Week 10

Blogs, Wikis,...- This chapter was all about using Flickr. I had heard of Flickr and had looked at flickr but because I am not into taking pictures I never explored it further. I am not sure if I like the idea of everyone sharing their photos with the world (my issue is what if someone takes your picture and now they upload it into Flickr?) but it is a nice way of storing your photos, and organizing them! I hate putting photos into albums and then what do you do with the extra pictures? Throw them out? There are only so many pictures that Grandma wants! It is also nice to be able to get pictures from Flickr. If you took a trip or your class is doing a project and you need a nice picture from somewhere you probably can find it on Flickr.

Richardson, the author of the book above feels that Flickr is one of the best sites on the web and that it's educational potential is huge (pg. 100). I had never given much thought to how flickr could be used in a learning environment other than getting some nice photos from someplace other than google images. There are many good ideas for using in a classroom. The first thing that I have to check is to see if whether teachers and students in my building can access it. It really is beginning to dawn on me how being in such a restrictive environment when it comes to technology really thwarts creativity. It would be nice to hear about all of these great uses for technology. I feel a responsibility as a library media specialist to be on the forefront on many of these ideas but as mentioned earlier it gets frustrating to not be able to use so many of the things that I learn about. Even if I can use them sometimes setting up the technology is such a pain that I find myself avoiding it; and forget about getting others to use it!

Again the collaborative nature of Flickr is what makes it such a great learning tool. The ability to connect with students around the world is incredible. This is supposed to be a global economy and yet schools act as though students will be staying in their town for their entire lives. I think the quote on the back of the book from Erica Boling, Asst. Prof. of Literacy Education at Rutgers sums it up quite nicely, " Hits the nail on the head by emphasizing how technology can be used in ways that go beyond one-on-one student use of software programs and teachers use of PowerPoint for presentations. The book emphasizes the collaborative work and learning that can occur when educators take advantage of all that the Internet has to offer." To read more about Dr. Boling's current research which investigates the impact of technology on teaching and learning and how the integration of technology can challenge the fundamental beliefs that educators hold about literacy education click here.