How to Add Social Media Buttons to an Outlook E-mail Signature

I talked in this blog post about adding social media buttons under your e-mail signature, so I thought I'd write another post to show you how to do that. :) You can click on any of the photos on this page to see an enlarged version.

1. Find social media buttons. {They're also sometimes called "social media icons."} This Pinterest board has several pins with free social media buttons for you to choose from, or you can just run a Google search for free ones.

2. Download the social media buttons to your computer. A lot of times, artists will make several different sizes of buttons and let the customer choose which ones to use. If that happens, the social media buttons will probably download in a zipped file. You can read this post to refresh your memory on how to unzip files.

3. Pick which buttons you're going to use. You can pick the size and which icons you need. For instance, in my work e-mail signature, I used a button for my science lab website ("homepage"), Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Since I don't personally use Facebook in the classroom, I linked to our campus's Facebook page.

The buttons I used

You won't typically find a social media icon for a homepage -- I made that one myself. But some button sets will come with a blank template. From there, I just found a picture of a white house and layered it over the blank template. You may also need to re-size buttons if none are to your liking. You can read this post to refresh your memory on editing pictures in PowerPoint.

4. In the Outlook program on your computer, click "file." 

5. Click "options" near the bottom of the list.

6. When the pop-up below shows, click "mail." 

7. Click "signatures." 

8. Type your signature as you normally would. If you want to add a funky font to your signature, you may want to refer to this post and this post.

Some information blocked for privacy reasons -- I don't actually have big green rectangles in my signature. :)

9. Click the picture frame icon (shown below) and insert a picture from your computer. {You can insert your social media button(s), your signature in a special font, our mascot/logo, or any other picture you want.} Keep doing this until all your pictures are in place.

"insert picture" icon

 10. Add link(s) to your picture(s). Select the picture you want to add the link to, as shown below {this example shows my homepage button selected}:

  
 11. While your picture is still selected, click the link button:

12. Make sure "existing file or web page" is selected, and then type the desired URL in the "address" bar. {Make sure to link directly to your profile on social media. For instance, don't link to the Twitter homepage at www.Twitter.com; rather, link to your profile page like this: www.Twitter.com/YourUsernameHere.} You can continue this process of linking individual pictures as much as you want.

 13.  When you're totally finished, click "OK" twice, as shown below:

 

If you're in CISD, shoot me an e-mail so I can see your new signature. :)
  

Popplet

There's a brainstorming app I really like in the iTunes store called Popplet.

I swear I got it for free {probably from Apps Gone Free!}, but the iTunes store is now advertising that it's $5. Bummer. Regardless of the price, it is a fun mind mapping app that the kids and I use in the classroom, so I wanted to share it with you.

Here's a video I made to explain how it works and what to do:

The Popplet company also has a website, and it looks like you can take advantage of that for free. Click here to try it, and have fun creating mind maps!

Create a QR Code from an iThing

Do you feel proficient about scanning the code above but are now ready to start making your own? Here's a tutorial.

There are several websites I use to make QR codes from a browser on a laptop or desktop computer, but there are certainly times when I need to create a QR code on the fly from my iThing {iPhone, iPad, or even iPod Touch}. I created a tutorial to show you how I do that with my favorite QR code creating app -- QRReader.

Also included in the video are various ways in which I think you could use these QR codes in your classroom. Please watch the video below for more information, and let me know if you have any questions!

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.

Remind

June 2014 edit: This company just changed their name from Remind 101 to Remind. While you can still visit their website from the old, Remind101 links, all links in this post have been updated to reflect their new name. Remind is advertising their name change as, "new name, same mission" on their website. Read more about their name change by clicking HERE.

Remind is a service that allows teachers to text information to parents and students without ever revealing the teacher's phone number.

Great features of Remind:

• Easy to set up and use, even if you're not tech-savvy
• 100% free
• Parents/students can choose to receive the teacher's messages by text message and/or e-mail, so having an unlimited texting plan is not necessary for this service to work
• The teacher's contact information is never revealed to the subscribers
• Teachers can have up to 10 separate "classes" of students. Need more? The Remind team invites you to e-mail them to request more classes
• Easily explain to students and parents how to subscribe to your updates using the pre-made full screen presentation and/or the printable PDF page of instructions created by Remind
• No one except the teacher needs to sign up for an account
• Easily unsubscribe any spammy followers that happen to find your account
• There's an app for that -- Remind -- and it's free, as well, so you can send updates on the go
• Remind keeps a record of all messages every sent with the service -- they are not deletable -- so you can take them into conferences, if needed
• On the same note as above, export a list of all the messages sent and print it if you prefer paper copies
• Teachers can view the number of and names of the subscribers to each class

How do I sign up?

1. Go to www.remind.com to find this screen:

2. Click "sign up" and fill in the appropriate boxes. It's safe to enter your first name; when a message is sent to your classes, Remind will tell them it's from Mr. or Mrs. xxx (or Coach, Professor, Dr....whichever title you prefer!).

3. Create up to 10 classes (more about class ideas later in this post).

4. Click the "invite students and parents" button on the top right side.

5. Look at this pop-up and decide which way you'd like to invite students and/or parents to subscribe to your updates.

You can e-mail everyone the link, or you can copy and paste it onto any of your social media sites. {Just remember that if your social media sites are public and you find some whacko that is obviously very bored, he/she could opt to subscribe to your updates without even being affiliated with your class. You do have the option to delete subscribers whenever you want, though.}

On parent-teacher night or during conferences, you may want to click on the full screen presentation to show people how to subscribe. You can also click the "download PDF handouts" option. You can attach that instructional PDF packet to e-mails home or to your class website(s).


How do I send a message?

The message-sending screen appears automatically in your home page as soon as you log in:

You can choose to add classes or subscribers individually in the "to" field, and then type your message in the large text box underneath. Click the calendar icon to schedule your message to be sent at a later time/date, and click the paperclip option to attach a photo in your message.

There is a limit of 140 characters per message -- like Twitter -- but it's easy to stay under that limit.

Click send when you are ready for the message to either go out or be scheduled.


Video Tutorial
If you're more of a video person, feel free to watch the tutorial below. I'll walk you through how to use the app.

Ways to use the "schedule later" button:

• Reoccurring events {weekly quizzes or club meetings, for example}
• Calendar events that cannot be changed {winter break, spring break, last day of school, etc.}
• Birthday reminders for each of your students? That might be fun!

One thing to reminder about Remind is that parents/students do not have the ability to text you back. If they try to reply to a Remind message you send, they'll get the following message: "Sorry, you can't reply to your teacher. You can only join his/her class." But it's not a huge deal, since they should all have your e-mail address, anyway!


Remind's multiple-class feature:
Most elementary teachers probably don't have more than 1 class, while most high school teachers probably don't have more than 3 or 7. However, you can always divide your class into small groups or include extracurricular activities you sponsor. Here are some ideas:

1. Assign different students into different groups. Perhaps you have Spelling Group A and Spelling Group B. Maybe you could arrange those into different groups so you could text the appropriate spelling words each week to the appropriate people. This could also work if you're doing, say, a book study, and wanted to make a separate "class" for each book that is begin read.
2. Make a class just for volunteers or homeroom moms. 
3. Create classes for athletic teams and extracurricular clubs. You could go further by making your starters or officers a separate class of their own. 

Ideas for use

1. Reminders about assignments that are due or upcoming quizzes/exams/projects
2. Reminders about snow days, picture days, sporting events, field trips, spirit days, etc. 
3. School events and/or their outcomes (plays, musicals, art shows, academic meets, etc.) -- especially ones where your school won/did well or is playing a rival :)
4. Hints about how to complete an assignment or project
5. Helpful websites that could assist students academically (StarFall, CliffNotes, etc.)
6. Apple/Android apps students might find helpful.
7. Books you recommend (I used to read books from my classroom library and tweet blurb-summaries to interest students in the book.)
8. Vocabulary words/definitions in a Word of the Day (#WOTD) format
9. Exit ticket answers (If students ask a question on an exit ticket, you could answer it via the classroom notification center. This allows everyone to benefit from the answers without taking up any class time.)
10. Motivational/inspirational quotes