They're Magically Delicious!!

6/15/2015

"If the Internet is Lucky Charms, then Instagram is just the marshmellows." (Neistat 2012) This has to be one of the best quotes I've heard in a long while. I also completely understand the metaphor, as I am a fan of Lucky Charms. There are many cereal options out there, but none as good as Lucky Charms, they stay true to what they are. Cheerios seems to be like Facebook, our presenter says Facebook has lost its way, so have Cheerios. Don't try the Dark Chocolate ones.. just don't do it. Twitter is like the cereal Kix, yes its fine, but it is limited, far outshined by coco puffs. Cereal metaphors are the best, and they serve to further our presenters position.

I've never used Instagram, I have an account for my class, and understand the basics of taking and uploading a picture, but I don't, as of yet, understand the purpose. I am hoping to explore using this in a purposeful manner that can be adapted to my classroom practice.
"The documentation of life is important. Use Instagram to tell a story." (Neistat 2012) Before watching this video I had never considered Instagram as a tool (I know that I am still channeling my 'visitor' identity [see previous blog posting if you are confused]) for digital storytelling. As Daniel Pink tells us, "Most of our experience, our knowledge, and our thinking is organized as stories" (Pink 2006, 101). If our students see the content as a story to experience, they will understand it more deeply.
I find it fascinating that we are working on our graduate degrees communicating via a blog, or on twitter, Google +, and other social communication mediums. Our blogs, especially the 20Time projects are the authentic stories of our learning. If we are able to learn this way, then our students should be able to learn this way also. Instagram can be a way for our students to chronicle their learning, like we will in the 20Time project.
At the end of the school year, I have my students create a project that reviews everything we have learned. The only instruction is that it has to be creative. I've had students do projects based on Harry Potter, Star Wars, Sesame Street, and other pop culture entities. Being that I have never used Instagram, it didn't occur to me that I could have my students use an Instagram account to tell the story of their learning experience in my class.
The tutorial on Instagram etiquette was appriciated as well. I promise to go easy on the hashtags, and not to bleed the feed, I'll post one picture at a time, and then chill.

(2012). Instagram i love you - YouTube. Retrieved June 15, 2015, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GacoqdKjVyE.

8 Comments

Jana

6/15/2015 10:26:20 pm

I loved the way you embedded your pictures to emphasize Daniel's metaphor on the social media. I would love to chat about your end of year projects being a nerd myself I would love to see how students brought in Harry Potter and Star Wars.

Michael A. O'Hagan

6/18/2015 12:15:28 am

Jana, I'll do a blog post about the projects, they really are cool!

Natalie Priester link

6/15/2015 11:46:06 pm

Michael,

I am a regular Instagram user and agree that storytelling helps students to create content. However, I use it for a telling a slightly different type of story; I use Instagram to document and share a story about the learning and culture of my classroom. I model capturing, describing, and posting noteworthy moments in our lessons, or just our school day. My process is transparent with my students. They are so used to it that they no longer even roll their eyes when I say, "Wait! Hang on! Don't move! I need to get this for Instagram!" Instagram has become a form of positive recognition of the work they (okay, we) are doing. When I post, I use the hashtag for our school (#sanpasqualacademy) and occasionally our district (#sdjccs). I also tweet the Instagram posts. I recently began encouraging the students to capture and share the "cool stuff" we are doing on their personal Instagram accounts and nudge them to use our school's hashtag. Hopefully, our one-photo-at-a-time story can help to inspire others by sharing ideas while building a positive online reputation for our school.

Challenge: Capture and post something from your classroom on Instagram.
Check out our work: @npriester

-Natalie

6/18/2015 12:14:07 am

Natalie, I am going to accept your challenge, but alter it slightly. School has been out for a couple of weeks for me, so I am going to post some pictures of my commencing my 20Time project. Thanks for the challenge, I am a competative person so a challenge is a good way to motivate me.

Jacob

6/16/2015 07:59:43 am

I agree with you that technology is a great tool for recording and cataloging. I think instagram is a way for them to record their process of whatever they are working on because it allows them to catalogue something in an efficient manner (hashtags) which are easily retrievable. It also allows students to go back to a step if they mess up or need to change something for their outcomes. There are many ways to do this but I thinks insta is something they can use already so they an easily implement it. And by the way the Chocolate Cheerios are amazing!

6/18/2015 12:16:45 am

Jacob,
The more I am learning about the process of learning for the 20Time project the more I am liking the blogging and Instagram, twitter, etc for the timeline effect. It helps for the reteaching and or review process.

Nona Richard link

6/16/2015 09:58:54 pm

I am glad to know that I am not the only one with a more cursory understanding of Instagram. I see it as a place to take and upload pictures, too. As more of a "visitor" to the internet, I have been skeptical of many types of the technology we are learning about in this class, but now I am inspired. When people in the cohort share their lack of experience and then their enthusiasm at trying out a new tool, I feel right at home. I think I will start with the tutorial on etiquette that you mentioned. Thanks again!

6/18/2015 12:18:28 am

I uploaded my first picture to instagram when I was at the SF Giants game on Tuesday. There is a hashtag to put on it and they scroll through the pictures on the big jumbo television screen.

They're Magically Delicious!!

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