8 reasons I use Flickr as an Educator, Learner, and Photographer.

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I house all my photos on Flickr AND I use it as a learner, photographer, and educator. Here are just 8 reasons I like Flickr.

  1. I have a Pro account and pay what I see as a small amount for unlimited storage–unlimited photos (up to 50 MB/photo) and videos (up to 500 MB/video). You pay only $25/yr. You can pay $6.95 every 3 months or pay for 1 or 2 years up front. Say what?!
  2. I can tag all my photos and then search my tags quickly to find a collection of  pictures on ‘birds‘ or ‘trees’ or ‘ipads.‘ Nifty for presentations or lesson resources for kids.
  3. I can control privacy levels for each of my pictures–private, contacts, friends, family, friends & family, or public. I house all my personal and professional/edu pictures on there and adjust privacy.
  4. I can upload pictures & videos straight from my phone and computer/tablet to Flickr. 
  5. I can EDIT my photos IN Flickr–both on the website (Aviary) and on the Flickr iPhone app. I really like the Flickr iPhone app. I can upload and edit in Flickr iPhone app, or I can edit using another app and then upload the picture to Flickr on my phone. The app is a whole ‘nother post, says this midwesterner. 
  6. As an educator, Flickr is a great Creative Commons photo bank for kids to use in research and presentations. The pictures on Flickr are safe in my experience. I know several elementary teachers that use Flickr with their students.
    • How to search solely through Flickr’s Creative Commons photos?
      • Click on the magnifiying glass in search bar. Click on Advanced Search. Scroll to bottom and select  “
      • Type your topic and harvest photos! You could ‘crop’ them, too. Corny, I know….  :o)
  7. I can peruse or join photography groups on a multitude of topics I’m interested in and then participate in discussions/photo challenges. I can hone my photography skills and meet new photographers…and educators. Education groups on Flickr are pretty sparse. What eduFlickr groups might we create and for what purposes? Potential here.
  8. Last but not least, as an educator I can create GALLERIES of up to 18 photos on a certain topic to share with kids. 
    • How? Find photos you like. Then on each picture’s page, select ACTION (top right) and select ADD TO GALLERY. Create your gallery at that point. (FYI: If the photographer doesn’t want her/his photos in galleries, the choice to add it to your gallery will not be there.)
    • Hey, #sschat, think what you can do with landforms galleries and city galleries just for starters. #scichat could create galleries on animals, habitats, and more.

Finally, don’t forget to check out the Flickr Blog. Great pictures, challenges, and even Flickr Meetups.

That was a quick run through Flickr. There is MUCH more to it. Search around and enjoy. Feel free to add comments below on ways you use Flickr. Love to learn from and with you.