The Flipside of Flickr

I like the idea of using Flickr in the classroom, but there comes a point when I wonder how it really and truly enhances the classroom experience. Let's take Sophie's annotated photo of Jane Goodall's camp. Now, the idea of it and the realization of that idea are truly fascinating. In fact, they're downright cool! However, at what point does this example demonstrate an actual improved learning experience over the "traditional" method of simply showing the class the model and having Sophie point at various items to talk about them, or placing small sticky notes with captions beside various features of the model? I don't feel like Richardson adequately explains how Flickr makes teaching better or even easier? Instead, it seems just a little like something else to add on to the bustle of class...

I realize this sounds very negative of me. I can of course see the upside of using a tool such as Flickr. The very "cool factor" it presents may be enough to get students interested and engaged, which itself often proves very difficult otherwise. And interested students are naturally the easiest to teach. Furthermore, you certainly can't argue with Richardson's account of just how fun something like Flickr can be, and people are always receptive to fun. Those points alone are reason enough to give Flickr a shot.