Using Instagram as a Learning Opportunity

Do you use Instagram? This free photo-sharing app is one of the fastest growing social networks, with 100 million users, and it’s easy to see why. With its retro square format and lo-fi filters, the app makes shooting, editing, and sharing photos easy and fun. And now you can follow K¹² on Instagram! Check out photos from community events at our partner schools around the country, peek behind the scenes at K¹² for a preview of what we’re working on, and share your online schooling photos with us by tagging us @k12learn. 

K¹² Online Clubs

One of the first questions asked by families looking into online education and K12 is; “What about socialization?”. There is no denying how important socialization is in our childrens' life. 

Interacting regularly with others outside of their family circle can help kids learn that there are others in the world, and they have feelings, needs, and desires just like they do.  However, the lack of positive socialization opportunities can severely affect some children's academic performance. Students who can not relate to their peers may be shunned and are at a higher risk of developing self-esteem issues, depression, and are more likely to adopt an apathetic approach to things that do not readily interest them.  Skills like conflict resolution, understanding and forming positive social interactions, valuing other people and their ideas, taking turns, and taking responsibility for their own actions can all be honed through positive socialization opportunities.

I probably don’t need to tell you about Pinterest, the social bulletin board site that this year became the fastest growing website EVER, gaining over 10 million users in just nine months. (If you’re not familiar with the site, check out this Beginners Guide to Pinterest for a rundown.)The visual bookmarking site allows users to “pin” images from around the web to their pin boards, sharing content with the world. A simple concept, but if you’re a Pinterest user, you know just how addicting pinning can be, with gorgeous photography, beautiful (if slightly unrealistic) home ideas, covetable fashion, and mouth-watering recipes in abundance.

But Pinterest can also be a fantastic educational resource, for teachers and learning coaches, as well as students. Popular with teachers and homeschoolers, the site is a great tool for finding and sharing resources, lesson plans, and project ideas. Here you’ll find just a few ways you can use Pinterest for learning.

When I first started living on my own, I kept a green folder where I would stash random magazine clippings, images I liked, fabrics, Ads -- anything that inspired me. The hope was one day I would be a homeowner and would pull ideas from that folder to shape the design and décor of my home. 

Today's "green folder" is Pinterest.

Pinterest is a social organizing site where you create pinboards to organize and share all the cool stuff you find on the web.  You can tack up cool recipes, ideas, pictures – anything that inspires you, and you can browse other people's pinboards, getting inspiration and ideas from them as they share their likes and interests.