On-Line Photo Sharing / CH 2 ID Concepts (EDT5410, Wk. 5)

Photo Sharing Ideas and Concerns

My first concern with on-line photo sharing services is protecting the identity of students (name, location, age, and image). If access to the account is to be kept private or limited to school staff, students and parents that eliminates some of the threat to student privacy; additionally, photo releases would need to be on file for each student in the event that a class photo or event were posted. As with any web based activity, teachers and parents must be ever vigilant in their efforts to protect students form inappropriate and/or illicit material; this can best be achieved through carefully structured lessons and directions/rules, as well as good (and constant) classroom management during on-line activities.

At first my thoughts regarding photo sharing as a classroom activity or lesson found little value; however, as I read what others have done I realized that there are some really creative ways in which to use a photo sharing service in the classroom. For example, a photo field trip…the teacher assigns a search word (or words) for the activity and student search photos with that tag; then write about what they found, how they felt it applied to the subject matter, etc. I thought photo sharing would be a great way for students who are traveling to keep in touch with the class; they could post their photos for the class to discuss. Another great way to integrate photo sharing into a literature lesson would be to select a poem or short story then have students find photos to go along with it; or use photos in conjunction with Google Maps to create visual depictions of historic buildings or places. (Richardson, 2006)

NOTE: Flickr link in the bottom left corner of the blog, at the page level.

Chapter 2 Thoughts

I have found that the process that I use to build training sessions follows very closely the ADDIE process of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation, which has been very validating for me. Specifically the fact that the instructional design process is iterative and self-correcting (Reiser and Dempsey, 2007); I often find myself changing my delivery or activities in response to the group.

The current paradigm of learner centered instructional design may, on the surface seem to be a new concept, but I think really good educators have been employing methods to support this model all along by providing one-on-one assistance to struggling learners, and preparing more advanced activities for those who are excelling. I think the trend in the business world toward embracing instructional design methodology in their efforts to strengthen the skills of employees is excellent, and hopefully will lead to an American workforce that can compete with global competitors. Both business and educational entities could learn from each other; schools have centuries of experience in educational design and delivery, while business deems a team work approach valuable…yes, often grade level teams work together to prepare lessons, but business takes it to another level with subject matter experts, instructional designers, project managers, and production personnel. Actually, teachers typically have to fill all of those roles.