[MUSIC] In this episode, we look at how teachers can use Flickr as an online classroom. Flickr is a free website that can be used for storing and sharing of images. Lynette Zeeng uses Flickr to support her face to face photography classes. Within the communication design and film and television degrees at Swinburne University of Technology. In this episode, we look at the structure of the course. We look at why Lynette choose to use Flickr. And how she's incorporated student feedback and student submission into her online teaching practice. >> I've been teaching photography for a number of years. And it was quite important that the curriculum remained the same. But it was taught in a way that would benefit student, teachers and be on course in a sense with the new age student. I looked at how I was teaching and how I could adapt what I was doing, but to the new technology of Flickr. We used to show each other work. And we were restricted to that group. So only the people in, in a particular group saw a particular amount of work. But I looked at Flickr and I thought it had the things that were suitable. It was visual. It gave me the metadata. They could comment on the visual. They could interact with each other through the discussion board. >> Well, the main point is to upload our own photos, but also to look at other people's work, and to interact with other people. >> So this is my Flickr site. So when I log in it comes up with my personal site. So, like any social network each person in there group has their own, Flickr site. What I do each time I start new group at the start of a semester is I give them a different name, so that I know, which group it is. And you get a choice of having a totally public group; a private group, where you invite the students to participate; or semi private group where they ask to join the group. And that's what I do. I'll go to administration just to explain this is when once I've started my group these are all the rules of my group. It's G-rated, so they can't put nudes up and they can't put offensive words up or anything like that. I make myself the administrator, which means I'm in control of the group. So I can ban people if they're offensive or add people or basically check on everything. The group pool. So, you can see there's 8,570 items. That means how many photographs there is in that semester that have been put into the pool. Further down here, there's a discussion board, and we talk about that. That's where students can start a topic on any photographic subject. And it can be something that's within the curriculum or it can be something that's extending the curriculum. So once they've started or joined the group, then they start their own page. Which they're in control of so every time I give them an assignment or a task, they would put 30 images up on the main photo stream. But then, they have to start what are called a set. And the set will have the task for that particular assignment and that will get marked. I'll just click on the set and it shows me all the photos that she's done for that particular assignment. And if I click on detail it gives me a slightly bigger image of them all. So, I can quickly look at her work and see or comment on it, if I see that there's one that could be improved. Or if she had one that was on her Flickr, her whole photo stream, that was better, I can email her and go back to that. So, this particular set has already had one comment. And I've said excellent start to the semester so she can read the comments I've made. She might get a comment saying well, look, you haven't really covered this part of the assignment; I suggest that you do more. So they would Flickr mail me and say well I've, I've taken heed of what you've said or I've gone and done so more photographs. Can you have another look at my set? If I wanted to find out more about the photograph and this is really helpful for me not only as a lecturer, but also for other students. They say that is a fantastic shot, how did you take that photo? And, if I click on More properties. It tells me it was taken on the 18th of August at 5:41 Eastern Standard Time and it was posted to Flickr on August 22nd. They can upload their images at any time that suits them. They can comment on work any time that suits them. Any interaction students do, it's dated and timed, which is fantastic for me as a lecturer. And it gives me all the metadata that is in the camera. So it tells me that she used, a 1/1500 of a second, her aperture was 6.3. And all the things that as a photographer I need to know. Another way that is really good and helpful is if I go into my mail. For instance I've just marked Hugh's work, and there was a problem with some of his work. He's changed sets. So rather than have to try and find him through the student thing. I've gone it here and he said to me, I've changed my movement and depth of field sets plus renamed the images. Which are things I've told him to do when I've sent him the Flickr mail. And so could I have another look at his work? He can have a look at it and see who's commented on his work. And if he says, Oh I think I like what she said. If he clicks on her name, it goes straight to her site as well. So he can look at her work and then comment on her work as well so it's fairly, connected in that way. [BLANK_AUDIO] Since the introduction of Flickr, the students just love it. In general terms they just think it's the best thing and, often you get comments like, Why don't other lecturers use it? Or this is great and well done Swinburne for using it. >> It's, really easy to use and it's very engaging. It means that, all the students know about each other's work in a really easy to handle way. >> If we are in a class of 20, I'm not going to talk to everyone face to face. But online we're kind of bit less scared to have our opinions and it might be more, maybe more open to discussion. >> They feel that it benefits them and it actually extends their ability. Their work has improved by seeing everybody's work. And also the way that I've set it up where I've made it compulsory for students to comment on other student's work. They feel that the benefit has also been by the critiquing of their peers, not just the lecturers. They love the fact that they don't have to continually give out prints, or give me prints to look at. And the other benefit going back here to the students is they're not out of pocket. Nothing costs them anything except the original purchase of their camera. So they don't have to print out images they don't have to use chemicals all those sorts of things so it's beneficial that way as well. I had a technician set with me for a couple of hours and I thought, oh yes, I can do this. And it was actually the Friday before classes started, I thought, I can't do this. And I felt very, daunted by the prospect because I thought, I don't understand this at all. But I persevered. [BLANK_AUDIO] I think it's important that they have the face to face where they're learning how to use their cameras. We go through thoroughly the tasks that are expected of them and how to get the best out of the task that they have to do. >> I think the combination of face to face and online is really well managed. I think if it was purely internet-based, it would feel really cold and odd, learning like that. >> The first class, I sit with them, we go through it. How to start a Flickr account, how it's all going to work, and navigate through the site on how to make your sets, how to tell when youre lecture is marked. So it's a very clear guidelines for them, and for any sessions that I have on how it's all going to work. Originally sessionals, if they wanted to mark, would have to come into the university and pick up huge folios of work. And I'd see them, you know, lugging folios high or back again, looking at 25 images or more each couple of weeks. Whereas now, they can do all that online. [BLANK_AUDIO] It just opened a whole new way of seeing and teaching photography that was just unbeatable. So it could be used for anything that needs some sort of visual commenting or not visual commenting, but commenting on a visual. So in any, any area of education where there's a need for that. [BLANK_AUDIO]
