One of my favorite social networking sites to go on is Instagram. I have a personal account and follow a lot of teachers, but also just recently I have created a teaching Instagram account for myself. I love being able to see pictures of what other teachers are using in their classroom and it gives me great ideas to what I can introduce to my students. I also love that many of the teachers I follow have an account with the site Teachers Pay Teachers, because they can link up their products and sometimes I have snagged some great deals on products by following their Instagram accounts. One of the main things that I love with Instagram is their new feature of Instagram Stories. This allows users to post videos or pictures that are separate from their photo feed and are only displayed for 24 hours. I enjoy watching the videos because the teachers can provide a lot of great advice and ideas and can explain it more in depth this way. Here is a blog I found that has some of my favorites that I follow. Two of my favorite Instagram teachers to follow that are not mentioned are Bethany Humphrey (TeachingandsoFourth) and Brittany Briggs (Miss5th). They post great ideas for student engagement and classroom community. Bethany starts her days off with a student song, and I recently have added this into my classroom. My kids love starting their day by standing on their chairs and singing this song!
Another one of my favorite social networks is Pinterest. I have been on Pinterest for many years now and my boards have become quite encompassing. I have so many different teaching boards and I try to make it very organized so I can find things that I need quickly. I love Pinterest because you can link up really anything and it will be saved. Here is an article that I found of some good pinners and boards to follow on Pinterest. I use Pinterest a lot to reach some of my kids for extension and for reteaching. I love to differentiate as much as I can in my classroom, especially with how broad of a range I have. Pinterest helps me find great ideas for all skill level that is still very engaging.
Kirsten,
ReplyDeleteInstagram is also one of my favorite social networking sites. I have not created a teaching Instagram account yet, but I want to. There is just so much more I want to learn about Instagram before creating an account for my teaching. I would love for my students to be able to post their work on Instagram and then have students from all over the world be able to see what we are doing and vice versa. I feel like this would create more of an authentic audience and learning opportunity for the students. Brittany Briggs (Miss5th) is also one of my favorite Instagramers. I feel like it can be hard to find great Instagram accounts for fifth grade, but hers is definitely one. I love the whiteboard posts that Miss5th does every morning for her students. I have considered starting that next year and trying it out like one morning a week. I do not utilize Instagram Stories, but after reading your blog post, I think I will have to start watching them more on a consistent basis.
I enjoy Pinterest for many of the same reasons as you do. The article you linked to have some pinners and boards that I do not follow, but after looking at them, I need to start.
Thanks for sharing!
Kirsten -
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued on using Instragram in the classroom. I have seen the video you mentioned and I think it is amazing. Your posts has made me want to create my own teacher instragram account and start to follow others. It sounds like a great way to show what you are doing in your own class, but to also see what others are doing. Great and informative blog! Thanks!
Kirsten-
ReplyDeleteI love Instagram for my personal use, and I did not really think about using it for teaching but you have inspired me. I love the idea of creating a teaching account and following other teaching accounts for inspiration/help. I am definitely going to take your advice!
Thank you for your resources!