I am surprising myself at how easily I am managing to accomplish these learning tasks. Yes, I can set up new accounts, yes I can upload my own photos (100MB a month), search through shared photos and then upload them using HTML to my own blog!
Flickr has a wide library of images that can be accessed. Many is the time that I have searched for images only to have them too large/too small for use in Powerpoints, or have watermarks across them. What I like about Flickr is "The Commons" - a wide range of public photographs that have been sourced from museums and galleries around the world. This photograph came from the Smithsonian Collection.
In previous blogs, I have been reflecting on how my learning has been situated within the framework of Engagement Theory. I am now realising that my e-learning journey is also part of a grand Learning Design Sequence. We have been given learning activities, resources and the support to make meaning of the content. Again, I am constructing my own meaning through interacting with the resources and activities, and tutorial sessions where active discussions and conversations centre on cooperative learning and sharing of information. Oliver (1999, p 244) states that we should consider "content as a resource for learning rather than the focus of learning".
My questions are how could these tools be used in a school environment? Can Flickr and Picnik be accessed in EQ schools? I read on the Yahoo Terms of Service page, that children under the age of 13 need parents to create a family account for them, and if so, how could they then use these accounts in a school setting? I have not used ICTs in the classroom, and do not know what is possible in the school environment. I do know that Flickr Commons would certainly be a great place to source photographs for projects and presentations.
References:
Oliver, R. Exploring strategies for online teaching and learning. Distance Education. (1999) Vol 20 (2) p 240- 254.
The Learning Design Construct. Downloaded July 2009 from http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm
Hi Jane,
ReplyDeleteGood question. I am not sure if Flickr and Picnik can be accessed in EQ schools. My first thought is that probably not, but that is only based on my assumptions.
Anyone else out there have an authoritive answer?
Regards,
Andrew
I was thinking further on this and perhaps these are applications that could be used in homework or at home situations. However, this then leads to other issues of equity - not all students have access to computers at home. How could we then provide students with support?
ReplyDeleteBlogs and wikis perhaps, but then that comes back to the same issue of the haves and have nots.
Another consideration in using this at the students home is the capacity of the home plans for internet usage?
I feel that I am being a bit of a nay-sayer in some of my hypotheticals - perhaps that is just me being "accented".