Instagram

I've recently been encouraged by my students use Instragram in the classroom.  Initially, it had all the hallmarks of a classic time-wasting social media app, but as I've come to use it more, I'm learning it may have some educational value to it.  Following my students' suggestions, I initially hosted a photo contest simply stating that submissions (marked with #7econtest) had to be original.

What I Learned:

• Because Instragram is a public place, anyone had the ability to submit photos.  As such, I had a few photos submitted from people outside our class.
• Students actually had a pretty good eye for good photographs. I will further instruct them on principles of photography, but--whether they know it or not--they do already have a bit of an eye for good images.
• Tools like Instaport make collecting and downloading the hashtagged images really easy.
• This activity was really fun.  Students were engaged and were curious as to when the next one would be.

Contest Rules

Winning Photo.  Courtesy: LSCO (as voted by my class).

There is no shortage of great ideas out there:

• http://newsroom.opencolleges.edu.au/trends/20-out-of-the-box-ideas-to-use-instagram-in-your-classroom/
• http://www.emergingedtech.com/2013/03/picture-this-5-ways-teachers-can-use-instagram-in-the-classroom/
• http://www.educationrethink.com/2012/07/ten-ideas-for-using-instagram-in.html

Audacity

Audacity has long been an open-source software package which can be used across platforms.  It boasts numerous audio-editing capabilities.  Much has been written about its use in education including Audacity's own education wiki.

Education:

• 10 Great Ways to Use Audacity with your Students
• Podcasting [examples]
• Outback Educator
• Audacity: from Amy Tech Tips [student example]

Tutorials:

• KQED Audacity Educast Series contains basic video tutorials 
• How to Podcast

Resources:

• Using Audacity--A Tutorial [PDF]

Samples:

• from Dropbox [password protected]
• SCS Grade 7 Blog