What is it?
Flickr is currently the most popular online community/repository for photographs that encourages the sort of social dynamics characteristic of Web 2.0 sites. Open to anyone and free to use, Flickr allows users to upload, organize, and edit photos that are then available for viewing by others according to the privacy setting selected by the user – from only the user themselves to anyone visiting the site.
Key Features
- Easy to upload and make basic edits to photographs.
- Ability to search and comment on other users’ images.
- Organize, label, and search for images by tags.
Who uses it?
Because a basic Flickr account is free, the site is popular with professional and amateur photographers, faculty with media storage needs, and virtually anyone else who needs a place to upload and organize a large amount of photographs.
How does it work?
After creating a free account, users can upload and organize pictures in a variety of formats. These photos are placed in a user’s ‘photostream,’ which can be browsed by all users.
Things to consider before using Flickr
- If you simply need a place to make a series of photographs available to students, consider putting them into your woodle course or seeing if they are available on ArtStore.
- Remember that pictures uploaded to Flickr are publicly viewable.
Uses as an Instructional Technology
- Use Flickr as a repository for a student photography project.
- Use Flickr as a resource of analyizable material.
Resources at Wooster
- Instructional Technology provides training for Flickr.
- A Flickr account may be created at www.flickr.com
- 7 Things you should know about flickr