A Flickr of Inspiration
As I looked for a photo I searched under several different topics that I taught. I searched under cells, not knowing what I was looking for or for what lesson I wanted to use it. Then, I saw it…the infamous cell cake lesson.
I remember making a cake in ninth grade biology, and I have always wanted to try it with my students. Because of the allergies, we are not allowed to bring food in the classroom anymore. I could show my students several photos of the cell cakes. They could vote for the ones that best represent an actual cell and explain why. Although this might seem silly, the students would be identifying, comparing, contrasting and applying information they have learned. This would be a great warm up for a lesson. Also, if you view the photo in Flickr, as you mouse over the parts of the cell, labels appear. I didn’t realize this at first, but after I did, I am more convinced about Flickr’s value.
I think what I did shows how teachers can use Flickr very easily. Go into Flickr with an open mind. Search for a topic and see what you find. A photo may spark an idea for a lesson.
Students could use Flickr to alleviate writer’s block. I have also heard so many students state, “I can’t draw!”. They could search for photos to illustrate their stories.
I think Flickr has more possibilities than I had imagined. I really didn’t understand how valuable it was until I started looking.
Image Citation:
Read_Knit. (2008, March 2). read_knit’s Photostream. Retrieved April 8, 2007 fromhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/read_knit/2305190190/
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I know, the food allergy is getting to be, as it should be, such a serious issue now.
I like the picture of the cell cake. I like your idea about making the students compare and contrast the cell cakes. I think it is a great silly idea. You could also have the students create an edible cell at home and take a picture of it and posted on a class Flickr site.
I agree, Flickr has a lot of potentials! I am going to try to incorporate this in my classroom this year for next year.
Posted April 9, 2008, 12:38 pmI have never heard of a cell cake, but after doing a quick Google search for “cell cake” I loved the images that came up. My biology pre-service teachers would enjoy this as well. They would probably have their own party to make cell cakes.
It seems that a lot of biology topics could be illustrated with images found on Flickr. They could be incorporated into student multimedia projects as well.
Posted April 9, 2008, 3:01 pmHi Sherry,
I have enjoyed reading your thoughts about using pictures to generate some discussion and product possibilities for students. I’ll have to look for that cell cake. It sounds like a terrific science lesson and yummy to boot! Thanks for sharing! See you.
Sue
Posted April 9, 2008, 5:29 pmSherry,
This is such a good idea. What student doesn’t love cake? I think this would get all the students talking and discussing. Sachiko’s suggestion would certainly take care of food allergies. Oh, what a great homework assignment.
Posted April 12, 2008, 5:01 am