Week 3- 7 things you should know about… Flickr

Flickr is a photo sharing site that allows its users to upload and manage their photos on the web. Before reading the article “7 things you should know about…Flickr” and signing up for a free account, I had really never heard of the site. I have to say I will definitely consider using this for my personal use and can imagine how it can be utilized in a classroom setting. I spend most of my time taking pictures with my phone, like so many other people, then uploading them and saving the photos to my computer. Some of the features include the ability to share photos, comment on photos, assign tags, select copyright settings and create photo sets.

The article points out several benefits of using Flickr in the classroom. First, it gives students the opportunity to share their experiences and build relationships with other students through comments and feedback. Therefore, students form a sense of a community (www.educause.edu/eli). In addition, it houses images that would not be stored anywhere else, since they are owned by individuals. This means that “the range of visual resources for a specific topic is enormous” (www.educause.edu/eli). This provides students the opportunity to explore many interests. There are also a downsides to the use of Flickr in the classroom. For instance, comments are not controlled, therefore both positive and negative comments can be shared. Also, Flickr’s tags are subject spelling mistakes or incorrect tags since they are reliant on the users which may make it more difficult for students to search and find what they are looking for (www.educause.edu/eli).


The article thinks there is a bright future for Flickr and thinks that many of their features will expand by continuing to partner with other companies to create scrapbooks, calendars and so forth. It is also believed that the site may “put pressure on colleges and other universities to develop tools that are similarly attractive to students and faculty” (www.educause.edu/eli).

7 Things You Should Know About Flickr | EDUCAUSE.edu. (2014, January 1). . Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-should-know-about-flickr.