How does creative commons work on flickr?

There are several different types of licenses to choose from, you should search for a photo with the license that best fits how you will be using it.  Here is a brief description of the different types:

Attribution: Others can copy/distribute/display/perform copyrighted and derivative works based upon it but only if credit is given.
Noncommercial: Others can copy/distribute/display/perform copyrighted and derivative works but for noncommercial purposes only

No Derivative Works: Others can copy/distribute/display/perform only verbatim copies of the work, not derivative works based upon it.

Share alike: Others can distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs the work.

If you’d like to see more information about the various licenses and how they work on Flickr, check out this blog entry “Complete Guide to Finding and Using Incredible Flickr Images“.

If you have not signed up for an account, and plan on using Flickr images in the future, it might be worth it for you to take a minute or two to create a free yahoo account (Flickr’s parent company).  One of the many reasons why you would want to have your own Flickr account is because you can conveniently keep track of images that you would like to use.  When I am searching for images on Flickr I quite often find other photos that I would like to bookmark for later– since I have an account I can do this quite easily by marking it as a “favorite”.  Take a look at the Newbie’s Guide to Flickr for the basics of uploading photos on Flickr or view a presentation that includes a step by step guide to signing up for a free account.

If you’ve already signed up for an account or would like to see what else you can do with Flickr, check out Mashable’s FLICKR TOOLBOX: 100+ Tools For Flickr Addicts or Digital Inspiration’s Flickr Guide for some great ideas.

Photo Credit
Creative Commons:  flickr by technovore via Flickr
Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Additional Links of Interest:

100 Amazing Flickr Collections for Architecture Buffs
Step by step instructions on downloading Creative Commons images on flickr
10 Ways to Find Great Photos on Flickr
Teaching with Flickr Wiki

Some Useful Sets and Collections on Flickr:
Brooklyn Museum
Library of Congress
New York Public Library
Powerhouse Museum
Smithsonian

A: Fortunately, there’s a simple rule of thumb. Measure your monitor diagonally. Take the number of inches, and then step back that many feet from the screen. Can you still read the text? If not, make it larger until you can.

Bonus Tip: If you don’t have ruler handy, most Fordham PCs have 17″ monitors, and most Fordham Macs have 24″ monitors.

Backup your data and avoid giving yourself a fright!!
It’s a fact of life that data gets corrupted and hard drives crash.
Unfortunately it’s not something that people usually think about until it’s too late….

There are a variety of ways to back up your data, the key is finding one that works for you. For example, buying an external hard drive allows you to keep your data on hand, but if your apartment floods or burns down you’re in trouble. Online storage is a great alternative, however, some people are uncomfortable with this because they are worried about privacy issues or the longevity of the web company.

Things to consider are: level of expertise amount of money/time file sizes security location Comparisons between and lists of online services: Mashable List ToMuse Ultimate list Articles: NYTimes Online: STATE OF THE ART, Fewer Excuses For Not Doing A PC Backup Wired: Back Up Your Data on a Windows PC Wired: Back Up Your Data on a Mac Life Hacker: Geek to Live: Automatically back up your hard drive (PC)

So where can you get pictures from?? There are many different websites to search for them, but my favorite way to find photos is to use Flickr Creative Commons. Other websites that I like to use are Google Images or SXC Stock Photos.

Some things to remember…. Avoid copyright infringement! Always make sure that downloading and using graphics is allowed. When in doubt, contact the author for permission or don’t download at all.

To avoid this hassle, I prefer to use images from the Creative Commons section of Flickr. There are several different types of Creative Commons Licenses and you can read about them on the Creative Commons website.

What about the things you should do?

That’s a good question! There are many ways to make presentations more engaging. Take a look at some of the ideas on ways to avoid the pitfalls of using PowerPoint and create more stimulating presentations.

Death By PowerPoint

Dodging Bullets in Presentations

I’d like to tell you about how I use it, but first take a quick look at this short 2 minute video so I can tell you a little bit about what it is…

(you will be unable to see the video if you are using internet explorer, click on this link to view the video on Youtube until Edublogs fixes the problem)

If it looked like I had a lot of bookmarks, that’s because I do!! I’ve been using del.icio.us for about 3 years now and have collected over 1300 links. Math, Technology, and Education are three of my most frequent tags because for the last 8 years I’ve taught mathematics on the high school level. I’ve learned to save everything I find useful or interesting and label them liberally with tags so that way I can find what I need when I need it.

It’s been an invaluable resource and a huge timesaver— not only do I have access to my bookmarks online and can use it like a search engine, but del.icio.us also allows me to search links that other people have saved. And it’s easy to add an RSS feed of my links to keep up-to-date with my bookmarks! (hmmm… if you don’t know what RSS is, don’t worry–we’ll talk about that soon!).

There are of course many more features, and ways to use it, but hopefully you’ve heard enough to want to get started! Take a look at the links I’ve posted at the bottom of the page for more information or you can go directly to del.icio.us and register for your own account!

~Kristen

Del.icio.us basics and tips

Descriptions, definitions, and details about using del.icio.us

Top 10 Ways to Use Del.icio.us

My del.icio.us links on the web

or take a look at this Yummy Slideshow (you can skip to slide 6)

Too often, student emails generate a false sense of urgency. If you are like most faculty, though, the bulk of emails you receive–at least the ones that aren’t last-minute pleas for extensions–are requests for clarification about some aspect of the course. If you are teaching online, you probably also get frequent technical questions about Blackboard and other technology. Whatever the case, the first student to email you with a question probably won’t be the last. Waiting to respond gives you the ability to assess the situation and respond appropriately. If a number of people are having the same problem, you can address your response to the whole class using Blackboard or a group email, instead of sending essentially the same email response 20 or 30 times. On the other hand, if only one student is struggling, you can work with him or her just as effectively in a few hours as you can right now.

Of course, sometimes things arise that do require immediate attention, but if you are following our previous week’s advice and not encouraging students to wait until the last minute to get their work done and contact you, you should be able to give most issues raised in student emails an appropriate, considered response. That will be better for you, and your students.