Photo+Sharing

Task 5: Photo Sharing and Slideshows
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//Above images created by [|Spell with Flickr], using Flickr One Letter photo pool. Click any letter to see original image with attribution and CC license. How I got it here on my wiki page: I copied the big mess of HTML code from the box on the Spell with Flickr page, then clicked "Embed Widget" (the TV icon) and pasted it under "Other Html." (I did it as two separate words). Feel free to try it on your sandbox wiki page (you know you want to!). For LOADS more Flickr goodness, visit [|Flickr Services], [|FD's FlickrToys] and [|Great Flickr Tools Collection] -- after you have learned about Flickr!//

__**Introduction**__ You may have noticed that nearly every page on this wiki includes a photograph or image that relates visually to the content. Most images on this wiki come from the [|Flickr Creative Commons collection]. You have learned how Creative Commons allows users to publish their original work on the web, and give legal permission to others to use, adapt and remix the work. "Flickr CC" currently includes over 60 million photos, from users all over the world. Creative Commons, folks. Wow.

What is Flickr? In a nutshell, [|Flickr] is the Web's most popular photo-sharing site. Let's begin as usual with a little insight from our friends at CommonCraft.

Online Photo Sharing in Plain English (2:51) media type="custom" key="2964844"

So, online photo-sharing has been around for about a decade, but Web 2.0 sites like Flickr offer more than just a place to store your photos and share them with family and friends through email. Flickr is a searchable, social, user-driven community. The social power of Flickr comes from [|tagging], which is the process of adding meaningful keywords to photos (or any type of content). If you’ve ever used a subject heading in a library catalog or written names or places on the back of a photograph, you’re already familiar with tagging! Flickr's public photo tags are visible to the whole community, so the entire collection becomes organized and categorized, searchable and browsable. Flickr users can also comment on each others' photos and create Groups to develop photo pools (shared photo collections) and have discussions about any topic or interest.

IMPORTANT! Tagging and Folksonomies - Two Defining Attributes of Web 2.0 Photo tagging is an example of a [|folksonomy], an important Web 2.0 concept that refers to the collaborative organizing of content by everyday users. Unlike a highly structured, professionally developed and controlled taxonomy (such as library subject headings), a folksonomy evolves over time, as more users add more tags to more content. Tagging is a bit messy, can be very individualized, and is non-heirarchical (i.e. there are no "sub-tags"); For example, a photo of your dog may be tagged as dog, beagle, rover and even cute if that means something to you. (Also, tags cannot have spaces, e.g. chocolate chip cookie is actually three tags, whereas chocolate_chip_cookie (or chocolatechipcookie) is one tag.

The concept of tagging is not unique to Flickr. Many Web 2.0 services incorporate tagging to add user-defined value and organization. Bloggers often tag their posts, and clicking on their tags may take you to a listing of all of their own posts tagged as such, or possibly a listing of ALL KNOWN blog entries tagged as such, e.g. through a service such as Technorati, which currently tracks over 70 million blogs.

SIDEBAR: Visual Literacy is Essential This task is not meant to be a primer on Visual Literacy, but such a critical skill set can't go unmentioned (without loss of sleep on my part). For our students to be visually literate in the 21st Century, they must be able to "interpret, use, appreciate, and create images and video using both conventional and 21st Century media in ways that advance thinking, decision-making, communication and learning" (Engauge - Digital Age Literacies ). As you explore Flickr, I hope you will consider how you might incorporate more visual literacy-building activities into your teaching, and also how you can teach your students about Creative Commons, because, believe me, they don't know.

Here is a brief outline of reasons for [|Communicating Visually in the 21st Century] from David Jakes; and please visit [|JakesOnline] for suggestions about using online resources (including Flickr) to improve students' visual literacy skills. The UC Graduate School of Business is now asking applicants to use visual literacy. If you are interested, read the posts on Dan Meyer's ([|dy/dan]) blog series about **design and visual literacy**, The four posts in the series: [|Chicago Hope] / [|Misunderstanding Chicago] / [|Contest: The Four-Slide Sales Pitch] / [|Four-Slide Sales Pitch: Final Entries]

__**Discovery Exercises**__
 * NOTE:** The discovery exercises and task **do not require** you to JOIN Flickr, but you are certainly welcome/encouraged to do so -- a good place to start if you want to join Flickr is the official  [|Flickr Tour].


 * BIGGER NOTE: Please be mindful** as you explore Flickr that not all images are free to use! **Just because you can view it and you know how to capture it doesn't mean you have permission to use it.** See notes at the top of the Flickr Search Tips page for a few words about copyright and Flickr. The good news is, Flickr currently has over 60 million images licensed under Creative Commons, and also, many Flickr photographers will graciously give permission for educational and classroom use of their photos. Incidentally, this same concept holds true for Google or other image searches. We are responsible for honoring copyright, seeking permission, citing sources and //teaching these essential ethics to our students//. For a handy reference to traditional copyright, please see TechLearning's [|Copyright & Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers].

Expect to spend at least an hour "roaming" in Flickr -- the time should fly by, as you are exploring an amazing resource and this should be FUN!

The following **HELP Pages** are designed to assist you in **Parts 1 and 2** of these exercises.
 * 1) Anatomy of the Flickr Explore Page (The many possibilities for exploring photos in Flickr)
 * 2) Anatomy of a Flickr Photo Page (How to navigate a photo page; how to download or link to a photo)
 * 3) Flickr Basic & Creative Commons Searching (It's important to understand the difference)

Part 1: Explore Flickr (~15 min) Spend a few minutes just getting to know Flickr. One of the best ways to do that is visit the [|Explore] page, where you can check out: Most Interesting Photos, Most Popular Tags, Places & Maps, Groups, and general Search. (Try browsing and sample searching in each of these modes). Flickr treats each search word as a separate tag, so you may have better results using phrases, e.g. "long island" or compound tags, e.g. long_island or longisland. Just have to experiment.

Part 2: Find some photos in the CC (~15-30min, depending on your personality and chosen search task!) Pick a **concept, topic or theme** of your choice (preferably something you could use in your teaching or professional learning) and search the [|Flickr Creative Commons] to find **3-5** (or more if you choose) photos matching the theme (or telling the story, or supporting the idea or topic).**Download the LARGE (unless it's really big) size of each photo** (easiest to save them all to a single folder), **being sure to** **save the photo page URL** and photographer's **username** (I recommend that you paste them right into the bottom of your wiki sandbox page) so that you can give credit.


 * PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT ** to view the help guide for searching Creative Commons Photos, as it is a bit different from the regular search and NOT OBVIOUS.  The search box at the top of the CC page is actually the "regular" Flickr search, which is definitely confusing. You have to click "see more" to get "in" the CC license pool...

An easy way to search all CC photos is to use [|Flickr Advanced Search] and check the box that says "Only search within CC licensed photos." (If you click the regular Search without entering a keyword, you will return a search box that allows you to select Advanced Search).

STUCK for ideas? (A few possible ideas: geometric shapes, colors, architectural styles, barns, lighthouses, bridges, vocabulary terms, natural elements, transportation, monuments, people, cultures, seasons, insects, animals, plants, landforms, billboards/signs, feelings/moods, writing prompts, inspiration, weather, technology, communities, holidays, collections, symbols, simple machines...)

Part 3: Explore some Educational Possibilities for Flickr (~15-30 min) You can't help it, you are teachers, and you want to know about the educational possibilities of Flickr. For a mere start, take a look at some of these resources and examples:

> A blog post full of ideas for using Flickr to support classroom learning, including //Carl Sandburg Meets Flickr//, in which he uses images to illustrate a poem (think poems, quotations, vocabulary, figurative language, literary passages, also think slideshow or digital story).
 * Collections of Ideas**
 * **David Jakes -** [|Classroom Uses of Flickr]
 * **Alan Levine** - **//What Can We Do With Flickr?//**
 * [|Find Photos to Illustrate, Inspire or Support Most any Idea or Concept];
 * [|Tell Stories or Support Writing Activities] ;
 * [|Map Photos to Geographic Locations] (Geotagging);
 * [|Create (or enhance) Slideshows and Visual Presentations];
 * [|Add Notes, Annotations and Hyperlinks to Photos];
 * [|Extend Flickr with Lots of Cool and Useful Applications];
 * [|Create Groups to Share Photos and have Online Discussions Around a Particular Topic, Theme or Idea];
 * **[|Flickr Lesson Plans]** from Education Grad Students (discussions posted in a Flickr Group -- using the tool to explore the tool!)


 * Individual Lessons/Examples**
 * Teacher Dude - [|Teaching Vocabulary Using Flickr]
 * Darren Kuropatwa (via CoolCatTeacher) - [|Fascinating Flickr Assignment to Teach Math] (A high school Trigonometry project. Be sure to check out the student projects and the project rubric!)
 * Shelley Paul - Flickr-Inspired Poetry - These are from an adult writing workshop, but the lesson could be adapted to any age.
 * MisterTeacher's Flickr For Teachers - [|Blogging Photos Part 1]; [|Blogging Photos Part 2]

> All kinds of cool "stuff" to help you get creative and extend your use of Flickr.
 * Further Resources (provided for your reference)**
 * David Jakes - [|Flickr Resources]
 * Anne Davis - [|Putting the Pedagogy into the Tools: Flickr]
 * Josh Lowenstein - [|Newbie's Guide to Flickr]
 * [|Flickr Services], [|FD's FlickrToys] and the  [|Great Flickr Tool Collection]
 * Jeff Utecht - [|Getting to Know Flickr] (Screencast from October 2006))
 * Educause -[| 7 things you should know about Flickr]

A Quick Word About Photo-Posting Etiquette When posting identifiable photos of other people (especially minors), is it advisable to get the person's permission before posting their photo in a publicly accessible place like Flickr. Please see your school coordinators or someone in technology if you do not know who has/does not have photo permissions. Never upload pictures that weren't taken by you (unless you have the photographer's consent) and always give credit (and a link) when you include photos taken by someone else in your blog, wiki, slide presentation or digital story.

__**Task:**__

Embedding is the act of publishing media such as a slideshow or video clip WITHIN a blog, wiki or webpage. The embedded media can be viewed, played or "interacted with" directly in the blog post or the wiki page -- instead of being a link that requires you to download the media or takes you to a different webpage to view it. Every video you have watched as part of your discovery exercises during this course has been EMBEDDED.

You want me to do what? Some basic instructions about embedding are included at the bottom of the page, hints for each particular site are included in the descriptions and here are some  powerfully helpful screenshots for finding the embed code on each site.

Part 1: Check out each these sample slideshows. Each is embedded in or linked on the page. You may be able to guess that the chosen theme was to retell the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. They were created using several photos from Flickr Creative Commons. Please note the ATTRIBUTIONS I have provided below the slideshows. Each includes the photographer's username and a link to the photo page in Flickr. Be sure to create a similar attribution list for your slideshow.

Slide.com - http://www.slide.com/ Roll over each image to see the caption. This is not the best choice for my particular presentation, but just going for effect. This site also offers dozens of themes, features and options for your slideshow. You do not have to sign up to create a slide show.

NOTE: Just use the MYSPACE code for Slide.com. Copy the code in the white box and ignore the rest of the steps. More help here.

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Bubbleshare - http://www.bubbleshare.com/ Click the orange Play arrow to view. This is the most basic of Bubbleshare options. They have lots of themes and sliding shows. The text is actually speech balloons. Bubbleshare is extremely easy to use. You have to register to use Bubbleshare.

NOTE: Click Blog Album to access the various slideshow formats and get the embed code. More help here. ALSO -- It's a good idea to leave lots of white space in your speech/text boxes (if you use them). Sometimes words get mysteriously cut off.

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Pikistrips - http://www.pikistrips.com/ (Okay, not a slideshow, but how cool is this? Pikistrips searches Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-licensed photos for your use in creating a comic strip and automatically puts the attribution on the corner of the photo. Or you can upload your own photos. Pretty awesome. The only downside of this site is the public gallery -- unfortunately, people create some tasteless stuff).

NOTE: The EMBED CODE for Pikistrips is MESSED UP -- so, just download your comic as a JPG and insert as a picture (instead of embedding) on your wiki page or blog post. media type="custom" key="2964976"

Rock You! - http://rockyou.com/ This site adds rock music as a standard, and there are dozens of song options, but you can choose "no music" if you prefer, which was done because it would play automatically when the page loaded. It has lots of options for the look of the slideshow -- like "old movie," obviously, just for fun. You do not have to register to use RockYou.

NOTE: Just use the MYSPACE code (copy the code in the yellow box) for RockYou! [|Hungry Catepillar Movie]

Animoto - http://animoto.com/ (Click the Play arrow to view - no captions in this one. Animoto analyzes your images and creates a 30-second "music video" style presentation. There is free music on the site, or you can upload your own (mindful of copyright, of course). You must have at least 10 images and register to use Animoto.

NOTE: You can find the embed code under the "thumb tack" icon, select embed and choose "other sites." More help here. media type="custom" key="2965256"

Photo Credits (it took me ten photos to tell the story): Caterpillar DXO by SantaRosa OLD SKOOL - http://www.flickr.com/photos/santarosa/430944204/ Apple Picking 3 by ndrwfgg - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndrwfgg/282363160/ Pears by S Baker - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahbaker/272685663/ Mandarin Oranges by sonictk - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonictk/395044483/ My Dads Plums!! by Matt Batchelor - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbatchelor/271346465/ Strawberries by Groover FW - http://www.flickr.com/photos/grooverfw/379743273/ 060511food by Dan4th - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dan4th/144890303/ Spring '07 by SoniaMia - http://www.flickr.com/photos/98088302@N00/428839157/ Chrysalis by canais - http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanais/224638653/ Malay Lacewing by B_Cool - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bengchye_loo/417268173/

Part 2: Create and Embed your own Slideshow! There are many possibilities for using slideshows to enhance classroom learning, and most slide show tools are fun and relatively easy to work with. Also, embedding is an essential Web 2.0 skill. A crucial part of becoming technology literate in the 21st century is being able to "figure stuff out." Thus, I am not providing training-wheel help resources for each slide show site, though I am providing help with the embedding part. Play around and see what you can do!

Select one of the slideshow tools above and create a slideshow using your 3-5 (or more) Flickr CC photos. When you have finished your slideshow, EMBED it into your sandbox wiki page. Be sure to include proper attribution for all photos -- link to the photo and name of both photo and photographer.

HELP Page: Embedding each type of slideshow into Wikispaces.