JouRNaL #4 PHoTo SHaRiNG: NeTS I, II, III, & V

Classroom 2.0/Web 2.0 Exploration
http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=photos

Photo sharing is a way for users to store and share pictures with one another over the net; which allows people to access the stored photos from any computer usually by becoming a member, creating a user name and password, and typically for free. There are some photo sharing sites that charge for membership, but many are free of charge and allow others free access as well. Such photo sharing sites that many are familiar with are Picasa, Flickr, Snapfish, Kodak EasyShare, and Costco. Many people have used these sites to store and share photos, some are better than others depending on what you plan to use them for.
I have personally not used Flickr or Picasa but I have heard amazing things about both that I may be inclined to use Picasa fairly soon here. I have used Snapfish, Costco, and Kodak EasyShare; they are all quite similar in the sense that they are free to join, store, and share photos, however, after a certain period of time (usually a year), if you have not made a purchase they will delete you file, photos, and membership. I did not know this until I received the notice to purchase or my file would be deleted, which was most frustrating. I do not like the fact that I cannot just store my photos and purchase if I chose, and this is why I choose this tool so I may find a photo sharing tool that better suites me and my life style.

Once I entered into the Classroom 2.0 Photo Sharing tool, I found many different posts and information, however, I decide to focus on an area that would not only be beneficial to me, but also aid me as a teacher in my classroom. In making this decision, I did not follow the posts listed for Flickr, but rather followed “Suggestions Needed for Online Storage”, posted by Ginger Lewman, and “Video Attribution”, posted by Peter Lane. The technology behind the Photo Sharing tool, in the discussions followed, is to allow students to have access to their own work that they have complied throughout the year and the process of the class. One program mentioned in particular was Box.Net, which does have a fee to join ($50 for 5gig of storage space per year), but it can be used by the entire class. Having to use a program that charges is never a plus, especially because students and teachers do not necessarily have the means to spend, however, for the benefit of the class, it may be worth it to spend the money per year. So instead of just posting, saving, and sharing photos, teachers and students are able to post, store, and share photos, video, documents, and any other work they see fit to aid them throughout the school year as well as after. This type of tool would also allow teachers to post lesson plans (both written and verbal - by way of podcast), videos, photos, as well as other important and informational documents. This is a great tool for students to be able to gain access to and keep all of their work that they have accomplished. This tool had taught me that through certain programs, the host (most likely the teacher in this case) can grant access to others (students) under their personal account that would not require each individual to sign up separately or enroll; the students would simply use a common user name and password set up by the teacher awarded to the group for that year. After a certain period of time (for that year or once the teacher feels it is time) the host may close out the access to this group and allow access to the next group (new class of students). As a future teacher I would absolutely implement this tool and this program. I feel that keeping everything pertaining to the class in one common area where each student has access to it at any time would be beneficial to the class and the outcome of the students work. As well, students will be able to connect with each other for guidance, ideas, and help which will further their collaboration skills and help them to build on their overall performance as a whole.