Thing 3: Flickr for education......

Flickr is a great resource and  it makes sense for education. In schools we use digital media as a way of engaging students.  I found Flickr very straight forward after registering using my google account.

However I was disappointed initially with the quality of images that my searches retrieved but I guess that is inevitable with the huge numbers of images being uploaded.  Not every image will be great I suppose.  I found the social networking for me personally a bit distracting but then I wasn't interested in being part of  this photo community.  I just want to use the images!!!

Things improved when I clicked on Explore and looked around The commons and participating institutions.  I also found the trending menu interesting.  After exploring the site I definitely see students using the images to tell digital stories, capturing events with images and saving their work for project based learning in a digital portfolio.

With regard to uploading photographs in work, there would definitely be restrictions on using this website.  Photographs of activities and students would not be compatible with our Child Safety guidelines.  I see Flickr as a resource for creating resources to be used in the classroom by students and teachers.

flickr.com

https://www.education.ie/en/Contact-Us/List-of-Contact-Details/Flickr-Policy.html

Thing 2: Short is not necessarily sweet for blogs?

Writing is not natural to me, so this exercise, my first post is a challenge.  I have always felt that my writing should be concise because reader's have short attention spans.  But after reading Martin O' Connor's post I am not sure this applies to blogs?  The trend is very much towards longer pieces.  Web design company Orbit Media Studios found the average blog length was 1, 054 words in 2016.  This was a 19 percent rise on previous years.  The longer the post the more likely the bloggers are to get "strong results."

I have always admired people who have the ability to write, tell a story.  I am not alone.  Look at how many of us (me included) binge watch TV series.  There is a desire in us all for content.    Andrew Sparrow, political correspondent and blogger at The Guardian is an enthusiast of long-form posts - "as long as you write well and show good judgement there will  be people who want to read about your subject at length."  Something to bear in mind!

The best blogs are those that have a "voice"  and I suppose for many this is the attraction.  Blogging is a useful skill and seems to suit people who are confident about writing and making their opinions public.  It probably doesn't suit people who like me spend a lot of time thinking before they write.  So as I embark on this new project I hope to find my voice and make a contribution to the noisy world of blogging. (Word Count 260!)