Photo-sharing Web sites: sites such as Flickr and Webshots are exploding in popularity.Jamie Reinsch has always taken photographs wherever she went. And as an educator who used her summers to travel to watch a space launch, see sea turtle sea turtle, name for several species of large marine turtles found in tropical and subtropical oceans. These turtles are modified for life in the ocean by having flipperlike forelimbs without toes and lightweight shells. nesting sites, and participate in professional conferences, she has plenty of interesting photos to share with students and colleagues. Now, thanks to new Web sites, this teacher and teacher educator from South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. has an easy way to post photos for everyone to see. With the tremendous growth of digital photography and the ease of uploading and accessing pictures online, the use of photographs for educational applications has never been greater. There is no film to develop, the pictures don't fade over time, imperfections can be corrected with editing programs, and it is easy to take and erase countless pictures to get the best shots. Most school districts now feature photographs on their Web sites, and teachers and students may be trying to keep track of hundreds and even thousands of photos. For this reason, users are turning to free and inexpensive photo-sharing Web sites to organize, store, display and distribute their growing collections. Online photos can be viewed as slide shows, downloaded, printed out and e-mailed. But in spite of the explosive growth of such sites--research by Infotrends estimates that 59 million people in the U.S. used a photo-sharing site last year--K-12 educators are struggling with how, or even if, to embrace this developing technology. Differing Views For example, New York's Ossining Union Free School District uses the free Flickr photo-sharing site extensively, and offers scores of online galleries with photos from various district activities. Student names and personal information are never induded as security precautions precautions Infectious disease The constellation of activities intended to minimize exposure to an infectious agent; precautions imply that the isolation of an infected Pt is optional, but not mandatory. , but thanks to such photo collections posted throughout the year, the Ossining community is always connected to its schools. Across the country, but poles apart in thinking about photo-sharing sites, the Seattle Public Schools Seattle Public Schools refers to the school district of Seattle, Washington, USA. It is the largest public school district in Washington, and the 44th largest in the United States, with 47,449 students in 2002. recently blocked all access to Flickr because of objectionable content on the site. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Mark Ahlness, a third grade teacher from Arbor arbor Garden shelter providing privacy and partial protection from the weather, most commonly a lightweight, latticed framework (trellis) of wood or metal with interlaced branches of vines or climbing shrubs trained over it. Heights Elementary School--who ironically is also the founder of the annual Earth Day Grocery Project that uses Flickr to post project photos--the decision was made by the technical staff without discussion. 'A teacher complained, and now all of Flickr is blocked in my school district," he says. An Informed Community More than 100,000 photos from elementary, middle and high schools are already posted on Flickr, and 700,000 school-related pictures appear on the free Webshots site. Photographs on almost every conceivable con·ceive v. con·ceived, con·ceiv·ing, con·ceives v.tr. 1. To become pregnant with (offspring). 2. subject can easily be brought to classrooms, school blogs and Web sites, since each is tagged with searchable topic names. Other popular free and fee-based sites include Photobucket, Photosite, Picasa, Snapfish, Shutterfly, and the Kodak EasyShare Kodak EasyShare is a sub brand of Eastman Kodak Company products identifying a consumer photography system of digital cameras, snapshot printers, printer docks, accessories, camera docks, software, and online print services. EasyShare was first introduced in 2001. Gallery, formerly known as Ofoto. Some of these also allow users to purchase photographs in booklets and albums. The most serious objection to photosharing sites is the general lack of censorship, so searches may uncover images that are not appropriate for classroom use for a variety of reasons including mature content. However, issues in using photo-sharing sites are identical to those in using the Internet at large. In both cases an informed school community, clear policies and appropriate supervision are essential. As Ahlness says, "How can teachers integrate online technology into the curriculum when those tools are prohibited and blocked from access in our schools?" RESOURCES Flickr www.flickr.com Ossining Union Free School District www.ossiningufsd.org Earth Day Grocery Project www.flickr.com/photos/brune Webshots www.webshots.com Odvard Egil Dyrli, dyrli@uconn.edu, is senior editor and emeritus e·mer·i·tus adj. Retired but retaining an honorary title corresponding to that held immediately before retirement: a professor emeritus. n. pl. professor of education at the University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut is the State of Connecticut's land-grant university. It was founded in 1881 and serves more than 27,000 students on its six campuses, including more than 9,000 graduate students in multiple programs. UConn's main campus is in Storrs, Connecticut. . |
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