Fun with Flickr in chapter 7

I'm really glad that I had the chance to experience Flickr in class because now I have read all there is to know about Flickr and it was a much more interesting read. I think that's the point about reading things in general. You can connect to it so much better if you have experienced it too. I'm not so sure I would actually go out and try Flickr without having the exposure to it in class. I thought Richardson did a very good job of selling it in chapter 7. Of course I can see myself using it for personal reasons (sharing, connecting with my family and friends through photos online) but I can certainly see using it in my classroom as a instructional tool and also allowing the students to use in in a variety of ways. You've probably heard the saying that "a picture is worth a 1000 words" and I think that can apply as a way to reach out and better communicate with our students. As Richardson states, it's free and it's easy!! What more could an educator ask for? And I like that, as a teacher, I can control access to the photos which I think is a good thing. I could see Flickr being useful for all content areas too. As a chemistry teacher, I think it would be useful to take pictures of laboratory set-ups or to show the timeline of an experiment, especially if a school does not have a laboratory. This could be a good substitute. I believe that when a student can use all of their senses to learn with it makes a lesson so much more effective. If my students can not only hear what I am saying but connect to what I am saying through a photo then there ability to understand is much greater. On a personal/work related note, I've decided to use Flickr this summer to document our field research which takes place in the western mountains of North Carolina.....now that is some pretty country!! And I know the pictures will be a great tool to show future students that come in our lab to do research but have not had the experience of doing field research. How cool is that!