Instagram for the classroom

This past summer when I met up with some of the PA bloggers for lunch, one of the fabulous bloggers, Mr. First Grade, was telling us about how he set up an instagram account for his classroom. Well, since I didn't really start the year till now, I couldn't start this till now.

Gotta say, it's SO much easier than writing out newsletters each week-which I can't keep up with.  And for those of you that do, you.are.amazing!  With all that my district requires for lesson planning, data, etc... plus my "party of 5" at home...  It just doesn't work for me.

I downloaded the app to my iPad.  (it is an iPhone app though, so it's not the "best" looking app on the iPad, but it works just the same!)  I set up our class as a private user.  Only parents will have access and I ask them to email me their user name, if it's something that doesn't let me know who they are.  I just love the privacy!

I just snap various pictures with the iPad throughout the day.  Somedays it's one (maybe none!) others it's a lot!  I upload a pic or 2 (or 3) after school.  Parents get to see us in action.  I spent maybe 5 minutes or less letting them in on the awesomeness that goes on in our classroom.

Here is an example from last month:

*of course, there are those who don't have it.  I don't do anything different for those parents.  As much as I'd love to find a way to include all, you just can't with this.  I'm confident that in the coming years, more parents will have an instagram account than now---AND I'll be able to show them all about it at Back to School Night next year, since I will NOT be out on maternity leave again during that time! ;)  Pictures tell a thousand words....  who wouldn't want to possibly see their babies in action while they are out!

*also, I toyed with the idea of Facebook, but I'm just not a fan with how they change privacy stuff all the time... and my school has it blocked.  Instagram is simple and not blocked.  Something I may consider is setting up a class account for Facebook JUST for pictures from Instagram to be posted there as well.... but, honestly-I just like the simplicity of Instagram to tell our story.