Flickr As OER Repository

Work in progress, expect frequent changes. Help and feedback is welcome. See discussion page.

When it comes to repositories of open educational resources, we often think of resources that are specifically devoted to that task. However, when considered more broadly, any resource that includes properly licensed materials that can be used as part of curriculum development is a type of OER repository.

One example is Flickr, the popular image sharing web site. While not typically added to lists of OER repositories, it does allow those sharing images to tag them with a variety of Creative Commons licenses, and its advanced search feature allows one to list only those results that have such a license. This makes it an incredibly rich resource for those designing educational materials, particularly as a repository of stock photography.

Here's how it works

1. Go to Flickr and log in. You need to be logged in or else later parts of this process won't work. You may already have a Flickr account however. Flickr is part of Yahoo!, so if you have a Yahoo! account then you can simply use it instead.
2. You'll need the Advanced Search feature. To get there, click on Search, then on the following screen click on Advanced Search. and type in whatever search terms to find the right sort of image.
3. Scroll down and check the box next to "Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content". If you need to find images that can be used commercially, also check the box next to "Find content to use commercially". Note that images must be licensed for commercial use to be able to be added to WikiEducator!
4. Click on the blue SEARCH button. Depending on your search keywords, you may have a lengthy list of images. There are more than five billion images available through Flickr and while they do not all have Creative Commons license, enough do to form a huge array of available images.
5. If you see an image you may want to use, click on it. You will then see the Flickr page specific to that image.
6. Wait for the page to finish loading. Then click on "Share this", which is found right above the top of the image. This will bring up a short menu of choices.
7. Click on "Grab the HTML/BBCode". If you're going to use the image on a web page, make sure that the HTML is selected, not BBCode. (BBCode is a format only used in certain discussion forums.) Select the image size you would like to use in the menu that appears. For images being used to add colour to a short article, like a post in a blog, Small is an ideal size. For use in other circumstances, Medium is often a good starting point.
8. Copy the code that appears in the box and paste it wherever you plan to add that image on the web. Save and view, and you should now see the image

Example

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonynetone/3717759677/" title="Earth by tonynetone, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2567/3717759677_4a520a1dbb_s.jpg" width="75" height="75" alt="Earth" /></a>