Thing 10: Flickr exploration

I mentioned in an earlier post that I liked how a teacher used Flickr in his math class. Using images to teach abstract concepts like those in math can be beneficial to not only visual learners but to all learners in the classroom. To assess whether a student understands a concept, we must get the student to explain it in his or her own words. To explain why it is so and not just because it is, or because that's what the teacher said. Using pictures, particularly those from Flickr or other photo sharing sites, as a means of explanation serves as a fantastic assessment tool primarily because of the issue of transformativeness. For example, using linguistics as opposed to pictorial responses, to prove that a student has learned something and understands it, he may write an essay to answer a question. In the essay, he includes his own explanation, thoughts, ideas, interpretations backed up with textual support. In a pictorial version of the same assessment, a student can find photos/images and create a new meaning to support his own ideas and learnings. Perfecto!

I chose to select a few pictures from Paris as my theme for this the Thing 10 assignment. I thought that I could put them into a sldeshow with adjectives for Thing 11. If I were to use it in class it would be an introduction to a lesson on adjectives.

Image by wallyg on Flickr