Learning with Instagram and Seesaw

For my major project, I chose Option 2 – Personal Journey into Social Media. As I have mentioned before, in my past, I have not been an overly active user of common social media. I have never been up on the latest social networking apps. I have never had Facebook, I have not been on TikTok and I do not use SnapChat. Prior to this course, my social media experience was limited to Pinterest and a bit of Instagram.  

Intention

For this project, I chose to dive into two apps, Seesaw and Instagram, as well as review Common Sense Educations Grade 2 and Grade 3 Digital Citizenship Curriculum. I originally thought about exploring the application Edmodo, as I was excited to try something new. When I began planning my project, I started to think about the logistics of introducing a new app to my students and families. I also began to think about the other requirements that I would need to check off, like seeking permission from my administrators, exploring the app personally and then signing my students/families up on the app. I began to question whether this was the right app for me to explore.  Additionally, knowing that I was about to go on maternity leave added another element of uncertainty. I made the decision to stick with using Seesaw, an app that I have used for a couple of years, but hadn’t really explored its full potential. Lastly, my students and families were already familiar with Seesaw.

SEESAW/Common Sense Education Research

Introduction 

My previous experience with Seesaw was using the app to communicate with families, posting photos and videos of student learning (process and product), and also posting learning activities while my classroom was learning online due to COVID. Like all teachers during online learning, I quickly learned how to add lessons and activities for students, search for lessons and ideas and communicate through the app. I had no formal training. It was just learn as you go. 

Privacy/Terms of Use

This is a shortened version of Seesaw’s Terms of Service. Please refer to the website for the full terms and conditions.

Seesaw Terms of Service

1. Seesaw

The terms of service are for all users including those who are underage. Seesaw may update the Terms from time to time at their sole discretion. 

2. Privacy

Seesaw takes protecting security and privacy seriously and they have put a number of measures in place to protect the integrity of users information. For more information, see Seesaw’s Privacy Policy

3. Consent Requirements for Children

Online service providers provide notice and obtain parental consent before they knowingly collect personally identifiable information online from children younger than 13. Seesaw requires teachers, schools, or districts to obtain advance consent from parents or guardians whose children under 13 will be using the app. 

Teachers, schools, or districts can satisfy this requirement by getting consent as part of a school-wide technology consent process they already have in place. Additionally, they can use Seesaw’s sample consent form.

4. Creating a Teacher Account or Class

Teachers or school administrators are the only ones permitted to create a class. Once the class is created, teachers can invite students, additional faculty, parents, and guardians to the class. Teachers control who can upload, view, comment on, and share student work and they can change these permissions at any time. As a teacher, when you create a Seesaw class, you must ensure that:

  • any students you add to your class are current students in your class
  • any additional teachers you add to your class are authorized by your school to access student data 
  • you will use Seesaw only for lawful purposes and you will abide by applicable laws and school and school district policies
  • you will treat Seesaw as an extension of the classroom and take reasonable steps to confirm that students are using Seesaw appropriately
  • you will take reasonable measures to protect access to student data 
  • you will only invite parents or guardians (collectively, family members) to view student journals and upload their contact information only with their prior consent.
  • you will protect your class QR code so that access to student journals and class journals is limited only to invited students and family members.

5. Creating a Family Member Account

Teachers can authorize family members to view information in their child’s journal. Family members will ensure that while using Seesaw, they agree that they are the parent or legal guardian of the student and are permitted to have contact with the student. If they are not the parent or legal guardian, they agree that they have explicit consent from the parent or legal guardian of the student to create a family account and access the student journal.

Family members will only be able to access journal entries in which their student has been tagged. They may see other students’ journals if their child is tagged with another student, as in a group project.

6. Creating a Student Account

Students may use Seesaw only if their parent or legal guardian has given permission to the teacher or school. Students agree to use the app only if they have been given a join code or have otherwise been invited to use Seesaw by their teacher. 

Seesaw is an extension of the classroom. As such, students agree to use the app in a manner that is appropriate to the classroom and only for lawful purposes.

7. Submissions to the Activity Library

Activities teachers create are private to their accounts by default, however, teachers may choose to publish activities they create to the public Community Activity Library or an Activity Library managed by their school or district. 

Student responses to activities are not shared in the Activity Library.

8. Consent to Receive Communications

By signing up for the Seesaw, you agree to receive communications from Seesaw, including text (SMS), email, and/or push notifications. You can opt out of notifications. 

9. Your Intellectual Property

Seesaw allows you to store or share content such as texts, files, documents, graphics, images, music, software, audio, and video. Students and their schools own all student data added to the app including personal information, metadata, or content directly attributable to a student user. 

10. Seesaw’s Intellectual Property

All content on Seesaw like logos, trademarks, copyrights, domain names, or other distinctive brand features is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws and is the exclusive property of Seesaw and its licensors. Users are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to view, copy, and display Seesaw content.

11. Copyright Policy

Seesaw respects copyright law and expects its users to do the same. To learn more please review the Copyright Policy.

12. Third Party Service Providers

Seesaw may allow you to access third-party websites or other resources, for example when a teacher includes a link to an instructional YouTube video in an activity. They provide access only as a convenience and are not responsible for the content, products, or services on or available from those resources or links displayed on such websites. Users acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from use of any third-party resources. 

13. Prohibited Activities

Seesaw takes measures to monitor, log, and block content that violates their policies. They are not obligated to monitor access to or use of the Seesaw or to review or edit any content. See the website for a list of prohibited activities. 

14. Account Suspension and Termination

Seesaw reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts associated with users who engage in any of the prohibited activities described. 

15. Account Transfer

If you’ve signed up as a teacher with a school-provided email address, and your school later signs up for a Seesaw school account, we may transfer your account to be under the management and control of your school. 

16. Abandoned Accounts

Seesaw reserves the right to permanently delete accounts that have not been accessed by the account holder for a period of more than one year..

17. Subscriptions

Teachers have the option of purchasing a subscription to use the Seesaw.  

18. Warranty Disclosure

Users agree to use Seesaw at their own risk. 

19. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Seesaw from any and all claims, suits, actions, losses, costs, damages, and any other liabilities, including attorneys’ fees.

20. Limitation of Liability

Seesaw will not be liable to users for incidental or intangible losses, along with a long list of other reasons listed on the website.

21. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms and any action related thereto will be governed by the laws of the State of California.

22. Informal Dispute Resolution

Seesaw wants to address your concerns without litigation or other formal proceedings.

23. We Both Agree To Arbitrate

This section applies to United States users. See website.

24. Feedback

Seesaw welcomes feedback and suggestions. Users can email them at help@seesaw.me at any time. 

25. Entire Agreement

These terms make up the entire agreement between users and Seesaw Learning, Inc., and supersede any prior agreement. 

26. Contact Information

Seesaw Learning, Inc.

180 Montgomery St, Suite 750

San Francisco, CA 94104

help@seesaw.me  

Seesaw’s Usefulness in Education

In my opinion, Seesaw is a powerful tool teachers, students and families can use to enhance their learning. The app has many user-friendly features that appeal to young learners, their teachers and their families. Seesaw is a safe place where students can  share their learning, all while being moderated by the teacher. 

Usage

I started the major project by creating lessons on Seesaw surrounding digital citizenship using the content from Common Sense. Lesson 1 – We the Digital Citizens was a Grade 2 introductory video and song to introduce my students to being good digital citizens. Along with the digital, Seesaw lesson, I used the slides in class to teach and reinforce the concept of digital citizenship. Overall, the learning on this topic spanned over about one week during my literacy group rotations. Below is a look at the first lesson I created in Seesaw, as well as some of my students’ responses. 

Lesson 1 – We the Digital Citizens

Screenshot of Seesaw Lesson #1
Student Response #1
Student Response #2

As I began creating the lessons, I learned about the Seesaw Icon Shortcuts that teachers can use in the Student Instructions. In order to insert a shortcut, you type the text shortcut with the colons on either side. These shortcuts are super helpful for students who are visual learners, as they see the icon and immediately know what button to press. 

Source: https://help.seesaw.me/hc/en-us/articles/115005120583-How-to-use-Seesaw-icon-shortcuts-in-Activities-instructions

In addition to the shortcuts, I also learned that I could add teacher notes. These notes are not visible to students or families, but are visible to other teachers. If a teacher finds my lesson in the Activity Library, they can read the notes. This is where I linked my sources for the lesson, Common Sense Education. This is important to give credit to Common Sense and direct teachers to find additional lesson content. 

Lesson 1a – Digital Citizenship Family Activity

Common Sense has a number of Family Resources available, so I decided to make that connection in my Seesaw lessons. Seesaw connects students, teachers and families, so it was only natural to create a family lesson! Bringing learning into the home is an important part of education. We learned from Dr. Mike Ribble that students need to become digitally literate in all forms of technology, and family engagement is a key component of learning about digital citizenship. We, as teachers, can’t assume that parents and families are doing the work of teaching about digital citizenship. This activity will allow families to see what we are learning in the classroom and students can take this opportunity to show their learning to their families. 

Screenshot of Seesaw Lesson #1a

Lesson 2: Digital Citizenship Pledge

In this lesson, students will make a digital citizenship pledge and learn that a pledge is like a promise. Through the Saskatchewan Social Studies and Treaty Education curriculum, my students already learn about promises. They learn that the treaties made in different areas of our country are like promises. We Are All Treaty People and we have made a promise to honour the treaties. Lessons like this one on digital citizenship are a good way to reinforce the idea of promises and pledges. 

Screenshot of Seesaw Lesson #2

Lesson 3: Digital Tracks

In this lesson, students learn about the digital citizen characters Heart and Arms. Heart and Arms have posted some information about themselves online. Students play the role of detective and view the information on the cards. They answer the questions about the information shared by Heart and Arms. In closure, students learn that even seemingly innocent and harmless posts online with information about pets, hobbies and even secrets are not OK to share, as it leaves a digital trail that cannot be erased. 

Screenshot of Seesaw Lesson #3

Lesson 4: Digital Trail

In this lesson that extends on the previous lesson, students learn about digital footprints. They watch the video about digital trails and write about what is OK to share online and what is NOT OK to share online. This lesson aims to get students thinking about their online activities. 

Screenshot of Seesaw Lesson #4

Lesson 5: Introducing. Me! A Lesson on Selfies

In this final activity and lesson, students will learn about appearances, assumptions and about what makes them unique. This lesson will also tie in the concept of digital footprints and what is OK to share online. There are two parts to this lesson. In Part 1, students will create a selfie image of themselves that they would like to share online. They are encouraged to think about the way they want others to see them. In Part 2, students will brainstorm the most unique aspects of themselves. What are the things they like, do, or are talented at, that make them unique? Students then redo their first selfie to make it more representative of the things they brainstormed. 

Screenshot of Seesaw Lesson #5

Future Pursuits

Unfortunately, I was unable to execute this entire group of lessons in my class, as I left on maternity leave nearly one month ago. Additionally, the last few weeks that I was teaching were consumed with report cards, Student Led Conference preparations and having the incoming teacher shadow in my classroom during my final week. Hence, the experiential learning portion alongside my students with this project was a bit shorter than I anticipated. I am, however, still grateful for the learnings that I have had through using the app and creating my own lessons based on digital citizenship. 

Aha! The Blogging Connection…Seesaw Blogs for my Students!

Personally, in this course, I have quite enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone to write about and share my thoughts in each of the weekly blogs. Along with reading and commenting on my peers blogs, I have found this portion of the class to provide insights and new perspectives as I learned about digital citizenship through the course material, weekly meetings and lessons with Alec Couros and special guest presenters, Dr. Mike Ribble and Steve Boots. I had an Aha moment while thinking about how to wrap up this mini unit on Digital Citizenship using Seesaw. Just like blogging in this graduate studies course, learning to blog through a safe and moderated environment such as Seesaw Blogs would offer my students the opportunity to connect authentically with their classmates and their families. 

Seesaw Blogs can be public online or password-protected. Teachers can ensure that student names or class folders are kept private, and last names are always hidden. Teachers moderate all student posts and comments before they go live on the blog. Teachers can also enable or disable blog comments and all comments do require teacher approval. 

Source: Seesaw

So, in the future, as a follow up to my final lesson, Lesson 5 – Introducing… Me! A Lesson on Selfies, I am excited to pilot Seesaw Blogs with this lesson and have students share their final selfie with a peer. The students would then write out some assumptions (what the person’s hobbies are, what do they like, etc.) about their classmate based on their selfie. I would be able to moderate comments and if a student posts something that is too critical of their peer, I would be able to address it with them before it is shared. This would be a great way to start off the school year. Successful blogging could also be one of the badges I create (thanks to Durston, for the idea!).

New! –  Seesaw Messaging – Coming Summer 2022

While researching and rooting around on Seesaw’s website, I noticed that Seesaw will be getting a new service, Seesaw Messaging in Summer 2022. It appears to be like other “messaging” apps, where students can directly message teachers, or other students that they have permission to message. As an elementary educator, I do see value in this tool, but I would also want to limit its use. I foresee my students sending too many messages, or not using it for educational purposes, but rather for “social” purposes. It could be useful to quickly answer questions, but it could also be time consuming for the teacher to moderate messages being sent amongst students or having young students frequently send non-pertinent messages. I can just imagine the flood of feel-good “You’re the best teacher ever!” messages. My kiddos are the sweetest. 

Common Sense Education Review

Overall, I am impressed with the quality of digital citizenship curriculum content provided by Common Sense Education. Here are some of my key takeaways:

  • It is easy to find the content that is applicable to your grade level. 
  • While the lessons are brief and simple, they are rich with information and are a great starting point for educators looking to teach about digital citizenship.
  • The content is engaging. My students liked the digital citizen characters. 
  • The curriculum is free for educators.
  • There are great family resources (more to come on this shortly).
  • Digital Passport is a series of games aimed at students in Grade 3 to 5. Once students complete the games, they will earn a passport. I did not get to try this out with my class, but knowing that nearly all of my students love games, I am certain this would be a hit!

Workshops from Common Sense Education

One really awesome resource Common Sense provides access to are workshops for parents and caregivers on children’s media use. These six workshops are for families with children up to 8 years old. Teachers and school administrators can facilitate the workshops as learning opportunities for parents and caregivers. All of the resources are provided online including slideshows, videos and tips for hosting any of the workshops.

These six workshops give families tips and tools for nurturing young children’s healthy development in the digital age. 

1 – Raising Healthy Kids in a Digital World

In this workshop, families will reflect on how technology has changed in our lifetimes, and discuss the benefits and challenges of raising kids in today’s online world.

2 – Finding Balance with Media and Tech Use at Home

This workshop explores how to establish a healthy balance of activities for children, with and without media and tech.

3 – Choosing High-Quality Media for Your Kids

This workshop highlights the importance of choosing high-quality media content for kids, and provides resources to help families make informed decisions.

4 – How to Make Meaningful Family Connections Using Media and Tech

In this workshop families will learn about the benefits of co-using media with kids, and practice using questioning strategies to strengthen important early childhood skills.

5 – Introducing Online Safety to Young Kids

This workshop explores how to introduce digital citizenship and online safety to young children.

6 – How to Use Media and Tech to Build Life Skills in Young Kids

This workshop focuses on how media and technology can affect key areas of children’s development.

Source: https://www.commonsense.org/education/early-childhood-toolkit

Terms of Use

I am not going to list the entire terms of use here for Common Sense Media, but I wanted to highlight this point as it pertains to my use of the content on Seesaw. 

2. MATERIALS ON THE SITE AND RELATED RIGHTS AND RESTRICTIONS

The information and materials provided through Common Sense are intended to educate and inform.  The materials may be used solely to the extent necessary, as provided in these Terms of Use or as expressly authorized in writing. Content and materials may not be altered or modified in any way.

INSTAGRAM

Introduction

Instagram is a popular social media app where users share visuals surrounding their life. I signed up for Instagram within the last year because I wanted to follow content related to raising my baby. Off on maternity leave, I was a new mom looking for ideas to support my babe in meeting important milestones. My google searches on topics like “how can I help my baby roll over,” and “how do I start to feed my baby solids,” led me to follow two accounts in particular – Milestones and Motherhood and Solid Starts. I highly recommend both of these Instagram accounts if you are looking for tips in this area. 

Purpose

When the opportunity arose to choose an app to explore personally, I thought it would be interesting to explore Instagram as a tool for education. Of course, being a Grade 2/3 teacher, I know that my students do not use Instagram. Instagram is a very visual application. Users post content like photos and videos that are highlights of their lives. Most users, I assumed, used Instagram for personal communication and entertainment purposes, and not as much for professional gains. Upon first thought, Instagram did not seem to be a place where I would find value as an educator. 

Goal

My research into Instagram involved searching for rich and valuable education content. I wanted to find out if Instagram would be a good place to find resources, tips, and inspiration. As a person who is still very apprehensive about posting content online, especially photographs and videos, I had no intention of posting anything to my account, but wanted to see if I could find educational value in the content presented to me on the app.

Following… Where to Begin?

I began my journey into Instagram by searching for content that would provide me resources. When I searched in the search bar for educational content, I came up short. The app continued to show me content related to raising and feeding my baby. I also searched in the tags, profiles for accounts to follow, but I was disappointed that there weren’t many good accounts coming up. 

I turned to Google to find accounts that were aimed at elementary educators. I specifically was looking to follow accounts that had:

  • Canadian content
  • Saskatchewan content
  • Treaty 4/Indigenous content
  • Inclusive education content
  • Grade 2/3 content
  • Resources

Many of the accounts I first found (with tens of thousands of followers) were educators who were broadcasting both themselves and their work, for financial gains through Teachers Pay Teachers. I found that the content being posted on many of the teacher accounts was about (in order of frequency seen by me):

  • The teacher themselves
  • The classroom
  • Lesson plans
  • Graphics
  • Students

I did find it very difficult to find accounts that fit my criteria listed above. After hours of searching, I had only found a few accounts from Canadian teachers, let alone those from Saskatchewan. It was like Instagrams algorithms needed time to process the accounts and content I was searching for. Furthermore, when I went to my feed, Instagram still wanted me to see baby and toddler content and not much else. It wasn’t until the next day that I was able to start seeing education content!

Some of the accounts I decided to follow, among many others, include:

  • Indigenous Educators
  • We Are Teachers
  • Bored Teachers
  • Madly Learning
  • Inclusive Inspirations
  • Get Techy With It
  • Kesler Science
  • Fully Booked Lesson Plans

The Hashtag… Duh!

I was disappointed initially in the content Instagram was showing me. I was checking the app daily to see what was popping up in my “verticals.” Quick shout out to Steve Boots for teaching me this and making the algorithms of social media more relatable for a newbie like me. So, I googled once again and this time I came across the article “Ways to Use Instagram to Enrich Your Classroom” by Janelle Cox. In it, I learned that you can extend your learning through educational hashtags. I hopped over to the Instagram app and typed in the search bar #edtech and saw the suggestion #edtechteachers come up. Aha! This was the missing piece. I clicked on it, and sure enough, I began seeing more relateable content in the feed. I hit the follow button. Then I searched #scienceofreading. And WHOA! Content, tips and resources surrounding literacy appeared in my feed. This was going to be way more valuable to me than photos of teachers posing in their cute dresses, fancy heels and in front of their curated, pretty classrooms! Again, I hit the follow button and have been happily connecting and finding new content daily. 

Literary Research

I wanted to dive a bit deeper into the motivations of teachers using Instagram. As I mentioned before, I wanted to know if there was more value in Instagram than looking at pictures of colourful bulletin boards and links to fancy worksheets from teachers looking to profit by selling their work? So, why are teachers using Instagram?

In the article, “How and why are educators using Instagram?” Carpenter et. al. state that few studies have actually explored Instagram use by teachers for the purpose of learning, community, or teacherpreneurship, unlike many studies focused on teachers using Facebook and Twitter. Just like we discussed in class, the researchers also  noted that educator professional identity is a factor when using social media sites. They acknowledged that some mixing of personal and professional identities can be necessary to develop online relationships between educators. 

In an online survey, the researchers looked at finding out how and why teachers were using Instagram. Participants in the study noted that they began using Instagram for personal reasons. Nearly 88 percent of respondents stated that they used Instagram to find ideas and content posted by other educators. Only 35 percent of respondents claimed to share their own ideas or content on the app. Teachers also noted that they would comment on posts to help build a sense of community and encourage other educators.

In addition, some participants described ways in which their Instagram use served to combat professional isolation. 

“For example, one teacher who did not feel much kinship with her building colleagues commented, “I have needed a dramatically larger pool of teachers in order to find people I have anything in common with.” A Latinx elementary school teacher wrote, “Educators of color oftentimes can be very isolated in their buildings and roles at school. Following other educators of color who are interested in the same areas of education as me helps ease that feeling somewhat.” Instagram thus served as a way for some teachers who can feel isolated to connect with other educators with whom they could identify.” 

Carpenter, J. P., Morrison, S. A., Craft, M., & Lee, M. (2020). How and why are educators using Instagram?. Teaching and teacher education, 96, 103149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103149

This article highlighted some of the positive aspects of Instagram use by educators and helped me to shift my attitude and skepticism towards the app.

Terms of Use

Below is a condensed version of the Terms listed on Instagrams website. 

Community Guidelines

Instagram is a reflection of our diverse community of cultures, ages, and beliefs. We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the different points of view that create a safe and open environment for everyone.

We created the Community Guidelines so you can help us foster and protect this amazing community. By using Instagram, you agree to these guidelines and our Terms of Use. We’re committed to these guidelines and we hope you are too. Overstepping these boundaries may result in deleted content, disabled accounts, or other restrictions.

Data Policy

I. What kinds of information does Instagram collect?

To provide the Meta Products, Instagram processes information about users depending on how they use the product. They collect the content, communications and other information you provide when using the app like the location of a photo or the date a file was created.

  • information about the people, accounts, hashtags and pages you are connected to and how you interact with them 
  • how you use Instagram, such as the types of content you view or engage with; the features you use; the actions you take; the people or accounts you interact with; and the time, frequency and duration of your activities. This includes payment information, such as your credit or debit card number and other card information; other account and authentication information; and billing, shipping and contact details.
  • Things others do and information they provide about you. 
  • Instagram collects information from and about the computers, phones, connected TVs and other web-connected devices you use. 

II. How do we use this information?

Instagram uses the information to provide, personalize and improve the app, to personalize content and make suggestions for you. They connect information across the Meta Products. They use it to track location information, provide analytics, promote safety and security, communicate with you, and finally, research and innovate for social good. 

III. How is this information shared?

Your information is shared with others in the following ways:

  • Sharing on Meta Products
  • People and accounts you share and communicate with
  • You should consider who you choose to share with, because people who can see your activity on Instagram can choose to share it with others on and off our app. 
  • Apps, websites, and third-party integrations on or using our Products.
  • Sharing with Third-Party Partners
  • Partners who use our analytics services.
  • Advertisers.
  • Measurement partners.
  • Partners offering goods and services in our Products.
  • Vendors and service providers.
  • Researchers and academics.
  • Law enforcement or legal requests.

V. How can I manage or delete information about me?

Instagram provides you with the ability to access, rectify, port and erase your data. They store data until it is no longer necessary to provide services and Meta Products, or until your account is deleted – whichever comes first. 

VI. How do we respond to legal requests or prevent harm?

We access, preserve and share your information with regulators, law enforcement or others. 

VIII. How will we notify you of changes to this policy?

We’ll notify you before we make changes to this policy and give you the opportunity to review the revised policy before you choose to continue using our Products.

Terms of Use

Who Can Use Instagram 

  • You must be at least 13 years old or the minimum legal age in your country to use Instagram.
  • You must not be prohibited from receiving any aspect of our Service under applicable laws or engaging in payments related Services if you are on an applicable denied party listing.
  • We must not have previously disabled your account for violation of law or any of our policies.
  • You must not be a convicted sex offender.

How You Can’t Use Instagram

Providing a safe and open Service for a broad community requires that we all do our part. There is a long list of don’ts listed on the website including impersonating people, doing unlawful things, or interfering with the company, etc. 

Permissions You Give to Instagram

  • Instagram does not claim ownership of your content, but you grant them a license to use it.
  • Permission to use your username, profile picture, and information about your relationships and actions with accounts, ads, and sponsored content.
  • You agree that Instagram can download and install updates to the app on your device.

Additional 

  • If you select a username or similar identifier for your account, they may change it if they believe it is appropriate or necessary (for example, if it infringes someone’s intellectual property or impersonates another user).
  • If you use content covered by intellectual property rights that Instagram has and make available in their service (for example, images, designs, videos, or sounds we provide that you add to content you create or share), we retain all rights to our content (but not yours).
  • You can only use Instagram’s intellectual property and trademarks with their prior written permission.
  • You must obtain written permission from Instagram or under an open source license to modify, create derivative works of, decompile, or otherwise attempt to extract source code from them.

Content Removal and Disabling or Terminating Your Account

  • Instagram can remove any content or information you share on the Service if we believe that it violates these Terms of Use

Updating These Terms

Instagram may change their Service and policies, and may make changes to the Terms so that they accurately reflect their app and policies. 

Reflection

Much to my surprise, I have learned a lot from using Instagram this semester. Although I am now on maternity leave, I still like looking through Instagram’s content in my spare time. I do believe Instagram can be a valuable tool for teachers to connect with other educators, find and share resources and have some laughs and fun along the way.

Some of my takeaways:

  • I am a visual learner, so I enjoy the aesthetics presentation of content on Instagram.
  • Now that I know how to search and find desired content, the app is easy to use. 
  • You don’t have to post or share content to find value in the app.
  • The algorithms can get ya! Don’t linger too long looking at unwanted content. I once had a strange video of snakes in a commercial kitchen pop up and I was stunned as to what it was so I lingered on the video reel. The app then kept showing me that video for quite some time.

Delving into Digital Citizenship

This past week has been crazy busy! At school, I am preparing for upcoming report cards and benchmarking students. At home, my family and I are busy preparing for the arrival of our newest little addition set to arrive in just under two months. Oh and throw a snowstorm and some sketchy driving commutes in there as well – it was quite the week!

In addition, for this course, I have reflected on our presentation from Dr. Ribble and digital citizenship. In particular what that means for myself, my Grade 2/3 students and my own kids. To give you a quick recap, for my major project, I chose to look into both Edmodo as a tool that I would use in my classroom over the next two months before my maternity leave, as well as utilize and connect with other educators through Twitter. 

I began the process of starting up an Edmodo account and adding my students to the platform, but I quickly realized that the program was not going to be a good fit for my students and I. First, I realized that the program would act much like Seesaw, a program that I have already set up in my classroom, but have not utilized much this year. Second, with so many student absences at this time with Covid, illnesses, the cold weather and buses not running, I felt introducing a “new” program to my students would be an added challenge to students and families. So… after much reflection I have decided to tweak the direction of my major project a bit and follow the adage “keep it simple and focus on what matters!” 

Since I already have Seesaw set up and my students are familiar with it, I will be using Seesaw to teach my students about digital citizenship through learning activities, student reflections, student comments and collaboration. To get started, I am following the curriculum and video lessons on the Common Sense Education website – particularly the lessons and curriculum under the Digital Footprint and Identity section. Kara, Katherine, Jill and Leah B. mentioned this resource in their video this week and it has some really great information to get educators started in teaching digital citizenship. I found this curriculum outline particularly helpful. It also connects with Dr. Ribble’s Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship which I will touch on shortly.

Seesaw Learning

To start us off on our learning, I have created a lesson called “We the Digital Citizens.” Students watched the digital citizen video, recorded their reflection and also drew pictures to show their learning describing how they can be a good digital citizen. In future lessons, students will be taught to engage in learning with other students by commenting on their work, and collaborating on activities together. The commenting and collaboration part of Seesaw are both activities that I have never done before using the app, so I am excited to see where this project goes! 

My project will touch on a number of the nine elements of digital citizenship outlined by Mike Ribble including Digital Etiquette, Digital Literacy, Communication, Security and Rights and Responsibilities. 

The main goal of this project is to teach my students about digital citizenship and how we can learn, connect and interact together in a positive way. I am excited to learn alongside them as I navigate the settings and nuances of using Seesaw in this way.