Flickr mashups are pretty interesting, to say the least. I've noticed that the bulk of the apps featured on the page linked to our Learning 2.0 site were smartphone apps, and that makes sense. The digital camera's got some serious competition thanks to the prevalence of smartphones (it doesn't hurt that the photo resolution on those things has really improved these last couple o' years). So here we are, snapping away with our little phone cameras, and now we've got all kinds of cool Flickr mashup apps to do a variety of things to those photos. I personally like the word art app for my computer, though. It's just fun, and it can say pretty much whatever you want it to (ransom note, perhaps?). It's a prime example of a Web 2.0 tool: user-generated content, and I don't even really have to know what I'm doing. Just type a message, tweak some colors and details, and voila! I've got some content ready to put right into my blog post!
As far as the value of mashups, I'd say they're useful since they can be used on-the-go (hey, that's where the stuff worth photographing is anyway), and can be uploading almost instantly. This whole idea goes back to my post about Skype and how these programs and apps make the world a more connected place where conversations can be carried on from absolutely anywhere, and mobile photo mashups are no different. How could mashups be used in the classroom? These days, it seems that virtually every HS student not only has a cellphone, but most likely that thing is nicer than what I've got, and would be capable of utilizing mashups like the ones I'm discussing. Harnessing their technological attachment is easy enough, and I'm certain that a clever teacher could find ways to exploit students' connectedness in educationally beneficial ways.
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