Instagram:
What is it:
Instagram is
a social networking site that allows you to upload images and videos to share
with your “followers” or friends. Although the site is limited to uploading
pictures and video only, some users have found a way around this by uploading screenshots
from notes they have typed on their phone or other device. Once the pictures
are uploaded “followers” can like or comment on the images posted. The downside
to this is that in order to use this application, you would need to have an
email address which most students in the elementary level would not have access
to.
One of the
perks to using Instagram is that accounts can be set to private so that only
people you approve can see the images you’ve uploaded. You can also turn the
picture locator off so that your location is not posted. Applications can be
downloaded to enhance picture quality or to create a collage of multiple
pictures or images.
What to do with it:
I think this
would be a fun tool to use in small groups when discussing novels and
characters. The students could “create” an account with a character of their
choice from the novel they are reading and find or create images to show their
understanding of the reading. They could use images to depict character traits
within a particular chapter, a cultural norm they discovered, or something they
found out about the family of the character. It would be interesting to see how
the students represent their characters life through the use of images and
symbols. You can also have the other students in the novel group comment on the
pictures based on what they have read and their perspective of the character. As
a novel group they can create videos to show an event that occurs in the novel
to upload to their Instagram page as well.
The link to the sample page and comments I have created is: Kyo's Instagram
These links show more ways you can use Instagram:
Instagram in the Classroom
Social Media in Classroom
Classroom Made Instagram
The link to the sample page and comments I have created is: Kyo's Instagram
These links show more ways you can use Instagram:
Instagram in the Classroom
Social Media in Classroom
Classroom Made Instagram
Thank you for sharing Instagram Brooke. I have heard people talking about this so much over the past year but I have never used it. I think that your idea of using it in the context of a novel is novel. Due to some thinks that I heard exist on peoples' accounts, I think that I will stay away from this one, particularly at the high school level.
ReplyDeleteI have some teachers at my school who have used Instagram to post their homework because so many of the kids actually use their phones (and not their agenda books...who would've thought?)
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of using Instagram to teach a novel! It reminds me of a Webinar I listened to where the instructor used Twitter to have students tweet as a different character in Hamlet.
Thanks for sharing!