Flickr and Google Docs CPD
Today we started the first of our weekly ICT staff training sessions. After a shaky start (which lasted half an hour) we had some fun with Google Docs, working collaboratively on a presentation. Unfortunately, this shaky start made everything appear far more complicated than it actually was. However, as our staff became aware that they could edit each other’s work we began to have more fun! Pictures were added by dragging photos from flickr onto the document. Flickr is useful because, using an advanced search, photos can be found that are copywrite free, or at least only partially restricted using a creative commons license. We will probably talk about properly attributing a persons work them at a later date (I don’t want to scare them off), as we shamefully haven’t included any in our presentation. The presentation can be seen by clicking on the link below.
http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dcpbrp4d_9cd2d3nfv&invite=hhjxqpt
It was mentioned that this technology could have positive implications for teaching and learning, but no concrete ideas were presented as to what these might actually be. Any ideas or actual proof of the use of flickr or Google Docs in the classroom would be appreciated. Please add your comments!
January 24th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
You can access Google docs in school?
Sheesh. You can’t do that in Fife.
Nick
January 24th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
What?! Why on earth would Google Docs need to be banned? And I thought you were at the cutting edge in Scotland!
January 25th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I’ve been using Flickr in my digital graphics GCSE course for several years now. The students use the site to basically create an on-line sketchbook/e-folio. It’s great for peer assessment, of course. The students are all asked to make sure their profiles are effectively empty, and that they mark their work as ‘private’. This means only their peers and myself can access their work. This may be paranoia, but it seems to work okay. I also have a good relationship with the school network manager, so unblocking the site at our Grid ISP level has not been a problem. What is more of a hassle now is the sign-up process. Since they sold to Yahoo it’s a lot more complex (plus the sign up process crashes the version of Safari on our OS X systems which we use in class. grrrr).