Review by Stephanie Trautman, Common Sense Education | Updated March 2015
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Photos for Class

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Search, download kid-friendly photos under Creative Commons licensing

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • Arts
  • Social Studies
Skills
  • Communication & Collaboration
  • Creativity
Grades This grade range is based on learning appropriateness and doesn't take into account privacy. It's determined by Common Sense Education, not the product's publisher.
3–12
Great for:
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (3 Reviews)
Privacy rating (How we rate)
Not yet rated
Price:  Free
Platforms:  Website

Take a look inside

5 images
On Photos for Class, a simple search yields hundreds of classroom-ready photos.
Vivid, detailed photos are ideal projects and presentations.
Students can explore how the site cites images.
There are Creative Commons-licensed photographs available for all school subjects.
Citation and licensing information appears at the bottom of each downloaded photo.

Pros: Gain access to safe images with accurate image citations under Creative Commons licensing.

Cons: Images need to be saved to a computer or device; they can't be bookmarked or saved directly on the site.

Bottom Line: Great way for students to explore safe content under Creative Commons licensing and use it for assignments.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Teachers can send students to this site to find images for their projects and presentations. These photos will be easy to cite and appropriate for any grade level. Teachers can use this site in collaboration with other sites to teach the importance of proper citations. Teachers can also use it to explain Creative Commons licensing and the legal issues of taking sources without citing them. The Photos for Class website has information on all the licenses on the "Giving Credit Where Credit is Due" page of their site. 

It's important to note that teachers should ask students to take note of the sources they are using, particularly with a site such as Noodletools, which will walk them through the citation process and give them a works cited list once their project is completed.

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Standards:

Photos for Class is a simple search engine for teachers and students looking to access safe images that can be used for educational purposes. These images are filtered through a four-step system. This system uses pre-filtered Flickr photos, bans unsafe search terms, and allows users to report inappropriate content, which is guaranteed to be removed if deemed unfit for the educational site. It is important to note that there is no way to organize photos unless they are downloaded to a computer or device. 

Once a user searches for an image and finds one to their liking, they can download it. Downloaded images automatically generate a watermarked image that contains the name of the author, the name of the photo, a link to the original photo, and the name and type of licensing for the photo along with a link to read the licensing info in detail.

As a tool for the classroom, Photos for Class can be a great fit for finding kid-friendly, school-appropriate content. It's an especially good companion to Storyboard That, a digital storytelling app also created by this developer. As it is, this site offers a great introduction to the distinction between images that are and are not okay for students to download from the Web and use for their own purposes. It would be even better if the site went into greater depth behind this critical purpose: Understanding the importance of citation and its best practice rules are critical skills for students to learn, especially in the digital era where it's so easy to post and repost others' work without proper attribution. The "Giving Credit Where Credit is Due" page does this in some measure, but even more could be done. In the meantime, teachers should address and define what Creative Commons licenses are and what citation style and practices are in place in their classroom. 

On the user experience side, it would be helpful if students could create a photo stream or hold possible photos in a folder or cart before downloading them. Offering better customization features like saved searches or favorite images would make the tool even easier to use,  and would prevent users from having to enter the same search terms repeatedly on multiple site visits.  

Overall Rating
Engagement Would it motivate students and hold their interest? Is it visually appealing? Would it inspire teachers to try something new or change their instruction?

Search for crisp, clean images that are filtered to ensure that they're G-rated. The search engine is simplistic, basic, and easy to navigate, so students can easily find the right image for their task.

Pedagogy Does the tool help teachers promote a more student-centered experience? Will students gain conceptual understanding or think critically? Does it deepen teachers’ pedagogical thinking?

Students learn about properly citing photos, and downloaded images automatically cite author and image license terms. Students can learn about how photos are cited through clinking on a link on the homepage.

Support Can students and teachers get assistance when they need it? Is it created with people of different abilities and backgrounds in mind? Is learning reinforced and extended beyond the digital experience?

There are supports for the sister site, Storyboard That, but not as many explicit supports for Photos for Class. The site, however, is so simple to use that it doesn't warrant much user support.

Common Sense Reviewer
Stephanie Trautman Classroom teacher
About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Key Standards Supported

Speaking & Listening

  • SL.6.6

    Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

  • SL.9-10.5

    Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

Writing

  • W.6.8

    Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources.

Writing HS/S/T

  • WHST.6-8.8

    Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

  • WHST.11-12.8

    Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.

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Teacher Reviews

(See all 3 reviews) (3 reviews) Write a review
Featured review by
Todd B. , Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
Lancaster Mennonite School
Lancaster, United States
Creative Commons images appropriate for students download with attribution included!
Photos For Class provides a much needed repository of good images with proper license for schools. The fact that the images download with the attribution baked into the image is a huge time-saver for students. The site layout is a little rough, including a few misspellings, but the quality of the content is excellent. A bit more polish and tutorial on how to attribute images would take this site to the top of the image repositories for schools.
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