Using Instagram in class

I noticed not many of you use Instagram in class, though it is one of the most popular social media for teens nowadays. It might be hard to see, but there are many different ways you can use Instagram in the EFL classroom!

Note:  it's important to protect students' privacy, paying attention to our social media guidelines. 

Some ideas to try:

1.       Imagine how a famous person in history/ favorite character would use Instagram. Students can do so using their personal accounts (in case they are old enough to have one) or use the classroom account to do so. You can have students do this task in groups/ pairs.

2.       Ideas for writing/ speaking. Select photos (or have students choose photos) that could serve as a prompt for writing/ speaking —an empty bird's nest, a For Sale sign and a broken doll, for instance.

3.       Feature a student of the week. Have students alternate and take over your classroom Instagram account (always private!!!) sharing photos from their daily lives. Then you can have the student share his or her photos with the class or have the other students follow the account and comment on the pictures.

4.       Using hashtags for speaking. As in Twitter, everything posted on Instagram is categorized under hashtags. There are hashtags for all the subjects you can think of. Choose a theme and have students debate on it using a picture under a related hashtag (use the search to find hashtags, and click on the # you wish to see pictures).

5.       Follow accounts for inspiration. Accounts such as ICP or UNESCO share a great deal of pictures with stories on the subtitles that could be used for cultural debates. 

6.       Introduce yourself using pictures. Then let students explore their identity, and use pictures to introduce themselves to class or to talk about their identities and personalities.

7.       Showcase students' work. If you have a Kids group, you might want to create a classroom account (don’t forget to set it to private) and ask parents to follow the account. Take pictures of students working in class, make short videos and share special projects with parents so they can see what their kids are up to in class.

8.       Digital storytelling. Remember what I said about storytelling? Instagram can be a resource for that! You can give students the option of taking pictures to tell a story. They can tell their story visually, using the subtitles and comments on each picture or using the pics as prompts and telling the story orally.

Do you have any other ideas? Don't hesitate to share! =)