Flickr- http://www.flickr.com/
Flickr is my favorite photo sharing website. I am really particular about having my pictures all over the internet so I like that you can set it to private. It is also a community of sorts. You can share with your friends, tag your photos, and comment on them. You can also access it from anywhere and on any device that connects to the internet like your cell phone.
A teacher could use this for any grade level or subject. If you set it to private and only allow your students and their families to have access. You may have to monitor the comments though. As a parent I would love to have seen more pictures from my child’s school day. You could also have a student photographer of the day or week. There are many options to incorporate this into your classroom.
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/
Now many of you may be thinking that Facebook does not have a place in the classroom. I disagree to an extent. I do not think it should accessed into the classroom, but it is going to be outside the classroom, like it or not. My guess would be that Facebook is the website that most students are on after school more than any other site. Coming from personal experience I do not like to have to check 7 different websites each day. Like right now I have my UWA email, my work email, my personal email, black board, and Facebook that I feel like I have to check each day. If a teacher created a Facebook group that would eliminate at least 1 additional site a student or parent has to check. For elementary school it may be geared more towards the parents, but let’s face it (no pun intended), everyone has a Facebook. I could see this as a plus because when one person asks a question, often times others have the same question. If a student or parent could visit the group page and see the question then the teacher wouldn’t have to answer each parent in different emails. Another HUGE plus to the groups would be that you do not have to be friends on Facebook to be in the same group. This solves the problem of students being friends with teachers on Facebook. A Facebook group would also be great for teachers too!
Flickr sounds like a great website! I have never used it, but I have heard of it. Privacy settings really set this site apart from others. I have often wondered and looked for an easy site to share pictures of my students with their parents, but I've been to afraid to post them on the internet like you said. I absolutely love this idea! I may even go back and make one for my students last year and share it with their parents! Thanks for sharing this site!
ReplyDeleteI really like what you said about Facebook groups being a great way to communicate with parents and even other teachers. Like you first stated, when I saw you put Facebook on here I was a bit skeptical at first. I never thought about using it as a communication tool for work. After reading your argument for Facebook groups, I believe I agree! I like that you do not have to be friends with the group members, but you can still communicate openly. Every parent has a chance to read what other parents are asking and thinking and the teacher only has to respond one time. I love that idea!
I've heard of Flickr but never used it. I agree about the privacy settings. What a great setting to have. I'm so afraid to post pictures of students on an open site. This would be great to have and upload pictures throughout the year to let parents see what all is going on in the class!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the idea about using Facebook as a resource for parents and (some) students. I was thinking about making my own page, but I like the idea of making a group page even better! With all the websites/emails that parents are logging on to check, I agree- this is one less thing they would have to check because they are already on! Who doesn't check Facebook every day? :)