BP4_2010041_Web2.0_Tools: Flickr

When we were assigned to set up our PLE for this course, I absolutely loved the whole concept of a PLE and immediately found most of what we had to do useful. However, including Flickr on our ETC tab was not as clear to me. I mean, isn’t this just a site to share cute photos of my family with grandparents 2000 miles away?

The answer is a definitive “NO!” C. Brogan (2006), in quoting Dave Gary’s Flickr account, describes Flickr as a platform, not a photo sharing tool. She continues with several business uses for Flickr:

· Upload product designs for review with a privacy filter, then get feedback and revisions from associates through the comments feature

· Create office or class culture by uploading positive candid pictures

· Create engaging status reports with screenshots or pictorials, and add notes with the comments feature

· Use photos to review, update, and strategize about your store

· Catch the spirit of a meeting or conference presentation by including photos of the event

· Create a customer image base

· Share and expand product branding

The only caveat is that you cannot sell anything, which is against the Flickr agreement and may result in Flickr closing the account.

As an educational tool, Flickr can be used powerfully in several ways. E. Ruiz (2006) discusses one use that can be used in almost any course and with students of other languages: Tell a Story in Five Frames. This activity has two parts- create and tell the story with only the title to guide its meaning, and a response by the group through Flickr comments or other written means.

The SlideShare presentation below shows other educational uses including using Flickr’s World map to explore or go on virtual field trips, using tags to explore topics and current events, and create diagrams and vocabulary guides among other activities. It also shows you how to do these activities and set up your Flickr account.

There are also many tools to use with Flickr. Here are just some of the 100+ tools as listed on the Mashable Social Media Guide (2010) site:

Flickr is a fascinating tool that can create many different kinds of activities, allowing for much differentiation. I get it- and I plan to use it in my classroom.

Resources:

Brogan, C. (17 May, 2006). Flickr as a business tool. Stepcase Lifehack. Retrieved April 3, 2010, from http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/flickr-as-a-business-tool.html

Educational uses of Flickr. (2009). Slideshare. Retrieved April 3, 2010, from

http://www.slideshare.net/shaunna/educational-uses-of-flickr

Flickr toolbox: 100+ tools for Flickr addicts. (2010). Mashable: the Social Media Guide. Retrieved April 3, 2010 from http://mashable.com/2007/08/04/flickr-toolbox/

Ruiz, E. (2006, April). Educational use of Flickr: visual storytelling, visual cues. Message posted to efl 2.0 blog, retrieved April 3, 2010: http://efl20.com/index.php/2007/06/educational-use-of-flickr-visual-storytelling-visual-cues/