Hello, Photo

Amanda's 

Slightly Overwhelming, 

Slightly Frightening,

Potentially Exciting

Learning Journey 

into Photo Sharing Sites

In the past, I have only used Facebook to share photos. I know how to upload them, crop them and turn them so that they are not displayed sideways (and I only learned how to do this because my sister messaged me and expressed her frustration at having to turn her laptop in order to view half of my photos). Lately, I have opted not to share photos online since I am my own worst critic. I know someone who Photoshops every one of her photos before she shares them on Facebook and, while I have seriously considered this option, who has the time for that?!?

While reading Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson (2010), I was inspired to use Flickr. I went in to explore Flickr with the best intentions, but I finally had to admit that I just don't jive with the site.

I feel like there are many ways that Flickr can be introduced to the classroom environment. For example, creative commons photos could be used to create trading cards for historical figures or literary characters. This is a lesson that I have commonly used in classrooms and I know that some students feel that they are at a disadvantage because of their artistic abilities. Using Flickr or another site such as Big Huge Labs could provide students with an alternative way to complete this project. While I appreciate the sharing and possibility of connecting students with experts in their current area of study, I think that many of the reasons I would use Flickr can be addressed by Big Huge Labs without the concern for privacy or appropriateness. 

Richardson (2010) mentions that Flickr can be used as a searchable visual resource for students; however, he does raise concerns about the lack of regulation and the onus on uploaders to tag their own photos, which can make searching for specific images very easy or very difficult depending on the owner's tags. Agnus, Stuart and Thelwall (2010) confirm that image searchability and subsequent use in educational settings can be difficult due to image applicability, educational quality and number of available, high quality images in different subject areas. Flickr searches for items related to Language Arts, Art and Education are the most successful (Agnus, Stuart & Thelwall, 2010). In the library right now, I am trying to develop the online math and science resources available to teachers in our high school so Flickr may not be the best resource for this.

In the end, I could see myself possibly using Flickr for current events work, sharing class photos or searching groups that I am interested in, but I likely won't be using it extensively in my private life. 

And then I found Picasa. For me, Picasa was like a breath of fresh air compared to the previous two photosharing sites! When cleaning my house the other day I realized that, while my husband and I have albums for our wedding and engagement photos, we have nothing to display our honeymoon photos. Picasa has remedied that - we now have a honeymoon slideshow!

I like that, unlike with Flickr, photo editing can occur right in Picasa and then the edited images can simply be uploaded to the web. Picasa's editing capabilities are easy to use and intuitive. Many of the photos in our honeymoon folder were overexposed and had harsh shadows (see photo on left) but after dedicating some time to editing using Picasa, and Picnik, a linked photoediting service, I have a series of photos that are a great reminder of the time that my husband and I shared (see much improved photo on right).

Once uploaded to the web, a group of photos can be changed into a slideshow, posted to Blogger, made into a collage, made into a movie, emailed to friends, printed, purchased or further edited. How do you do all of those things? For someone like myself, who sometimes has difficulty understanding "computer-speak," Picasa provides slides and detailed instructions with many of its program options. Using the prompts and instructions that Picasa provides, I have collaged some wedding photos that were "saved" with editing that I was able to do on Picasa. These photos no longer need to be hidden in my digital files; they are now good enough to display proudly!

From Wedding

My mind is brimming with ways to use Picasa in our high school. For classroom applications, Picasa would be a quick and easy way to document a classroom activity as a slideshow, create a collage for a special event or make a movie at the end of the term to document the moments and memories. In a high school biology or chemistry class, students could take photos of a lab as it progresses and create a captioned movie of what took place at each step. This would be a great way to have students demonstrate an understanding of the process and details of a lab. Picnik has a section in their Help pages called Picnik for Educators that provides ideas for how educators could incorporate Picnik into the classroom (and I see that they have a lab dissection listed there but I guess that great minds think alike because I had that brainstorm well before I found this resource). I used the lesson "Creating a Website Header" for myself and created the new blog header that now appears at the top of my blog (insert squeal of delight here!).

I am so excited to have found Picasa! It makes my photos look beautiful, allows me to share them easily and makes me proud of what I am able to create. My photos may not be PhotoshoppedFacebook the next time I log on!

References

Angus, E., Stuart, D., & Thelwall, M. (2010). Flickr's potential as an academic image resource: An exploratory study. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 42, 268-278.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3^rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.