3 Ways Colleges Use Instagram
Ryan Lytle
Colleges and universities are using Instagram to, in essence, market their schools. Schools promote their schools by taking pictures of students, staff, activities, the campus... It helps students feel more connected to the school by participating in something (in this case, taking photographs that are tagged to the school or seeing “behind the scenes” photographs from the school).
Creating #hashtags for students to use during events, like graduation, dances, competitions, etc. will allow students to share their experience with others who attended, or didn’t, certain events. It creates connection. The whole point of Instagram is to connect.
A classroom can definitely benefit from the use of Instagram. Teachers can create #hashtags for their classroom and direct students to use the #hashtag when they find something that relates to the class. That way, students who are using IG can have access to what their peers are doing. Teachers must have a discussion about appropriateness, because I can foresee students walking a line when it comes to sharing something through social media. I really think that students could benefit from this...as I’ve said before, teachers should use technology to their advantage. Kids are on it all the time - why not encourage learning and community building?