Instagram

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Description
Instagram puts the creativity and imagery of the social network in your hand. Instagram is a free, mobile, social media application for photo sharing. Within this application, users can take pictures on their mobile device and edit the pictures by selecting available photo filters. They can write captions to go along with their photos, mark their photos with location information and tag their photos with hashtags (the # symbol followed by keywords or topics that categorize a message). Posts on Instagram are by default public, however, there is an option for posts to be private. Using the private option, users can select who sees their posts. Users can share posts with their Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and other social networks. According to the Apple App Store, Instagram has 80 million users and growing. Instagram is available for iOS (iPhone, iTouch and iPad) and Android platforms (mobile phones).

History
Instagram launched as a free iPhone application in October of 2010. “The iPhone was so new, and people were creating really cool stuff and creating new behaviors,” Founder Kevin Systrom said. “It was an opportunity to create a new type of service, a social network that wasn’t based on a computer but the computer in your hand.” (Forbes 2012) In the first year it was available on Apple’s App Store, 30 Million users downloaded the application.

In early 2012, Instagram became available on phones using the Android platform and got 1 million downloads in the first day it was launched for Android. In April 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 Billion. By July 2012, Instagram had more than 80 million users.

Impact on Teaching and Learning
Instagram is a media that can bring creative, visual and social elements to learning. Instagram can be used for photo sharing and short photo essays in a social networking context. Learners can use Instagram to document and reflect on the world around them. Similar to Twitter,posts can be marked by hashtags for sorting. Students can mark all posts for the same assignment with the same hashtag, thus allowing posts to be sorted out into one cohesive group of posts within the application. Once students begin to post their assignments, teachers and fellow learners can comment on these posts and add to the learning conversation.

Like other social media, Instagram can be studied for societal trends and used to follow events around the world as they happen. “Imagine the power of surfacing what’s happening in the world through images, and potentially other types of media in the future, to each and every person who holds a mobile phone,” Systrom says. At its best Instagram would be a pocket-size window to the world that will deliver a live view of what’s unfolding across the globe—say, Syrian street protests or the Super Bowl sidelines. “I think they have a Thomas Edison-like opportunity,” says Thrive Capital’s Joshua Kushner. “At some point in the next two years you’ll go onto Instagram and see what’s happening in real time anywhere in the world, and that’s world-changing.”(Forbes 2012) Learners can seek visual and context information for events and issues around the world. Perhaps Instagram and other photo sharing apps will become the 'eyes of the world.' An example of this for learning would be students using their mobile devices to explore regions of the world such as Africa by viewing photos under the hashtag #everydayafrica.

Practical Applications
Instagram can be used as a media for collaborative learning in areas such as Digital Storytelling, Photography, Photojournalism, Visual Arts and even Science and Math(Education Rethink, 2012). In Photojournalism and Digital Storytelling assignments students must use writing and critical thinking skills to provide the context for their photos. Students can document the Science and Math they experience in their world using Instagram. An example of a Biology assignment would be to photograph, identify and share examples of living organisms that the student observes. An example of a Math assignment would be to photograph and describe various objects that represent key geometry terms and principals.

Institutions of higher education are also using Instagram to <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">connect with potential students, students and alumni. Because of its large user base, Instagram can be part of a college's marketing and recruiting strategy. During major college events, such as commencement, students can participate by collecting all of their photos via a common hashtag(US News & World Report, 2012).

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Instagram is primarily useful in educational contexts of high school and above. As part of its user agreement, Instagram specifies that users should be 13 years and older. Like all social media, there are certain internet safety guidelines that educators should discuss with their students to foster safe use. For younger students, there are other more secure social networking applications such as Edmodo that could be used as alternatives to Instagram for projects involving photo sharing.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Examples or Demonstrations
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The Educator's Guide to Instagram and Other Photo Apps gives detailed and illustrated step by step instructions for using the Instagram app.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The Evertrue Webinar titled #INSTACAMPUS talks about the use of Instagram by educational institutions to connect with students and alunmi.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Video: //Is Instagram the Best Thing to Ever Happen to Photography?// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">"If Twitter has changed everyone into a potential journalist, maybe Instagram changed everyone into a potential photo journalist"(PBS Idea Channel, 2012) media type="youtube" key="nBw589H2XwI?rel=0" height="360" width="640"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Video: //Infinite Thinking Machine 2.02 - Learning a Go Go// <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This episode discusses mobile learning. "Today's smartphones and tablets are mobile, multimedia studios, allowing us to capture, edit and share our world on the go." This video gives an example of a teacher using Instagram and Twitter to have students write and share short photo essays. "this gave them(students) a chance to practice collaboration, critical thinking, and communication skills with a real world audience." (Infinite Thinking Machine, 2012) media type="youtube" key="hzRjyi1ZYBk?rel=0" height="360" width="640"

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">References
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Instagram: @http://instagram.com/ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Twitter Help Center: https://support.twitter.com/articles/49309-what-are-hashtags-symbols# <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Apple App Store: [] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Forbes: @http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2012/08/01/instagrams-kevin-systrom-the-stanford-millionaire-machine-strikes-again/3/ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">ABC News: @http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/04/instagram-for-android-phones-available-now/ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> CBS News: @http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-57409197-501465/instagram-for-android-gets-1-million-downloads-in-first-day/?tag=contentMain;contentBody <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">CBS News: @http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-57411348-501465/facebook-to-acquire-instagram-for-$1-billion/ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">CNET: @http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57480931-93/instagram-passes-80-million-users/ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The New York Times Blog: @http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/picturing-everyday-life-in-africa/?smid=tw-share <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Education Rethink: @http://www.educationrethink.com/2012/07/ten-ideas-for-using-instagram-in.html <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">US News and World Report: @http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2012/06/07/3-ways-colleges-use-instagram

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">External Links
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">1. LA Times: Increase in weekly visits to website. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">@http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-pinterest-instagram-growth-20120829,0,4682971.story <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">2. Freetech4teachers: Instagram in education. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/04/idea-for-instagram-in-education.html#.UEE8QI5ORUM <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">3. USA Today: Small Business Strategies: Lessons From Instagram’s Success. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">@http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/abrams/story/2012-04-13/small-business-strategies-instagram/54257986/1 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">4. Digital Photography School: Instagram and its Impact on the World of Photography: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">@http://digital-photography-school.com/instagram-and-its-impact-on-the-world-of-photography <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">5. Photoshelter Blog: In the Field with National Geographic: On Everest, On Instagram. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">@http://blog.photoshelter.com/2012/06/in-the-field-with-national-geographic-on-everest-on-instagram/ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">6. Evertrue Webinar: #INSTACAMPUS 9/12/12: @http://go.evertrue.com/instacampus-thank-you/

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">About the Author
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Anne Rosa is an Educational Technology Master’s student at University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. She is an environmental educator with the University of Hawai’i Sea Grant’s Hanauma Bay Education Program. She enjoys photography.