Instagram and Vine

Instagram

Instagram is an application used to share photographs and videos with followers.  Accounts can be set to public or private, allowing users to be selective with who sees their posts.  Photos and videos can be captioned or text can be added over the photo, allowing users to create “stories” with their pictures and videos.  I’ve used Instagram for personal use for several years, but I’ve never really thought about using it in the classroom or library.  After reading and reflecting on several articles about using Instagram as a learning tool, I have some ideas on how I would use it. 

Instagram would be a great way to share things that are going on in the library, feature school and library events, promote reading, and encourage students to participate in connecting with the library.  One great feature of Instagram is the ability to link posts to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, all with one post.  If I wanted to reach students and parents on their social media platform of choice, I could share Instagram posts to a library account on all four of these platforms and reach a larger audience.  I created a new Instagram account that I could use as a librarian, and I’ve posted some photos below of the types of posts I would share as a librarian:

@mrspatty023 @mrspatty023 @mrspatty023 @mrspatty023 @mrspatty023

Vine

Vine is another app that allows users to create and share videos.  Unlike some other apps, video clips on Vine are limited to six seconds, and loop continuously until the viewer is ready to stop watching.  Just like Instagram, I’ve used Vine for awhile for personal use, mostly for entertainment.  I never thought about using Vine as a teaching and learning tool because of the limitations on the length of the video, but this quote from an article by TeachThought really opened my eyes.

“While this might seem constricting at first, if Twitter has proven anything it’s that it’s easy to say a lot with very little. Limitations, in this way, aren’t always a bad thing. In fact, the constraints may actually force users to get to the point more quickly and to be more creative and innovative about how they present their content” (2013). 

Another great resource I read when learning about applications for Vine in the classroom was a blog post by Betsie Jonas.  This post was very informative, and suggested ways that Vine could be used to teach reading skills.  There were some excellent ideas in her blog.  One idea involved setting up a “scene” in a Vine video, and having students infer what is going on.  Other ideas included to having students retell part of a story through Vine, or having students create Vine videos to show their predictions for what will happen next in a story.  

As I reflected on the information from the two sources referenced above, I began thinking about how to use this as a librarian.  Just like Instagram, Vine posts can be shared to Twitter and Facebook, making reaching a wider audience much easier.  I did a little searching to see if and how school librarians are already using Vine, and found some great ideas in an entry by Ellyssa Kroski for the Open Education Database.  She lists some further related reading at the end of her post, so I highly recommend checking this article out if this is something you are interested in.  Here are some ideas for using Vine in the library:

• Book promotion (Book teasers or trailers)
• Author promotion
• Illustrator/artwork promotion
• Library event promotion
• Showcasing student work
• Recapping important ideas taught in library lessons or professional development
• Showcasing library displays
• Provide quick tips for library resource use
• Show student's reactions to a book 
• Promote reading through quotes or showing students reading

There are many more ways Vine could be used, especially considering use in the classroom.  As a librarian, I can begin by modeling the use of this tool and later offering teachers a lesson on how to use Vine in the classroom.  I have included my first Vine video below, an example of using Vine to promote or feature a specific title:

References

Jonas, B. (2013, May 29). 8 Ways You Can Use Vine to Teach Reading Comprehension - Reading 
Horizons [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.readinghorizons.com/blog/8-ways-to-use-vine-for-reading-instruction-in-classroom

Kroski, E. (2013). 15 Ways Libraries Can Make Social Videos With Vine. Retrieved from Open Education Database website: http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/10-cool-ways-libraries-can-use-vine/

TeachThought. (2013, June 4). What Is Vine And What's It Doing In My Classroom? Retrieved from http://www.teachthought.com/technology/what-is-vine-and-whats-it-doing-in-my-classroom/