Computer Science E-7: Exposing Digital Photography
e7 Setup
Preparing for the course involves three steps (well, sorta four steps) that you will only need to perform once at the beginning of the semester. We are using Flickr, a social photography website, to share photos, discuss any photo-related topics, and even to submit work for the assignments. You'll sign up for a Flickr account (it's free, though there are paid options available that you need not purchase for this class), let us know your Flickr username, and join the e7 Group. You can upload as many photos as you would like and are able to your own Flickr photostream but only photos you add to the e7 Group pool will count towards your grade.
If you are taking this course for credit you must complete these steps before continuing with assignments. If you are non-credit, we strongly recommend that you join in on the fun to be totally immersed in the course. There's only a few steps to get started, so let's begin!
Step 1: Sign up for a (free) Flickr account. You do not need to select a Flickr username that contains your name or somehow uniquely identifies you. Since we associate your username with your name internally and privately (see Step 2 below), you may choose whatever username you would like. If you already have an account you'd like to use for this course you may skip this step, but we recommend that you first read some reasons why you might want a separate account for this class (click to view).
If you already have a Flickr account, we certainly recommend that you use it so that your friends, family, and Flickr contacts can continue to enjoy not only your own work but also the work you do for e7. However, there are a few reasons why you might consider a separate account for this class:
- You have a free Flickr account and use it heavily for your own photos. While Flickr accounts are free, they do have some limits of which you should be aware. We do not accept late work because of technical difficulties, so you want to make sure that you do not go over your limits and are therefore unable to submit photos required for an assignment. Our assignments can all be done with a free account with a little bit of extra space for personal photos, but you should be mindful of the limits.
- You use a Flickr account as part of a professional portfolio. In this case, you may not wish for photos that you submit for this class to be mixed in with a portfolio of images that might be more selective and focused solely on your photographic style.
If you decide to create a second account you will need to also create a new Yahoo! ID. You can only have one Flickr account associated with one Yahoo! ID at a time. In other words, go through the steps for signing up for Flickr as though you were a completely new user.
Step 2, Part I: Authenticate with Flickr. Once you have a Flickr account that you will use with e-7, we need to link it back to us so that we can associate your photos with you. Click on the link below, sign in to your Flickr account (if you aren't already), and complete the steps to allow us to tie E-7 with your account. When you are done, you will be returned to this page and you should see "Success" text below. When you authenticate, you are just giving us permission to know your username and possibly download your photos from Flickr for grading purposes. We will perform absolutely no modifications on your account once you have authorized us.
Step 2, Part II: Tell us your name. Once Step 2, Part I is completed (and you see a green "Success" text with your Flickr username), fill out the form below (all fields are required, please!) so that we can associate your authenticated Flickr username with your latest contact information. You must be registered for the course (either for credit or not-for-credit) to complete this step.
Step 3: Join the e7 Flickr group. Finally, click on the link below to visit the sign-up page and request access to the group. You will be asked to sign in to Flickr if you aren't already. Though you don't need to, you may enter some brief text into the text box before you submit your request. We'll accept your request within 24 hours assuming you've successfully performed Step 2 (above). You'll then have full access to the discussion board and the group pool, into which you can discuss photographic topics, add your own photos to share, and continue with the first assignment!