Module 6

Exploring photos and videos on the web.

What is Flickr?

Flickr is a free format for storing, sorting and showing photos online. It is a great resource for several reasons. Firstly, the capacity to store the thousands of photographs that we tend to take when using digital cameras.Secondly, it is easily accessed from all over the world, allowing us to share photos with friends and family. Finally it allows us easy accessibility for sorting, editing and printing.

What are content filters?

There are two types of content filters -
   *Safety Level  (safe, moderate and restricted).This allows you to choose appropriate photos for your audience.
   * Content Type - photos/videos, illustration/art, screencasts/screenshots. When uploading to Flickr, the person needs to decide where these images fit in the two categories. This allows viewers to filter their own access to your content.

What is safe search?

Safe search allows followers to set the level of content that they wish to be exposed to.

What are tags?

Tags are key words that assist in the sorting of photos - eg. jenny bali 2011.

How do I share photos with a group?

To share photos, you need to be a member of the the group. Click on the "Add to a group " link in the actions menu. Choose the group, then add your photos. 

  Reflections on Image sharing on the web.

 Using Flickr to share and store images allows me to organise the many digital images that I have collected myself. Something I have come to find in this digital age, is that because we are no longer loading and paying for a 12 or 24 film, we tend to take thousands of photos. We then store them away, often forgetting the volume of photos or videos we have stored. Within a short period of time even the most reluctant photographer creates a huge amount of images.  Flicker allows us to not only sort and store our images, but also allows us to choose who has access to our images. Access is a very important issue to consider when using the web. Who should have access to images and who owns the right to those images. As educators, we tend to be very careful when accessing the web with our students, but it is also important that we show them how to access and use these useful tools, without breaking copyright restrictions, as well as not becoming targets of inappropriate persons who may be trawling the web. The huge benefit of being able to access such facilities is the ability to visually inform students on so many levels. The wealth of image resources are endless. Therefore the uses to us as educators knows no boundaries. What an amazing resource we have at our fingertips!