After hearing through the grapevine that Flickr is one of the more popular choices for my endeavour in creating my photograph portfolio, I signed up for a professional account with them. I have no regrets in using Flickr but only compliments with what they have offered me – unlimited uploads at anytime and unlimited storage space for as many pictures I want. Flickr is easy to use, simple to navigate through, and they portray my pictures in their truest form – i.e. Flickr does not distort my pictures in anyway. I would recommend Flickr to anyone looking for a photography site to host their pictures.
After visiting the cogdogroo wiki site that Alan Levine has set up http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/StoryTools and exploring the various tools that he has linked into the page, I realized that Levine has recommended several ways to tell a story with Flickr. Since I had a user account already created in Flickr and never used “Flicktion” (one of 50 ways to tell a story that Levine shares) before – it was an obvious choice for me to select this tool.
In being involved in teaching grade seven and six for the last eight years, I can see how a story-telling approach can work within a language arts (reading) course and social studies course. Currently, I teach both courses in grade six and within these courses I use various approaches to present course content (e.g. using BrainPop video clips). Also, I have students discover and learn the course material among themselves in a collaborative manner (e.g. group presentations using Powerpoint). Having used a story-telling tool for this digital story assignment, it has given me another way to use story-telling to help students learn. Throughout the school year as I teach grade six, I share many stories, which relate to the course content, with my students. From my own pedagoical experiences, when I tell a story, my students seem to remember the material/concept/content/idea more vividly – I know this because when I assess them, more often than not, my students will relate to the story I have told them. Therefore, in my pedagogical opinion, using social media (e.g. “Flicktion”) can lead students to view the course content in a more effective way by using their own personal experiences/stories to connect to what they are learning.
With two computer labs (each with 30 computers each) in our middle school, students will be given access to this authoring tool. My students can sign up for a free Flickr account and upload pictures they have found meaningful to them that relates to what they are learning. Later on, they can share with others their story-telling creations – reinforcing what they have learned.
I can picture that social media creation among my students will provide for them a blend of imagery, text, and sound – which will help some students be more motviated to learn or assist others in using their creative abilities to express their learning. On the other hand, having had several students with learning challenges (e.g. ADD, ADHD, etc.) in my previous middle school classes, I think social media creation will help them better focus within the classroom; therefore, their learning experience will be positively influenced.