Integrating Flickr-based Images into Moodle to Increase Visual Appeal and Dynamism of Teaching Spaces

Dr. Ian GloverCity University London

ian.glover.1@city.ac.uk

Ed-Media 2011: Lisbon, Portugal – 29th June 2011

Session Topics

Relevant Theory

Moodle Basics

Flickr Introduction

Moodle Tool Overview

Alternative Method

Demonstration(s)

Relevant Theory

• Visual information easily integrated into existing knowledge (Lord, 1980)• otherwise how could we survive the real world?

• Possible separate Visual/Verbal information processing mechanisms (Paivio, 1969)

• Images and words can reinforce each other’s meaning – “multimedia effect” (Clark & Mayer, 2003).

• Left brain/Right brain split (Gazzaniga,1970)• Left = sequential, logical (i.e. textual)• Right = holistic, synthesising (i.e. image-oriented)

• Increased dynamism of web content leads to higher ‘revisitation’ (Adar, Teevan & Dumais, 2009)

‘A picture is worth a thousand words’

A couple of illustrations…

In Summary:

Westworld (1973) [Polish Film Poster]

Plot Summary (from IMDB)

An amusement park for rich vacationers. The park provides its customers a way to live out their fantasies through the use of robots that provide anything they want. Two of the vacationers choose a wild west adventure. However, after a computer breakdown, they find that they are now being stalked by a rogue robot gun-slinger.

Trading Places (1983) [Polish Film Poster]

Plot Summary (from IMDB):

Louis Winthorpe III is a successful Philadelphia commodity broker with mansion, manservant and girlfriend to match. Billy Ray Valentine is a hustling beggar. Winthorpe's employers, the elderly Duke brothers, make a bet that by switching the lifestyle of the two Billy Ray will make good and their man will take to a life of crime. Suddenly Louis finds himself uncomprehendingly with no job, no home and only a new acquaintance, glamorous hooker Ophelia, prepared to help him. So at least in one way things could actually be worse.

Moodle Overview

• Default – very plain,• but can be templated

• Very 'Flat' structure

• Little Dynamism• Mostly textual.

• Low Visual Appeal• Problems with adding it.

Templated Moodle Module

Flickr Basics

Image sharing / cataloguing site

Some social networking aspects

Creative Commons aware

Free, limited accounts available

Upload by Email possible

Embeddable Slideshow – Flickr’s Own Technique

• Requires some technical knowledge to add to page.• Moodle strips it from the module homepage – for embedding in resources only.• Require additional software to view – Adobe Flash.

Moodle Tool Overview (1)

Images from a single Flickr account Any public account

Starts at random position in image collection (depending on configuration)

• Allows scrolling through image collection

Moodle Tool Overview (2)

• Static image when no JavaScript

• Caption = link to original on Flickr

• Doesn't save images on Moodle server

• Stores image details for up to 7 days

Adding/Configuring the Block

1) Add ‘Flickr Image Carousel’ block.

2) Enter account details• 3 possible options

3) Refine selection using tags and albums (optional)

4) Save and wait for image data to be cached

5) Enjoy!

An Alternative Method

• Same techniques can display random inline image:• e.g. page with 1 photo tagged with

‘statue’, 1 ‘small’ image, 1 from a music festival – link

• Useful when ‘colour’ needed for a page• But not when need a specific image

• Install on server with PHP, use URL in emails, on web pages, in VLE, etc.

DemonstrationsDoes anyone have a Flickr account?

Questions?

Code available – send me an email for details

Contact details

• Dr. Ian Glover (Ian.Glover.1@city.ac.uk)

• Or try the QR Code

• Code Available – just email!

References

• Adar, E., Teevan, J., & Dumais, S. T. (2009). Resonance on the web: web dynamics and revisitation patterns. In Proceedings of the 27th international conference on Human factors in computing systems (CHI '09). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 1381-1390.

• Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2003). e-Learning and the Science of Instruction. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

• Gazzaniga, M. S. (1970). The Bisected Brain. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

• Lord, C. (1980). Schemas and images as memory aids: Two modes of processing social information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38(2), 257-269.

• Paivio, A. (1969). Mental Imagery in associative learning and memory. Psychological Review, 76(3), 241-263.