I use
Instagram in my personal life all of the time.
Recently, I began thinking about how the quick sharing of pictures and
videos could be used to enhance the educational experience of my kids. My classroom Instagram is a private site
where I approve the followers. I’m also very careful about posting the faces of
my students. If a face slips in the
frame, I use apps like Touch Blur to cover their faces.
1. Document
the Day: Have a photographer of the day
to snap a photo and write a caption.
This is a great way for the little ones to practice writing expanded
sentences and descriptive writing. It
would make a great Year in the Life book at the end of the year. Prinstagram is a fairly cheap service that
prints Instagram photos in a variety of ways.
2. Keeping
Parents informed: Instagram is a fun way
to showcase class projects and field trips for parents to see. Snap a series of
pictures to show the steps in a science experiment or have kids take pictures
of their favorite book and write a book recommendation caption.
3. Keep
it moving: With the addition of video to
Instagram, students can create short videos to showcase their learning. One of my favorite mini moviemakers is
PicGrid. Just choose a template, add
pictures and choose the music. When you
save it to your camera roll, you can add it to your Instagram account. It is
very easy to make an animated collage with this free app. Some other Instagram
video apps are Flipagram, Video Star, and Action Movie FX. (I have not tested the last two in Instagram but I do enjoy using them in class.)
4. Let
your Photo Talk: Let students take a
stock photo or a photo they take and make it talk. Let a picture of a rock speak or draw a
tornado and make it come to life.
Drawing a character and let it tell its story in a concise speech. Some
of my favorite apps to do this are Chatter Pix, Chatter Pix Kid and Yakit. All of these let you save the video to your
camera roll. As long as it is less than
15 seconds you can import it to Instagram.
5. Just
Take Pictures: Let students explore
their creative side and just let them take pictures. You might be surprised what they will come
with to share. There are several apps that let you add cool effects to
pictures. Some of my favorites are PicStich, A Beautiful Mess, Superimpose, and Overgram.
Have fun with Instagram. Whether you use it personally, as writing
prompts for your students, or as a tool where students are the photgraphers, it
can be an education- enhancing tool! I’m an Instagram fan. I hope you become one, too!
Have a great weekend!
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