Justin’s excellent, informative presentation on online photo sharing has given me something else to play with – my life is now tied to a computer! As Justin told us there is a huge range of online photo sharing sites. The two he covered are particularly easy to use. I had already used Flickr to pour over the photos of my niece’s new-born baby. Though I am now hooked on Photobucket as there is so much more available for free on this site. Slideshows, sharing, videos, levels of privacy and heaps of space – it seems to have everything I need. No more having CDs burned while I am on holiday – just a quick duck into an internet café and upload the lot. That is if I manage to go away without a laptop – which is becoming more and more unlikely.
As for use in Education – hmmm. There’s the issue of children’s photos on the internet that is a major hurdle to overcome. No matter how secure the site some parents are not going to let it happen. They have that right. Then there is purpose. The first one that came to mind was Travel Buddies – it is the perfect setup for that to happen. Then wouldn’t a blog serve the same purpose? Then of course there is the issue of content. There are many photos and videos on these sites that are inappropriate for school children, particularly primary aged children.
In summary, I believe the online photo sharing sites do help bridge the digital divide in that they are easy to use and access. As for use in the primary classroom? I am yet to be convinced .
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