How to Add a Flickr Image URL to an Edublogs Post

One Carrot” image by Hada Litim on eltpics is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

I love using Flickr to post my own pictures. It’s a great resource for storing photos, up to a terabyte of image space for free. I also use others’ Creative Commons pictures, like the one above from eltpics.

Here is a presentation that will help you add Flickr images to your Edublogs website:

For those who know, is this the best way to do this in Edublogs? I know there are many other apps that automatically do the work of citing Creative Commons images in your blog posts.

If you have a favorite CC image resource, will you please share it in the comments below? Thank you!

More information:

Creative Commons – About Creative Commons Licenses, keeping the Internet creative, free, and open.

Flickr.com – Sign up for a free account.

What is Hotlinking? – Why You and Your Students Should Avoid It” – Free Technology for Teachers post by Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne), which suggests you NOT do what I do above because of some good reasons! Mostly I use my own images, but this post gave me some good things to think about before hotlinking to another’s image.

Thanks to Sue Waters (@suewaters) for tweeting me two additional resources for linking to your Flickr pictures.

  1. Embedding Flickr, YouTube, Tweets, Vimeo, and More – This is really easy on Edublogs. I don’t know why I forget about it. Click to learn a great feature of Edublogs.
  2. Sue also shared Compfight, one of those sights I slightly know about that adds the attribution. Here’s how you add it as a plug-in on Edublogs.

That reminded me of another favorite of mine–John Johnston’s Simple CC Flickr Search and the newer version.

#JJAProject – A Photo A Day in June, July, August

A summer memory from 2013

Summer is coming, and I believe it’s a perfect time to join a photo a day group.

Four years ago Sheri Edwards invited me to join in the 2011 inaugural summer of the #JJAProject–for June, July, August Project. It was started especially for busy teachers who might want to do a picture a day, but can’t commit during the school year. It sounded perfect, and I wholeheartedly jumped in that summer.

Mostly, it was a wonderful way to get to know members of my PLN. When people share their lives through photographs and stories, how can we not get to know them? It was a lovely experience, and I still appreciate the friendships that have developed.

In addition, a photo a day is a great way to archive memories. For instance, I just looked back at at this post from 2011, and I had warm memories of that summer when we painted Maria’s room RED and I went to an NEH Landmarks of American History summer workshop about Abraham Lincoln.

In 2013, I tried it again, and it was another great summer of photos, relationship building, and memory collecting.

I seem to be on a two-year track with #JJAProject, for now I’m ready to do it again this summer.

Would you like to join?

It’s easy! Here’s how you can participate:

  1. Take a picture a day starting June 1.
  2. Choose how you want to share it. Post it on Flickr in the #JJAProject group or share it on Instagram. Create a photo-a-day blog and write about it or simply attach it to a tweet on Twitter.
  3. Tag it and share it with the hashtag #JJAProject.
  4. One more important step is to leave comments on the photos of other participants, deepening friendships and connections with members in your PLN!

Freedom With CC-BY Licensed Images

So, why do I like the Attribution license best? First, here’s what the license says…

You are free:

  • to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work
  • to Remix — to adapt the work
  • to make commercial use of the work

Under the following conditions:

Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

Three reasons for using the liberal Creative Commons –  Attribution (CC-BY) license.

1. You can use beautiful images to make cool posters or use just a portion of someone’s picture. (derivatives allowed)

This is my favorite reason! When I need a picture of the Eiffel Tower or the Coliseum, I don’t have to go there. I have friends all over the world who take photos and share them, entrusting their pictures to people like me! The last time I looked there were over 150 million photos on Flickr alone, of which we have permission to make derivatives.

Daunting Notebook” by Laura Coughlin (lauracoughlin) with CC BY-NC 2.0

2. You can change the license on derivatives. (no share-alike)

Although I can imagine a time when someone might need to do this, my guess is that most people fail to share-alike by accident. Here is a photo I took, and I suspect here and here, where this person kept “All Rights Reserved,” that it was done unintentionally. S/he shared this in the Flickr group Great quotes about Learning and Change, so perhaps s/he doesn’t know how to change permissions. Maybe s/he is new and just learning how to be a digital citizen. Maybe s/he has no idea what Creative Commons are. It would be ridiculous to believe it’s for any nefarious or money-making reason.

Plus, if I had a stricter license, I would feel obligated to complain to a user if he/she didn’t adhere to the license, and I don’t like to complain. If I am anything, I am liberal. Liberal with belief that most of my fellow humans are trying to do their best. Liberal with good will toward others. And liberal with the photos I’ve shared. That’s why even in derivative sharing, I choose the liberal Attribution license.

3. You can make money. (commercial)

I say this tongue-in-cheek, but it’s true. By using images (and sharing them with) the Attribution license, you are receiving (and giving) permission to use images commercially. I’ve never sold anything or benefited financially from using anyone’s images, but others have used some of my images commercially. You know something, it just makes me proud, not upset, jealous or angry. (See image below for some examples.) Maybe someday, a group I’m in will have reason to make a calendar for a fundraiser, and there will be CC images available for us to use.

It’s risky to share pictures with the Attribution only license, but I made the decision to do it because I’m serious about being a contributor. My friends Kris and Laura, whose pictures I used in this post, each share their images with a different license,  but they both gave permission to make derivatives and just asked me to give them credit and I appreciate that!

There are six different Creative Commons license, which are helpful to both the sharer and the user. Here are two simple questions to ask and answer to help you “Choose a License.” I would encourage you to read about each of them here: Creative Commons Licenses.

How to Cite a CC Image

Using and properly citing Creative Commons images is a characteristic of good digital citizenship. To cite a CC image…

  1. First find a picture you want to use that has a CC license. My favorite license to use is CC BY (Attribution) license, which allows for the most freedom. Search for CC BY images here on Flickr. (If you use other CC licenses*, be sure you understand the limits of each.)
  2. Credit the person who took the photo. I use both the real name and the username when available.
  3. Help your viewers get back to the original image. Take care so your viewers can find the original image without trouble. Make sure your links are working and go directly to the intended image. Notice on the two images below, both the picture and the title are linked back to the original photo on Flickr.

It really is simple.

Bubbles” by Kris McGuire (krismc2011) with CC BY-SA 2.0 license.
Daunting Notebook”  by Laura Coughlin (lauracoughlin) with CC-BY-NC 2.0

That’s just one way to do it. There are other ways too, as long as you follow the licensing agreement.

Thanks to Kris and Laura for sharing their images with a CC license!

Creative Commons is great. However, don’t forget that sometimes, it’s also great to take and use your own photos.

* Other Licenses

CC BY-ND 3.0 – Attribution and no derivatives

CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 – Attribution, non-commercial and share alike

CC BY-SA 3.0 – Attribution and share alike

CC BY-NC 3.0 – Attribution and non-commercial

CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 – Attribution, non-commercial and no derivatives

 

Noticing and Appreciating

Yesterday my husband and I were out, and we had to stop for a train that was approaching. The first thing my husband said was not, “Bummer — this looks like a long train.” Instead, he said, “Hey, get your camera. There are some great pictures of graffiti on this train.”

You see, last week I had asked him to stop the car so I could take the picture above, because “graffiti” was one of our themes for August in the #T365Project photo group.

Well, I didn’t really need another graffiti picture, but I started snapping pictures anyway. They are in the mosaic below.

We watched the long train go by, commenting on and enjoying each new artwork, watching in anticipation of what would come next. We actually were a bit disappointed when it finished!

This was another reminder of the many benefits I’ve received from taking pictures and sharing them on Flickr: I’ve relearned to notice and appreciate all the beauty around me.

Besides both my husband and I doing more noticing and appreciating, I have also added over 2,000 Creative Commons photos to the pool of images available for others to use. My students now do the same, and we have also learned to properly cite photos of other people’s when we use their Creative Commons images.

There was a time not long ago when my students and I just Googled any images for our own use.

There was a time not long ago when I had heard of Creative Commons but didn’t know what it was or how it related to me.

There was a time not long ago when I wanted to properly cite images, but I didn’t even know where to start.

Well, now, a year later, I’m doing it! I don’t even know how I learned really, except I do know that mostly it came by doing — by creating and contributing. I joined Flickr, and I began to figure it out. You can too.

I posted the train graffiti mosaic picture in a group called #TFotoFri. It’s for teachers to post one picture from their week. If you are like I was not so long ago, maybe you’d like to join the #TFotoFri group to get started on your next adventure in learning.

Aerial America Photo Contest

Two weeks ago I received the comment below on this Flickr photograph of a milkweed bug.

I am always pleased when someone notices my photos and asks me to add them to a group, or in this case, submit them to a contest. Of course, I take everything with a grain of salt at first, and then I go out and vet the sources. I have often found them to be genuine and legitimate, as is the case this time!

The Aerial America Photo Contest is in conjunction with Smithsonian Channel’s beautiful Aerial America series. They wanted to also add photos showing what makes America beautiful “from the ground.” I love the photos that are being submitted to the Aerial America Photo Contest Group.

Have you taken pictures in any of the fifty states of the United States? If so, you might want to submit some to this contest.

Here’s how. You still have time to join in! The contest runs until September 30, 2011, and one person can submit ten photos, two each in five categories. Here are the categories directly from Aerial America’s Group page.

  1. Landscapes – Images capturing the beauty of the local landscapes, from sprawling hillsides to city skylines.
  2. The Locals – Images capturing the culture and the flair of the local people within a state.
  3. Architecture – From iconic landmarks to century- old barns, some of America’s crowning achievements are found in the architecture we’ve constructed.
  4. Food – There are few things more telling of a region than its signature dish!
  5. Nature & Animals – Images of everything from native wildlife to beloved pets, from backyard gardens to our country’s great forests.

So far I have uploaded one in the Nature & Animals category and one in The Locals category. Can you tell which is which?

Geo-Tagging
There is one tricky step in uploading the photos to this contest. They must be geo-tagged.

According to the directions:
“*Note: Entries that are not geotagged will not be considered. It is important that your image be geotagged in order to qualify as an entry in this contest.”

If geotagging is new to you, as it was to me, read on for the very simple directions.

Use these three tags on the photo you wish to geotag:

  1. geo:lat=[insert latitude here]
  2. geo:lon=[insert longitude here]
  3. geotagged

To get the coordinates for the formula, use the map on your photo and place the picture in the exact location.

Once the location is saved, look in the lower right hand corner for the coordinates. You may not have noticed them before…

Highlight and copy only the coordinates and insert them into the correct geotags. For instance, the sample photo’s tags will look like this:

  • geo:lat=[39.801760977038]
  • geo:lon=[-89.654810428619]
  • geotagged

That’s about it. Note: The longitude and latitude tags will not show up on the list of tags, but will be in what is called Machine tags.

Finally, you can join the group and add your geotagged contest entries into the group.

Now, in the process of writing this blog post, I just added a third entry, this one submitted to the Architecture category.

I learned to geotag from a Flickr pro with a good sense of humor, Civilized Explorer.
Complete rules for the contest.

Thanks, eltpics!

Updated 26 January 2019

Wow, who would have thought that I would go back to 2011–to one of my first blog posts–and update it today, almost 8 years later?

Yesterday’s ‘assignment’ for the #Blogging28 Challenge was to update an old post, something I had not really tried previously. I looked at a few posts and couldn’t think which to do, so I skipped that day’s work.

Today, when going to leave a comment on Tiziana’s blog (today’s task), her post reminded me about the summer of 2011 when I met people like Sandy Millin, Chiew Pang, and Fiona Mauchline. I went back to this post.

If you read in the comments, you can see the quick answers I received to my questions. Chiew was right; it was easy to join in the #eltpics helpful and welcoming group.

I joined the #eltpics community for a few years, even when I wasn’t an ELT teacher, contributing and benefiting from the amazing pictures shared by others from around the world. Then I changed positions, got too busy, and lost touch. Now, I find myself in a position where I have learned so much more about English language teaching. I’m teaching 50 grade 5 students and one adult learner. I’m also studying for a TESOL certificate. I find I need people and their amazing expertise. Reading Tiziana’s post and reconnecting with this one brought up two new questions for me:

  1. Will the ELTPics account on Flickr be safely archived for future use? The way I think I understand it is the pictures that are shared with Creative Commons licenses–which these are–will not be deleted. I hope that’s true. There are 27,560 photos neatly categorized in albums good for teaching English learners.

  2. As I said, currently I am in a position in my life where I need to  join the #ELT community and make connections. I’m asking the same question I asked in the post below, can anyone help me get started? Whose blogs should I follow? Which hashtags are the best to use on Twitter? Thank you so much for your help!

 Previous Post starts here:
krebssmaller

All these images were taken by @mk_elt and shared on #eltpics.

The more I learn about being part of the 21st century digital world we live in, the more I firmly believe it is about creating, contributing, connecting, collaborating and curating. It is so fun to learn something new and to join with others who are doing and sharing these things, as well.

This morning I learned about a resource that dedicated ELT educators are contributing to the world! Thanks to others who were willing to join the conversation, those of us involved in the June, July and August Project (Twitter hashtag #JJAProject) learned about eltpics today. I had never heard of the eltpics Flickr Photostream for teachers until I saw these tweets come by this morning:

eltpics tweets

Thank you to Sandy and Chiew for telling us about the wonderful photos available for educational use from eltpics.

I created the image at the top of this post with photos in a set called “Things Shaped Like Letters” by eltpics shared on Flickr with a Creative Commons BY-NC-2.0 License. I used Big Huge Labs Mosaic Maker to put them all together to spell my name with these lovely organic images. Can you read it?

I’d like to learn how to contribute my own educational photos to the eltpics.

Can anyone help me get started?