Using Photosharing

I find that when working with my students, I may take the lead, sometimes pushing them in the direction in which I think they should move, instead of following them along their personal journey.  When I counsel, assist, and guide them along their self-discovered path the students often become motivated and develop a love for learning.  And this is the goal, to have each student pursue knowledge long after graduating from high school.
Today’s students use technology to communicate thoughts, capture and share events, and for entertainment.  It makes sense to use their interest in social networking tools to draw them into an educational experience.  But ah, that is the challenge.  How does the teacher write a lesson that will involve the students in using flickr, youtube, picasa or similar technology tools?
As a guidance counselor and work experience coordinator I have a couple of ideas.  I am going to incorporate a new lesson into the work experience packet that has each student put together a slide show of how they perform a certain function at work.  They would post this assignment on a class wiki that would allow other students to view the presentation and make comments. 
A lesson I want to use at the beginning of the semester is having students work in groups to create a presentation on how to properly present themselves at in interview.  This is a valuable lesson for many of the students are looking for their first job and the job market is currently very tight and competitive.  Both lessons would encourage the students to be creative using flickr, youtube, picasa, etc.
Online social networking tools like flickr, youtube, and picasas, can be used in a positive, fun, interactive and educational manner, allowing students to showcase their talents, spread news and awareness, interact with others in a positive, educational manner, and have ownership over their educational journey.