BP 8 Flickr in the classroom

Flickr is a remarkable tool sharing for personal photography and images but it can also be used in a lot of classroom settings. In an educational setting Flickr can promote social learning. In one area students form multiple classes can collaborate through visual elements, discussion boards and comments. “Students who are engaged with content demonstrate better learning outcomes and visual media facilitates that sense of connection to subject material” (Educause, 2008).

There are several ways to incorporate Flickr into assignments in a lot of grade levels. For younger ages you can use it in addition to a creative writing project; they can find an image that appeals to them and write a story about that image. The teacher can pick a photo for the story as well. Another project could be to find photos of items, animals, people or art from a specific area of the world to post to their account with a description or story about those items.

Older students could have a collaborative discussion about a specific artwork and the elements in that image. A fun project could be to post a how-to with photos, or a photo book of your vacation, a photo story. Students can also post their own art work for comment and analysis.

The ideas of how to use Flickr in your classroom are endless. If you engage the student in something they love, you can inspire them.

Reference
Educause. (2008). 7 Things to know about Flickr. Retrieved October 12, 2009 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7034.pdf