharing sites I looked into several sites including Smug Mug at http://www.smugmug.com/ , Picasa at http://www.google.picasa.com/ , Photobucket at http://www.photobucket.com/, and of course Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/ . According to lifehacker.com Smug Mug was for the more professional photographer and of the remaining three photosharing sites Flicker seemed to be the most popular and so I choose to go with Flickr.

Checking into Flickr the very first time gave me the impression of, "Hey this looks like fun!" and the steps for signing up were straightforward and easy.

Then came the uploading photos part, which turned out to be pretty easy also. However, like the typical beginner, who according to www.lifehacker.com has the "natural impulse" to try to upload a bunch of photos right away, I selected a ton of pictures to upload. Free Flickr accounts limits the amount of upload per month. The site very gently advised me I was going over my limit and waited for me to remove some of the images from the upload. Lesson learned, be selective of what you want to upload to your free account.

Once my photos were uploaded into my Flickr account I had so much fun adding titles and captions to them I didn't want to stop. I found adding titles and captions to pictures makes them so much more interesting and fun to look at. Ashley, my daughter, had a laughing fit when she looked over the pictures from this year's Christmas and saw the titles and captions I added to them.

Other discoveries I made about Flickr were tagging your photos (Had no idea what tags were before!), joining groups (I joined, I love cats, Calling all Children's Librarians and EDES 501/544) and the mapping tool to geotag the location of where your picture was taken. I also figured out how to add a Flickr link to my Facebook page.

Learning to put photos and slideshows onto a blog was quite the learning experience also.

I am truly amazed at how much I have learned about the process of this photosharing tool.

My Personal Learning

Needless to say my personal learning has gone through the roof with just this one little tool. There is so much more learning that happens beside learning about Flickr itself.

I've found myself more willing to try new things when it comes to technology. This is coming from a lady who didn't realize you could slide your camera's memory card into one of the slots on the computer and upload your pictures without the USB cord!

Personal learning requires you put time into the learning. You must be willing and open to new learning and you must make time for learning. "What we learn we learn by doing." ~Aristotle

In terms of my personal learning, photosharing and me as a parent this tool has allowed me to take a glimpse into the lives of my children and their enjoyment and use of technology. Photosharing and other tools allows you to be creative and allows you to share that creativity with others.

In terms of my personal learning, photosharing and me as part of a social group I have come to realize there are numerous opportunities out there to learn from others. I, for example, joined the group, I Love Cats, on Flickr and from that group I found solutions to some of my concerns about my own cats. Making connections with groups of people with similar interests is a tremendous way to continue one's personal learning.

Teaching and Learning with Photosharing

There are a number of opportunities to use the photosharing tool in teaching and learning. Stopping to set some realistic goals for yourself and your school situation would be worthwhile.

Goals I have set for myself include:
1. Share this tool with at least two other teachers, including the opportunities to join like minded groups for professional development
2. Use the photosharing to highlight special events with classes I collaborate with
3. Provide opportunities for school administrators and staff to view the special events with this tool
4. Provide opportunities for students to use this tool (perhaps adding the job of photographer to our grade 6's TUSC or Totally Unique Speaking Club program).

Conclusion

So the deal for those who have discovered the world of photosharing through an online site is pretty sweet. No more printing 500 photos and having no way to share them or store them. And no more deleting pictures to make room to take more pictures. Joining a free online photosharing site can save you time, money and storage space. Sweet deal!