Flickr & Picnik.

Flickr is a fun program for online managing and sharing of photographs. The partner program Picnik allows editing such as touch ups, cropping, adding words or fun symbols etc.
It allows organisation in sets or collections and groups for sharing. Groups are public or private and each group has a pool for sharing pics and videos and also a discussion board.
The map feature is fun, photos and videos can be placed on a map to show where they were taken.

Here are a couple of holiday
shots I had fun with

















And this is one from flickr



Flickr has endless applications in the educational setting but caution of course should be used with students as the system is enormous with millions of images, many unsuitable for students to view.

A learning manager could set up a group of images on a particular topic, perhaps assessment related, set to private or via invitation only. Students could then add relevant images for use by the class and all could discuss via the forum.

An example can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/tsigane/

This links to a Bohemian History topic and would be excellent for my secondary history class, as they are studying popular cultures from the late 19th century, one of whom is Gypsies.
The learning manager could make use of groups such as this one, providing they were thoroughly investigated prior to the learning.

Based on Oliver’s theory (1999) my hypothetical is:

a) Learners are given an assessment item around popular culture of the past 100 years, requiring documented research and an oral presentation. (Tasks)
b) Existing Flickr groups and the establishment of a groups/s relevant to topic support the learner in their task ( Resources)
c) Learning Manager provides support and guidance throughout the Flickr process.(support)

Flickr provides fun and a worthwhile learning experience to engage students.

References

Oliver, R. (1999). Exploring strategies for on-line teaching and learning. Distance Education, 20(2), 240-254.
http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm Viewed August 9, 2009.