Module 6 Getting glogged on glogs.

Blogging ... now bubbling and glogging ... my head is swimming with a new language! How much I will remember is hard to say. So I better start blogging before my brain starts blubbing.

Blubbr.us is easy to use and I can see an immediate role in my classes, especially in Years 11 and 12. In fact I created a mind-mapping tool for use with my 2 Unit SOR class. We've started working on St Paul as our Significant Person in Christianity and the bubbl (I want to put an"e" on the end of that word - but I am resisting ...) will be quite helpful. Imaging a mind-map with the tools bubbl has should make life a lot easier - for me as well as for my students.

And here is what it looks like:

Glogging.  I'll be honest.  I don't see much use in my classes. It was amusing and time consuming!  I spent at least an hour or so on the Glog (before I realised I hadn't followed the instructions properly.  Well I did make a clever collage of some travel photos and included a YouTube clip).  It might have a practical use for junior years - for poster presentations, especially with the sound and visual applications.  Did I enjoy myself?  Not really.  Feel free to have a look and let me know what you think.

Module 5 A sod with a pod

I have been familiar with Podcasts and Vodcasts for some time.  They are handy resources for my areas of teaching - Religious Education and History.  I have used YouTube in the classroom on more than a few occasions and found it an excellent way of stimulating discussions, helping to concretise book-text learning through the visual and aural media.  My only reservation about pod and vodcasts lies in creating an over dependence on them rather than integrating them into the repertoire of teaching resources and skills.

What follows are two examples of vod and podcasts that could be used in the classroom.

Studies of Religion - Preliminary Course - Topic 1: Nature of Religion and Belief - stimulus from YouTube:



I used this in my Year 11 class to do several things. 
1.  Shock - here we are in a RE class and he's showing stuff about an atheist!
2.  Is religion reasonable?  Does Richard Dawkins have a case?
3.  Can we examine the subject of religion objectively?
4.  Whether you are a believer or not, you can study religion and make reasonable and intelligent statements about it.  And you can argue, using logic, against the position of someone like Dawkins.

It was an interesting exercise - responses ran hot!  There were no passive observers.

Studies of Religion - HSC Course - Topic 1 Religion and Belief in Australia post-1945 - significance of ANZAC Day in Australian life under the point of contemporary expressions of religion; secularism.

Different Voices - Four Reflections for Anzac Day - Encounter on the ABC broadcast on ANZAC Day 2010.

The discussion from this broadcast raises the issue of the cross-overs between religion and religious expression in Australia and secular / civil culture.

Module 4 Part 2 ... getting the Flickr photo up.

Sunrise 0619
Originally uploaded by Paul in Sydney
This was one of a series of photos I took as the sun rose. From a deep black, the monolith emerged, shade by shade until this moment when the colours simply sang.

Module 4 "They call him Flicker ..."

Some (of the older) posters will remember the US 1964-1967 TV series "Flipper". 

Well, everytime I look at Flickr I see Flipper ... I know it's wierd but everyone loves dolphins ...

This module involved working with photo and video images using the online photo-video sharing site, Flickr, operated through Yahoo.  By trade I am an historian and I like to know a few whys and wherefors about things I have to study.  So I did a little research into the doyen of photo-sharing sites. 

Flickr  was the main feature of the Ludicorp a Vancouver (Canada) founded in 2002.  They launched the photo-sharing facility in February 2004 replacing the less-successful Game Neverending online game.  As of October 2009 Flickr hosted over 4 Billion images.  In March 2005 Flickr was bought by USA based Yahoo and all Flickr content was and is subject to US Federal Law.  As far as I understand it, US Federal Law derives is authority directly from the US Constitution, not State or Local statute, and questions concerning interpretation of Federal Law are judged by the Supreme Court.  How this affects Flickr lies chiefly in questions to do with copyright.  Therefore, most users of Flickr either post images that they have created or images that lie within the public domain or are outside US copyright jurisdiction.  Please correct me if this is wrong.  I am not a lawyer!

What follows are answers to a series of FAQ taken from Flickr's  website. 


What are content filters?


Flickr is a global community made up of many different kinds of people. What's OK in your back yard may not be OK in theirs. Each one of us bears the responsibility of categorizing our own content within this landscape. So, we've introduced some filters to help everyone try to get along. In order for these filters to work, we're relying on *you* to filter your content appropriately.  Clearly teachers need to take notice of this one when we work with our students!



There are 2 types of filters that you need to use for your content.

1. Safety Level


Safe - Content suitable for a global, public audience - the one I would use with students at all levels.  When using this in the classroom, as a homework exercise, assessment task etc, it would be wise to address this in either learning outcomes or in the marking criteria.  I am sometimes surprised at what students consider to be appropriate, and equally surprised when I explain why I am surprised.


Moderate - If you're not sure whether your content is suitable for a global, public audience but you think that it doesn't need to be restricted per se, this category is for you


Restricted - This is content you probably wouldn't show to your mum (I add Headmaster; experience has taught me there are some students who have little inhibition in letting mum see some things that I would consider inappropriate!), and definitely shouldn't be seen by kids


2. Content Type


Photos / Videos


Illustration/Art / Animation/CGI or other non-photographic images, or


Screencasts / Screenshots



What is SafeSearch?

SafeSearch is a feature that allows you to control what turns up in your searches on Flickr, and it's on for everyone by default.  In other words, Safe Search gives you the professional responsibility and control to exercise discernment over what content is made available.  As a teacher, there is an ethical dimension to this.  I act in loco parenti and am therefore responsible for the content I use in the classroom.  I consider this extends to having SafeSearch in place when I use tools such as Flickr.

What are tags?

Tags are like keywords or labels that you add to a photo to make it easier to find later. You can tag a photo with phrases like "St Peter's Basilica Rome, Chair of Peter." Later if you look for pictures of St Peter's, you can just click that tag and get all photos that have been tagged that way.


How do I share photos with a group?

If you're a member of the group, add your photo to the group pool. (If not, join the group, because only group members can contribute to the group pool.)


The easiest way to add a photo to a group is to go to the photo's page and click the "Send to Group" button between the photo title and the photo. Then choose the group you want to send it to, and you're done!

Only you and the group administrators can remove a photo from a group pool.


How would I use tools such as Flickr  in my teaching?

I have used and will continue to use images sourced from the WWW for just about every class I teach.  It is simple and easy.  My students use this and other tools as a matter of course.  I could see a possible use in creating groups for particular subjects, eg compling a series of images on Hajj for Year 11 SOR.  However, prudence dictates that the finer issues of copyright etc need to be vetted through members of staff familiar with the matter, such as the Librarians upon whose expertise I depend greatly.