How to Increase Parent Followers on Social Media Sites

Let's say you've already set up a classroom Instagram, Twitter, and/or Facebook. Now you need to get the word out to your students and their parents. How do you do that? Here are some suggestions:

• Feature the students. From what I understand, CISD employees are allowed to post student photos on a classroom website, so long as the parent has signed the permission slip. My kids still get excited when they see me taking pictures of them because they know there's a good chance they could wind up on our class Instagram and be "famous!" 
• Let the kids post for you. I did this 2 years ago on Twitter {and need to do it again!}, and the kids were so excited to tweet that they excitedly ran home and told their parents.
• E-mail parents. Be direct and let parents know you just started a classroom social media account and would love for them to follow the updates.
• Put a reminder in your e-mail signature. You can do something as simple as writing "Follow me on Twitter! @MrsKaras," for example. You can link to your profile(s) if you want to get a bit fancier. And if you have multiple sites you'd like to share, you can add social media buttons to your e-mail signature:

This is currently at the bottom of my work e-mail signature

• Put links on your classroom website or blog. Everyone at CISD has an Edline page to customize, and most of us have blogs, too. Link to your social media sites in the sidebar so that they're always visible to visitors. 
• On a similar note: embed a stream of your latest updates on your website. I know you can embed Twitter and Instagram feeds onto a website, but I'm not sure about Facebook since I don't use it for the classroom. On Twitter, go to settings >> widgets >> "create new." You can generate a simple HTML code to put onto your site, which could look something like this:

Tweets by @ckarasedu
           

Instagram is mobile-based but you can view photos from the web now. I used SnapWidget to create my embed codes. You can see examples of my embedded Instagram feeds by visiting individual grade level pages on my classroom website.

The good thing about embedding feeds directly into your website is that visitors don't have to do any extra clicking or navigating to see your updates -- it all appears right there on your main website.

• Interact with others in the community. I think my professional Twitter account pretty much flew under the radar until I started interacting with other CISD accounts. Something as simple as favoriting, re-tweeting, or mentioning another user might help you gain followers.
• Put it in announcements. Simply telling the kids via announcements -- either school-wide or just at the beginning of class -- can do wonders.

Keep in mind that parents can see your updates by visiting your profile even if they don't officially "follow" or "like" it. I'm always surprised to find that I have a lot more readers than my "following" number shows.

Above all, the point of social media isn't to get "likes" or "followers" -- it's about connecting with others. Don't get too caught up in your numbers!

 

The Social Classroom

The Prezi below is an overview of the discussion in my mini-session about social media in the classroom on our district's "digital day of learning." Press the "play" button in the middle of the screen and use your arrow keys to navigate through the presentation. Click the square button in the bottom right corner of the Prezi to show the slides full-screen.

Instagram: My Board

Although I have a Pinterest account for personal use, I decided to create one for professional use so that I could link it to this blog. Below is the board where I pin all things Instagram-related:

Follow Candice's board Instagram in Education on Pinterest.

Here is my general social media board:

Follow Candice's board Social Media in Education on Pinterest.

And here is the link to this blog's Pinterest profile if you want to see all things technology:

Visit Candice's profile on Pinterest.

The Hashtag

As far as I know, the hashtag was born on Twitter several years ago. As hashtagging became more popular, other social networking sites -- such as Facebook and Instagram -- implemented them into their websites, too. {You can read more about the history of the hashtag by clicking here.} Now, they are almost universal in the world of social networking.

Via

The hashtag is represented by the pound symbol (#). Users on social networking sites insert the hashtag into a post before a popular word or topic. Once posted, anyone who searches for that particular topic will see that post {unless the poster has a private account}.

The idea behind the hashtag is that you can find posts by like-minded people and connect with them. It becomes a sort-of search term, if you will. Once you create a hashtag {remember, by putting the pound sign in front of a word or phrase}, it becomes a link. Click on the link to see a list of all the other updates that have that hashtag in them.

For instance, one hashtag I like a lot on Twitter is #edtech. If I post something about educational technology on my Twitter feed, I might include the hashtag "#edtech." Right now, that leads me to a page that looks like this {although this page is always changing!}:

Notice the gray search bar at the top of the page? I typed in "#edtech" and pressed "enter." All of a sudden, I got to see a whole feed of Twitter posts that have that same hashtag in them. This is how I've found some amazing people to follow on Twitter! 

There is no real rhyme or reason for hashtags; you can make anything into a hashtag because they are completely user-generated. Sometimes people use hashtags in front of key words in their post, they use a certain tag that is used by a large group of people, or they'll even make a tongue-in-check phrase into a hashtag.

So where do you start?

Since this is an educational blog, let's focus only on educational hashtags. Below are websites that feature lists of popular educational hashtags:

• 300+ Educational Twitter Hashtags Being Used Right Now
• Educational Hashtags
• The Unofficial Index to Educational Hashtags
• Popular Education Hashtags on Twitter
• The 2012 A-Z List of Educational Hashtags

What else?

Because hashtags are user-generated, some users have taken them to the extreme. While there are no official rules of hashtagging, you definitely want to follow a couple guidelines to avoid looking silly:

1. If the hashtag does not relate to the post, don't use it. 
2. Don't hashtag every {or every other!} word.
3. Feel free to use more than one hashtag for a post, but keep rule #1 in mind. That said, there is no reason to add an entire paragraph full of hashtags. {This mostly happens on Instagram.}

This article, titled, "#HashtagEtiquette: 8 People Who Are Doing It Wrong" featured on Mashable explains a few unwritten rules about using hashtags. Abide by these 8 guidelines and you'll already be ahead of some people! ;)

Stumped as to how you can use hashtags?

• Visit this post for a review on Twitter chats, which completely rely on hashtags to allow people from around the world to talk about the same topic at the same time. 
• Read my post about ways teachers can use Twitter.
• Scroll toward the bottom of this article from TweetChat for 21 ways to use a hashtag. 

Finally, I'll leave you with a bit of humor about hashtags. The following video was featured on The Tonight Show a year or two ago. This video features Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake making fun of people who use the word "hashtag" in real life -- another "don't"! ;)

>> Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: @ckarasedu <<

Below are other articles I've written over Twitter:

• An overview/short 'n sweet guide
• Definitions of Twitter and its Vocabulary
• The basics: setting up an account, navigating the website, and tweeting
• Twitter Accounts to Follow
• Twitter chats {a fantastic yet "unofficial" way to be "professional developed"}
• Suggestions for Use
• Personal Success Stories from Using Twitter in the Classroom

Instagram: a Tutorial

:: June 2014 update:: I elongated this post by giving details about each screen in the Instagram app for iOS devices. I also recorded a more detailed tutorial video. 

I made a little video about how to use Instagram on an iOS device, if you're interested. It's not as "fancy" as the videos on my Screencast channel, but it should get the job done. :) {I don't have any other devices except Apple devices on which to show you a tutorial. If you're on an Android or other device, go to YouTube and start searching! I'm sure there's a tutorial out there!} 

Click the outlined square in the bottom right of the video to make it full screen.

If you'd rather read through a tutorial instead of watching a video, please see the instructions below...

1. Download the free Instagram app from the App Store. It's important to know that while you can view, like, and comment on photos from the Instagram website, you cannot currently upload any photos from the website. You must use the app on a mobile device.

2. Open the app.

3. If you already have an Instagram account, stop reading this and skip to step 4. Register with Facebook or with an e-mail address. If you register with Facebook, it means that you'll log in using your Facebook username and password, and then Instagram will import all of your Facebook info to your Instagram account. So whatever your current Facebook profile picture is -- that will be your Instagram picture, and so on. Of course, you can always change this later. 

I don't ever register with Facebook. First of all, I'm not a Facebook fan, so if I ever want to delete my FB account completely, I'd have all these other accounts hooked up to it that I'd probably lose access to. Second, Facebook is terrible about privacy. They frequently change their privacy settings without telling anyone, and that annoys me. I don't trust Facebook, plain and simple. Third, I am adamant about keeping my professional accounts completely separate from my personal accounts. I don't have a professional Facebook account, so I'd have to connect my professional Instagram account with my personal Facebook account, and that's not okay with me. 

People do register accounts through Facebook frequently, though, because it makes it very easy to remember usernames and passwords. 

It's totally a personal decision. No judgement from me. :) 

If you choose to register with Facebook, you'll just type in your FB username and password and essentially log in to FB through this Instagram app. 

If you choose to register with an e-mail account, you'll just fill in the 3 areas below:

I guess there are technically 4 areas to fill in above if you count the profile picture, but since it's not mandatory, I don't think it counts. :) Click the arrow in the top right when you're ready to move on. If you just registered, skip to step 5. 

4. If you need to log in, click the "log in" button at the bottom of the launch screen, type in your username and password, and click the arrow in the top right. 

:: July 2015 update - my IG username is now @ckarasedu ::

5. Immediately upon logging in to your account, you'll see your home page, which is filled with your feed. "Feed" is short for "newsfeed" in the social media world, which is a timeline or list of all the latest updates from everyone you're friends with or following.

On each picture, you can see the username and profile picture of the person who posted it {below: I blocked the username and their subject's face, just to feel a little more comfortable posting this online...} when they posted it {below: 6 days ago}, how many "likes" that photo has {below: 104}, a caption the poster wrote with the photo -- if any {below: starts with, "Tune in now..."}, and any comments other users have written about that photo {below: not shown. It would be below the poster's caption}. A "like" is a way for someone to acknowledge that they enjoyed seeing a photo without actually having to write a comment. {It's like a Facebook "like."}

Side note: when comment on a photo and talking directly to someone, you want to write @ and then their username to make sure they get a notification about the comment and can know to write you back. :)

6. In the upper, right corner of the screen is a box that looks like an inbox. Those are Instagram Direct Messages. It works much like a private Facebook or Twitter message {DM} in that you only share with a select person or group of people. You can send both photos and videos this way. This is a fairly new Instagram concept -- introduced within the last year, if I remember correctly. I'm not a fan of it as an educator, but since it's a feature, you need to know about it. I personally wouldn't use it with students, but that's just me... 

7. Still on the home screen: the star button between the home button and the blue button is your search feature. When you press that button, you automatically see a grid of all the current most popular photos on Instagram. This is mainly for businesses and teenagers obsessed with collecting a lot of false friends. ;) I don't use this page because I don't know any of those people, so I don't really care... But you can also use this page to search for a username or hashtag. 

8. The blue button is your "take and/or upload a photo or video to your account" button. Clicking on it takes you to a screen similar to this. The black square that you see in the middle of the picture below is what your camera sees. I had this close-up to a table when I took the screenshot because I didn't want you to see a picture of my messy living room, which is my current view. :) 

Use the big, blue button to take a picture from within the Instagram app. You can also use it to take videos within the app if you click the video button on the bottom right. 

You can also upload any pictures or videos already on your device by clicking the square on the left of the big, blue button. In the picture below, the square has a picture of the last screenshot you saw, which is the last photo I took. But clicking that square would allow you to browse the rest of your photos/videos and all your albums.

Instagram videos are limited to 15 seconds, so if you upload a video that's longer, Instagram will prompt you to crop it. If you take a video within the app, Instagram will cut the video off at 15 seconds so you don't have to {and can't} do any cropping. 

There's a white-inked row sitting on top of the big, blue button. Let's review: Press the grid button to put a grid on the screen while you're taking a photo -- in case you want to follow the photography rule of thirds or something. The middle button is to switch the camera to the front {a la "Let me take a #selfie"... ugh}, and the right button helps you adjust the flash.

9.  Next, add filters and/or edit the photo if you wish. This is where Instagram gets the reputation for "artsy" or "vintage" photos because everyone wants to add some type of fancy filter to their photos to make them look more professional. Adding filters or any other edits is totally optional. 

10. Click "next" and see the following screen. Add a caption if you wish. You can "tag" people on your photo by clicking the "tag people" option. This lets you notify another Instagram user that they're in your picture. For instance, if your teammate also has a professional Instagram account and you post a picture of her on your account, you can "tag" her. She'll get a notification that she's in one of your pictures.

The photo map adds a pin to a map about where you were when you uploaded the photo. I'm a privacy weirdo, so I personally find this feature really creepy. But I guess it could add a fun element if you were on a field trip with your students or something...? Anyway, to enable this, just click the toggle next to the word "map."

The list of 4 social media sites you see listed below the "photo map" option are share options. There are a couple other social media sites you can share your Instagram photos on, but these are the main ones. To do so, you'll have to connect the other social media account to your Instagram {more about that later}, and then click the account you wish to share on. For instance, I always click the "Twitter" button so that my Instagram photo is also posted on my Twitter account. It's just a way to crosspost without having to log in to a bunch of other sites.

Notice that the "direct" button is grayed out. That means you're not using the Instagram Direct option. Click it to turn it blue to directly message someone or a group of other Instagram users.

11. Click the "share" button. The screen will go back to your home page or newsfeed. Once the photo or video is posted, you'll see your post as the first thing on your newsfeed {until one of your friends posts something else}.

12. The button that looks like a text speech bubble with a heart in the middle is where you find your notifications. The default notification screen is set to "news," and it shows you any activity that has occurred between you and friends. For instance, you'll see if someone "likes" your post or comments on one of them, if someone tags you in a photo, or if someone comments directly to you by writing the @ symbol in front of your username. There's also another tab that says "followers," and that's your opportunity to see activity that your friends have had. For instance, if I were following @abc123 {I'm making that up... don't search for it}  and they liked someone else's picture, I could see the picture that was "liked," so long as @abc123 doesn't have a private profile. It's a little creepy, too, in my opinion, but I guess you could use it to find mutual friends. 

13. Click the business card icon on the bottom right of your home screen to see your profile.

:: July 2015 update -- my IG username is now @ckarasedu ::

On your profile page, you can see your profile picture, the "about me" section you typed about yourself, a website that is affiliated with you {if you chose to fill that portion in}, and all your posts. Your posts appear in a grid by default, but you can press the 3 horizontal lines to see all your posts in a larger format like your newsfeed. The water drop button shows you photos that you've added a location to, and the last button the right above your post grid shows you any photos other Instagram users have tagged you in. 

14. At the top of your profile page, click "edit profile" to see some more options. Here, you can edit your profile picture, your displayed name, your username, a website associated with you {optional}, a short bio, and your password.

:: July 2015 update -- my IG username is now @ckarasedu ::

Scroll down to see more options:

The "posts are private" toggle allows you to make your profile private. This way, users have to send you a request and you have to accept it in order for them to see any of your posts. This is ideal for teachers who have younger students or who teach a smaller number of students. I don't feel like it's an option for me, though, because I teach over 400 kids a week. I'm still learning all of their parents' names -- I can't memorize their usernames, too! I'm afraid I'd accidentally reject someone and deny them access to see what their kid is doing in my class, so I keep my profile public.

CISD's policy is that you can post photos of your students on a professional social media account as long as all the students' parents or guardians have signed the photo release. If you get a student whose parents haven't signed the release -- which is rare, I'm told -- you can crop that student out of all photos, black out the face before posting, blur the face before posting, or just make sure he/she isn't in the frame when you take a photo. The way I understand it, as long as the releases are signed, though, you are free to post on your classroom website, blog, and/or social media as long as it's a professional page that you can affiliate with CISD.

15. Go back to your profile page and click the gear button in the upper right corner. You'll see a page like this:

The "find people to follow" tab lets you look at people that have similar interests, similar hashtags, and/or people that your friends follow -- on the chance that you'd see a mutual friend.

The "posts you've liked" tab lets you review all the pictures you've pressed the "like" button on. It does not give you the option to view all the photos on which you've commented, though.

Below are support options.

16. Scroll further, and see options like this:

"Share settings" let you connect your Instagram account to other social media sites. For instance, my class Instagram is connected to my class Twitter. That way, when I post something on Instagram, I have the option to let Twitter post the exact same thing without me having to log in to Twitter manually post it.

Push notifications deal with Apple's notification center. It's handy if you want to respond to likes or comments very quickly, but it's bad because it will drain your battery life more quickly.

The most important feature on the picture above is the "log out" option, though. This is where I can switch back and forth between my personal and private accounts, which makes having a class Instagram super-easy.

Hope that helps! I know it seems like a lot of information, but Instagram is really easy once you get started. 

>> Follow me on IG! <<

For ideas on getting started with Instagram, please click here.

For ideas on how to use Instagram in your classroom, please click here.

Instagram: Ideas for Use

I think having a class Instagram is a neat idea. It's a great way to document what's happening in your class, share with families, and show students' smiles and success. You can assign a student to be the class photographer if you don't have time to incorporate Instagram yourself.

Here are some other ideas about how to use Instagram in your classroom:

• Send a link to your class Instagram in your welcome-back-to-school welcome letter {or insert a QR code}. Before school starts, allow students to log in and see a photo-tour of your classroom and/or the school. It could help students get excited about coming back to school. 
• Students who have an Instagram account of their own {or could use Mom's for a while} could take pictures of real-life examples of things you're studying in class and tag you in them. Teaching alliteration? Ask students to find an example of alliteration in the real world and tag you in their Instagram picture of it. Teaching the /oi/ sound? Ask students to find pictures of objects whose name contains the /oi/ sound.
• Document steps in an investigation or experiment. Use the pictures to help write in the science notebook. {You could even print the pictures and/or print the QR code link to them and let students glue that into their notebook entry.}
• If you have a class set of iOS devices {or cameras}, ask students to complete a photo scavenger hunt around the school and tag the class Instagram account in their uploaded pictures. The first team to upload all the answers wins.
• Put Instagram pictures of the class in your class store {if you use a classroom economy management system, I bet these would "sell" quickly}. 
• Host a small fundraiser with prints from your class Instagram. Create a brochure of the different printing options and send it home to parents. By increasing the price just a little bit, you could provide tangible and physical memories for parents to keep and make a little money for your class or school. You could contact each company individually to see if you could purchase items in a bulk price. 
• Print pics to create a photo book for "writing inspiration"? Students could keep the book in their desk and refer to it if they run out of ideas during a writer's workshop. 
• Assign a photo essay: students have to capture pictures to depict a story. 
• If every student had an Instagram account of his/her own, they could use it as a photo portfolio for work throughout the year.
• Print pictures to use as goodbye gifts for your students at the end of the year. I particularly love the idea of creating a book or collage with memories from the school year for each student.
• Instagram pictures make great additions to class bulletin boards and/or classroom decorations. 
• If you teach an older grade, you could use your class Instagram to post pictures of homework help/tips or content-related jokes. If you need to upload text, just go into your Notebook app and write whatever needs to be said. Take a screenshot of your words and upload the screenshot to Instagram. {You could also use the free app, Notestagram, for more customization options.}
• Because Instagram saves all of your photos infinitely, you can use it to take pictures of great examples of lessons that you repeat on a yearly basis. Next year you teach that same lesson, pull up the example picture on your class Instagram instead of having to dig a hard copy out from the depths of your files. {This could be a great supplement to your teaching portfolio and/or substitute lesson plans!}
• Use your Instagram pictures to help you make a slideshow at the end of the year. Play it on repeat during your end-of-the-year party.

Here are some cool ideas on ways to print your Instagram pictures (if you're willing to pay a little):

1. Sticky Gram lets you turn your Instagram pics into magnets -- it's $15 for a pack of 9 with free shipping. 
2. Printstagram lets you create a variety of things with your photos. The first option is a photo college (great for displaying all the students in your class or all of their work on one piece of paper) --  it's 20" x 40" and $25. Mini-prints are cards with your photos on them -- get a set of 48 for $12. Stickers -- get a pack of 252 stickers for $10. Make two mini-books (with 50 photos each) for $12. Or make 3 tiny-books (with 24 photos each) for $10.
3. Postagram lets you order mail-able postcards with your Instagram photos on them. Mail a postcard for as little as $1.
4. PostalPix is a free app that lets you order regular prints of your Instagram images.
5. Instagoodies lets you order 90 1" stickers for $14.
6. ArtFlakes lets you print stickers of different sizes with your Instagram images. Get anywhere from 10 stickers (for $20) to 50 stickers (for $62). These stickers are about 4"x4" and are removable from any surface!
7. ImageSnap lets you create put your images on actual ceramic tiles that can go on walls! This company offers tiles in a range of sizes and prices.

Ways to use the above-printing-services in your classroom:

• Anything could be a reward for a student! I'm sure they would love getting any gift that had a picture of them or work they had done on it!
• Anything could be a gift for parents, as well. Again, you could use pictures of the student's face or that student's work -- either would be a cool gift for a parent. I'm specifically thinking of "thank you" gifts for those parents who volunteer to help in your room or on field trips, or "welcome" gifts for all parents on Open House or Parent/Teacher Conference nights. You don't have to give anything expensive, but I think giving parents a little somethin'-somethin' emphasizes how appreciative you are that they came and might encourage them to come again in the future!
• If The Powers That Be will let you, you could apply a coat of magnetic paint to one wall of your classroom. On the first day of school, you could take pictures of students' faces (or decorated drawings of their own name) and turn those into magnets. Then you could display student work with the magnets, holding up each document with the appropriate, personalized magnet. 
• One management method for student bathroom/water fountain breaks I saw once involved a T chart on the white board. It looked something like this:

There were also magnets with places the students could go -- girl's bathroom, boy's bathroom, water fountain, nurse, and counselor. If a student needed to leave the room, he got up, slid his name to the "out" column, moved the location magnet of where he was going right next to it, and calmly left the room. I thought the system worked beautifully. Using student-magnets with pictures on them would be great for very young students who can't read, or it would just be a fun and personal addition to make students smile.

Instagram: Getting Started

Imagine Scenario A: as a parent, you drop your student off to school every morning, hoping that she has a good time and learns something along the way. At night, you sit around the dinner table and ask little Susie, "What did you do in school today?" Her response: "I dunno" or "Nothin'." This occurs night after night after night...

Now imagine Scenario B: as a parent, you drop your student off to school every morning. At night, you sit around the dinner table and ask little Susie, "What did you do in school today?" Before she can even respond, "Nothin'," you whip out your cell phone and show her a picture of a fun-looking activity her teacher posted on the class Instagram. Susie's eyes light up as she excitedly remembers and tells you about what happened at school today.

Doesn't Scenario B sound much more pleasant? I thought so, too. 

YOU could provide that opportunity for the parents of students in your room. You could open up lines of communication about school. YOU could remind students about the exciting things they did today. YOU could give parents an inside look as to what is happening in your room on a daily basis. ...All with a free app and a couple clicks.

I've been using Instagram in my classroom since August 2012, and I tell you what: I love it {and so do the parents I've spoken to about it}!

Instagram used to be a mobile-device-only program, but it has now expanded to a full website. You still cannot post anything via the website {you have to do it from a mobile device}, but you can at least view everything from a regular computer. So any of your parents -- regardless of what devices they own {or don't own} can participate in this class activity.

What it is:
Instagram is a social media site based solely on pictures. Instead of status updates, you post pictures or short videos.

How to get started:

1. On your phone or tablet, surf the App Store for Instagram and download it for free. 
2. Register with an e-mail address, provide a username and password, and your account is up and ready for use. 
3. Upload pictures to your account by taking a picture directly within the app, or by uploading a picture from your camera roll. Instagram only accepts square pictures, so you'll be directed to a screen that allows you to crop it accordingly. Apply a variety of simple filters to improve your photo or make it look more "artsy" and creative. Add an optional caption and post. 
4. Link your Instagram account to your Twitter or Facebook page so that every picture you post on Instagram will automatically show up on those social networking sites, as well {do this in the settings portion of the app}. This expands your sharing capabilities with one easy click. 
5. Find friends and "follow" them to see their photos automatically in your feed. From there, you can "like" or comment on any public picture. 

Privacy concerns:
You can adjust your privacy settings to make your photos private; doing this means that users will have to request to follow you, and you will have to approve their friendship before they can see anything you post. {However, keep in mind that if you link your Instagram to post automatically to your Facebook or Twitter and neither of THOSE are private, your pictures will still be viewable to the public on those social networking sites.}

How to use it in the classroom:
I use it to document our work and activities, plain and simple! Since I teach Science Lab, I use it to take photos of documents, artifacts, experiments, and investigations that my students are using/creating/conducting during class. Parents and admin of the school can "follow" my account and are able to see what we do in class on a daily basis.

I try to take at least 1-2 pictures per activity, rotating who I capture on film so that, hopefully, every student can be featured before the year is over.

Time commitment:
Our school encourages staff to keep cell phones handy anyway, in case of emergency, so I almost always have my phone close by. It literally takes me 2 seconds to open my camera app and take a picture with my cell. {I find it harder to snap a picture during younger grade levels' classes -- such as kindergarten -- because I tend to need to help them with investigations during every second. With older students, however, there are plenty of days where I give them instructions and just let them explore, so it's the perfect time for me to take snap some pictures.} I upload during class {under the document camera so students can see}, during plan time, during lunch, or at the end of the day when I'm waiting for my computer to turn off. Contrary to what you might think, this does not require you to invest a lot of time or effort!

Logistics:
I spend anywhere from the first 5-20 minutes of class helping students set up their science notebook and teaching/prepping for the investigation of the day. After that part is over, I usually let 'em fly on their own. This is when I walk around with my phone and capture really great teamwork, detailed science notebook entries, and/or the "meat" of the investigation.

If your class isn't set up that way or you don't think you have the time to be the class photographer, make it a classroom job! Pick a kid to be the photographer for a day, week, month, or semester. Give the kid your cell phone during class and allow him/her to freely snap pictures of the activities.

Don't trust your student to keep themselves from going through the personal information on your cell phone? If you have an iPhone, no need to be worried. Set a pass code for your iPhone, lock it, and hand it off. Apple has a handy quick-and-private photo feature for locked phones: press the home button to make your phone light up, and swipe your thumb up over the camera icon that appears in the bottom, right corner. You'll be taken directly to the camera app. The best part is that you can only view the pictures you took during that photography session -- nothing else. If you press the lock button to make your screen dark, and then try this process all over again, you won't have access to the pictures you took earlier unless you enter your pass code and unlock the phone fully. The class photographer will never be able to access your phone or other private information unless you give him/her your pass code. At the end of the day, pick the best photos and upload them to the class Instagram.

Extras
-Just like on Twitter, Instagram allows you to hashtag words or phrases so that they are easily searchable by others. Since I see every single student in the school, I created a hashtag that's specific to our school and each grade level. I "tag" each photo with the appropriate grade so that parents can quickly search and find the pictures they want to see.

Tips

• If you want to be really fair about it, print an extra class list, and check off the names of students who have been featured on the class Instagram. That way, you can ensure everyone gets a chance to be featured. 
• Generate a QR code linked to your username and put it on strips of paper on a bulletin board outside your door. Students/Parents can grab a QR code on their way out the door, go home and scan it, and immediately be connected to the class account. 
• If Instagram is going to be your primary social media for your class, you may consider downloading the free app #notestagram -- it allows you to post text to Instagram, in the event that you need to post a message for everyone instead of a regular picture. 

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Click HERE to view additional ideas for using Instagram in your classroom.