One of the most popular social media applications among high school students is Instagram, matched in popularity only by Snapchat. Talking to students about technology, it's somewhat social suicide to mention that you are a frequent Twitter user. Among this generation, the label "frequent Facebook user" doesn't even exist. In his video "Instagram i love you", Casey Neistat, an avid Instagram user, walks viewers through both his love for the application and the unspoken rules that have evolved since its creation. That's right, Instagram has developed secret laws like seating arrangements at the school lunch tables. Nevertheless, the popularity of Instagram alludes to the learning styles of the generation we are teaching. This generation is a generation of performers. Everyone demands their own method of expression and everyone has plenty to share. While most might use this as evidence for "why millennials are the worst generation ever" (an argument I will speak out against any day, any time) I see this as an opportunity for teachers to create learning while students create expression. I call it "teaching with Instagram-able Moments".
Our students are used to this expression, so much so that they long for it in the classroom. As a way to leverage this technology, I suggest we as teachers provide students with "Instagram-able Moments". This does not mean we do what we normally do and ask students to make some Instagram post of it, but instead create moments in the classroom students will want to put on Instagram. Moments filled with students expressing themselves via creation. Instagram wants students to perform, so why don't we ask them to perform?
Teaching and centering activities this way contrasts today's classrooms where despite student desires to learn by performing, we are the only performers in the room. I don't think that students need to be the spotlight at all times, but instead the spotlight can be shared. In the science classroom, this can take the form of student building/creation/experimentation, student presentations of materials, or field trips. Encourage students to share their learning or experiences and ask students to perform.
Neistat, Casey. CaseyNeistat. "Instagram i love you". Online video clip. YouTube. Oct. 2, 2012. Web. Accessed on October 16, 2016.
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Teaching Teachers TechnologyContentThere is a disparity between what students need to know technologically and what teachers can provide. The goal of this blog is to bridge that gap by providing short tutorials on useful technology for teachers! AuthorDonald Buckley Archives
April 2017
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