In a world with an ever growing use of technology for a variety of reasons and uses, there is one medium in particular that continues to rise to the top: Social Media. Social media platforms have increased our ability to become global citizens, giving us access to information, places, and people that, prior to globalization, we never knew or could have known. With social media taking up a greater place in society, educators should seize the opportunity to incorporate it in their classrooms. Out of all of the social media platforms, I personally prefer Instagram. This preference has led me to wonder how it could be used in an educational setting.
When faced with the question, “Why Instagram?”, I did a little bit of research to see what the experts had to say about it. According to a variety of articles I perused, ranging from newspaper articles to scholarly journals, Instagram is considered to be the social media platform of choice among adolescents. By introducing a social media platform that students are already familiar with, the teacher allows for students to feel a sense of pride and ownership of their knowledge and skills. I would even suggest having students discuss what they like most about Instagram, how frequently they post, what they like to post about, and to further the conversation have them brainstorm ways in which it could be used as an asset to the classroom and course content. This brainstorming activity will most likely lead to a long list of creative ways to use Instagram as a learning tool and students will be pleased to have taken part in putting together the curriculum.
The number of things I thought of and read about that a class Instagram could be used for surprised me. Of course, it could be used for something as simple as posting a picture of the homework, but it offers much more than that. For example, last summer, my brother created an Instagram account (@song_recipes) to help songwriters break through writer’s block. Each day he would post a “recipe” that included an image, two quotes (poetry and prose), and music (usually classical or jazz). None of these elements were related, but the goal was to be inspired by one or more of the four components and to write something new. I had the good fortune of getting to hear some of the songs that he himself wrote as a result of the song recipes he concocted and was amazed by how unique and creative they were. As a future French teacher, I believe that Instagram could be a great tool for creative writing prompts. An image could inspire a number of ideas and allow for students to really express themselves in unique ways. It could also be used to showcase student work, capture memories from fieldtrips, expose students to various news sources in the target language, and even allow parents to see what is going on in the classroom.
Another bonus to using Instagram in class is the potential for exploring hashtags in the target language and geotags in the target country/countries. The access to hashtags and geotags allows students to travel to distant lands and see authentic photos of famous monuments, restaurants, or whatever it is they searched as opposed to the oftentimes-outdated photos found in textbooks.
Though there are of course many other ways in which to incorporate Instagram in the classroom, it is also important for an educator to assess some of the “cons” to its use with students. One major point that must be made is the equality gap present in many schools. Not all students will have access to smartphones and would therefore be unable to participate in the activities carried out on Instagram or could feel embarrassed or left out. Another important thing to consider is parental permission. Some parents may not want their child to have a social media account. Educators should reach out to parents before introducing Instagram in the classroom to make sure that they agree to their child using it and understand why and how it will be used in the class.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, teaching adolescents to use Instagram for more than simply posting selfies and pictures of food allows for students to learn in a fun, creative, and interactive way.
I’ve always thought Instagram could have a useful place in the classroom so I’m glad you chose to explore ways it could enhance learning! I think you are definitely right in that you would have to get the okay from parents. Furthermore, I think it would be really cool to also let parents have access to maybe a class Instagram account where the teacher documents or features students’ work so parents can get a glimpse into what happens in their child’s French class. We had a discussion in our class about how hard it can be to talk to parents about discipline if you have never talked to them about positive things their child has done first. Instagram and featuring student work, or maybe even featuring a student of the week could be one way to connect to parents that wouldn’t (or hopefully wouldn’t) cause too much extra stress for the teacher.
Chérie, I truly enjoyed reading your piece; content aside, I like your style of writing.
I agree–using Instagram is a wonderful idea. Students can use it outside the classroom for assignments and even in the classroom during a cultural lesson if the teacher can be sure students are staying on task. They can potentially create new accounts for the purposes of the class, or the teacher can make one account, as Sophia mentioned, that everyone can use. It is a blog, in many ways, but a much more accessible one.
While reading your media critique (and now) I actively tried to see how I can incorporate this app in my classroom. We do use Kahoot, an online interactive game where students participate by use of their phones, and they love it. So it is evident that other activities that make use of cellphones would be a hit.