What is Instagram & How Can I Use It to Engage Students?

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Presented by Shannon J. Holden High school and middle school teacher, administrator,

and new teacher coach in North Dakota, Texas, and Missouri for 20 years.

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What is Instagram & How Can I Use It to Engage Students?

Presenter:

Shannon J. Holden

www.newteacherhelp.com

Who Is Shannon Holden?

• Taught H.S. Math and M.S. History for 8 years in Texas

• Assistant Principal for 3 years in Texas at a “9th Grade only” building

• Assistant Principal for 11 years in Missouri

• Adjunct Instructor at Lindenwood University and Missouri State University

• Online Instructor at The University of North Dakota and The University of The Pacific

Overview of Today’s Session• What is Instagram?

• Why use Instagram?

• Instagram ethics

• Instagram “How-To”

• Ideas for the classroom

• Limitations of Instagram

What is Instagram?

• A free photo-sharing app that was unveiled in October of 2010

• By April of 2012, Instagram had 30 million users worldwide (before it was even introduced to the Droid audience)

• Currently, Instagram has roughly 100 million users

Why Use Instagram?

• There are tons of other “Web 2.0” tools that are better than Instagram

• Then WHY use Instagram?

• We use Instagram because everyone is on it!

• Most of your students are on it!

Why Use Instagram?

• Students get engaged in the material because they know their audience is going to be their peers…not just teachers

Instagram Ethics

• The only required information to use Instagram is an email address and username

• Other information can be given by the user

• Children under of the age of 13 cannot use Instagram

Do My Students Need an Email Address?

• Go to a document in this community’s “Document Library” called “Disposable Email Accounts”

• You can use these temporary email accounts to have your students register for Instagram (or any other Web 2.0 tools)

Instagram Ethics• Use the option to make your photos private

– The default is “Public”, so make sure to change

• Disable the option to “Geotag” your photos

• Write a letter home to the parents describing your use of Instagram in the classroom– You may have to let parents “opt out”– Follow your building’s “Acceptable Use Policy”– Posting images of students (even on your

classroom’s private Instagram account) may make some parents nervous

Instagram “How-To”• Set up an Instagram account for your

classroom

• Have students “tag” your account when they post something educational

• All students in the class can see all of the cool posts by their classmates, and make comments

• Parents can “follow” the classroom account to keep up with all of the cool things the class is doing!

Instagram “How-To”

• You can install the Instagram app on all of your classroom’s devices, signed in to the classroom’s Instagram account (if you have elementary-aged students)

• Make the account “private”

• Do not “follow” other Instagram users, as their pictures and posts will appear in your news feed if you do

Lesson Idea• Post your lesson with a hashtag

• Students don’t need to “follow” you in order to access your lessons if you use a hashtag

• You don’t need to follow students in order for them to access your lessons or post comments/answers

• This example lesson is posted in #holdenmath

Lesson 44

• Order of Operations

• Textbook pg. 264 # 1-20 (evens)

• Video:• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrJWmn-kiUw

• Order of Operations With Fractions/Decimals:• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1IDF7Qiwi4

How to Post Lesson (Option 1)• List lesson on PPT slide, then take a picture

of your computer screen with your phone

• Write your lesson on your whiteboard, and take a picture!

• Don’t forget to hashtag it!

• Mine is #holdenmath

• If you teach multiple classes, you may need to come up with multiple hashtags

How to Post Lesson (Option 2)• Make your lesson on a PPT slide

• Make a “Screenshot” of the slide

• Load the JPEG image into DropBox (or email it to yourself)

• Download the image on your mobile device

• Post the photo on your Instagram from your “photo files”

Lesson Ideas (Obvious)

• Photography

• A short unit on “iPhoneography”

Lesson Ideas• Students can write and share short photo

essays

• Learning to write from everyday life is a valuable skill that aligns with the CCSS

• “Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences”

• Example: Have students post a picture of what scares them, then write “why”.

Lesson Ideas

• Language Arts – Whenever a vocabulary word pops up in a magazine article, road sign, or billboard, students can snap a picture of it and share it with classmates

• Students could take a picture of billboards or other signs with grammatical/spelling errors

Lesson Ideas

• Math – Students could take a picture of right triangles, isosceles triangles, scalene triangles, etc. that occur in architecture or just in everyday life

• Students could do the same for cones, pentagons, parallelograms, and other geometric figures

Lesson Ideas• History – Students could photograph

landmarks, monuments, street signs and analyze the SPEC (social, political, economic, and cultural) elements that define them

Lesson Ideas

• Students can snap pictures throughout the day and write short descriptions of them

• Photo journaling in 140 characters is an excellent way to practice clear, concise writing

• Teachers can snap their own pictures, or use the work of an artist on Instagram as writing prompts

Lesson Ideas

• Science – Use Instagram to visually document change over time

• Students can document changes in weather, growth of a pet, or stages of plant growth

• Students can document data during a lab, and write their hypothesis, observations, or conclusions

Lesson Ideas

• Showing a sequence

• Students can use Instagram and a photo collage app like Diptic or PicStitch to show a sequence of events or steps in a “how to” procedure

• Kids can expand on the process in the comments section

Lesson Ideas

• Sample writing prompt:

• Students take a picture of graffiti or murals painted on buildings, train cars, or overpasses

• “Is this vandalism or art? Why or why not?”

Lesson Ideas

• Rewards for students

• Print out pictures, and sell them in your school store as a fundraiser

• Gifts for parents who attend your “Open House” or Parent Night

Lesson Ideas

• Shoot a sequence of pictures to see if students can detect patterns

Lesson Ideas

• Physical Education – Students take pictures of classmates using correct techniques for certain exercises– Push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, etc.– Do’s & don’ts in the weight room

Lesson Ideas

• Health – Have students take pictures of their meals to calculate caloric (approximate) intake

• Are students getting the recommended amounts of fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, etc.?

• Are students eating an excess of fast food, fried foods, “junk” foods?

An App Used in Conjunction w/Instagram

• Cartogram – a tool that teaches about geography and sociology

• When a location is typed in, images come up that were posted to the Instagram site from that location

• These images create a map which students can use to learn about specific places

More Ideas

• An Image a Day – Have a different student take a picture each day of the school year, and have classmates write comments/memories about the picture

• Students could make a memory book that would serve as a memento of the year

Hashtags

• Students could read a book (ex. Romeo & Juliet) and their assignment could be to capture an image that reminded them of a scene from the story

• Students could post their images to #romeoandjuliet and see what ideas others had

• The same could be done for a History, Science, or Poetry assignment

More Ideas• Students could make a photo collage of all of

the books they read during the year

• Students could photograph all of the things they find during a trip to the beach

For Longer Narrative Writing

• Instagram pictures can be posted to Tumblr

Tag Photos• Physics unit – Take a few photos of your

experiments, tag them with the account name of a famous physicist

• The famous person may be flattered/interested in your class project and want to become involved!

Feedback• Post a seemingly “unsolvable” problem, and

ask for feedback

• Students soon discover that all of us together are smarter than any one of us alone

• This method of brainstorming/crowdsourcing a problem can lead to results!

When All Is Said & Done…• You could just let students take pictures!

• Many students will develop a love for photography

• Many students will develop an awareness of the world around them, and look for beauty in their world

• Conversations and collaborations will follow!

Ways to Print Instagram Photos

• Sticky Gram

• Lets you turn your Instagram photos into magnets

• $15 for a pack of 9 (with free shipping)

Ways to Print Instagram Photos

• Printstagram

• Lets you create a variety of things with your photos– Photo collage– Mini-prints– Stickers (252 for $10)– Mini-books (50 photos in each)– Tiny-books (24 photos in each)

Ways to Print Instagram Photos

• Postagram

• Lets you order mail-able postcards with your Instagram photos on them

Ways to Print Instagram Photos

• PostalPix

• Free app that lets you order regular prints of your Instagram images

Ways to Print Instagram Photos

• Instagoodies

• Lets you order 90 1” stickers for $14

Ways to Print Instagram Photos

• ArtFlakes

• Lets you print stickers of different sizes with your Instagram images

Ways to Print Instagram Photos• ImageSnap

• Lets you put your images on actual ceramic tiles that can go on walls

Limitations of Instagram• Instagram “links” on your photos aren’t

“clickable”…..yet

• Instagram is available on desktop/laptop computers, but has limited functionality (for the time being)

• I have a feeling that these limitations will be fixed soon

More Instagram Tips

• http://www.educationaltechtools.com

• Follow me on Instagram!– newteacherhelp

• Check out my hashtag!– #holdenmath

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Using TED-Ed, Khan Academy, and Sophia to Flip Your Classroom

Shannon J. Holden

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