Face-to-face peer critiquing, while an important part of the learning process, may not be as effective as it could
be. Not all students participate for a variety of reasons. Student discussion tends to involve several students who
are more vocal about their ideas while the rest of the class remains silent. This session will feature a hands-on
exploration of our Web-based, collaborative critiquing tool, Photocritic (designed and developed using several
open source tools). Photocritic is used for evaluating content and compliments face-to-face lectures with a unique,
reciprocal learning experience among and between students fostering reinforcement of skills and knowledge.



Challenge: responding to student reticence to engage in peer critique of photographs
needed to build a model of critiquing and a platform that supports for effective peer to peer collaboration

considerations: file size, storage

Found blackboard limiting
Selected WordPress open source blogging tool.
Options for securing pages, log-on
Met need for interactivity and organization
Took advantage of open source technical community

Design recommendation: organize in groups of three to five – slackers can’t hide, harder for outspoken people to dominate
People can only critique photos within their own group

Site is called photocritic
Includes extensive help area
Provides model criteria for critiquing

Quality of critiques evolved as the course went on. Students became more comfortable and appreciative of feedback because they felt they developed their identity and voice