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Snapchat in the Classroom?

Snapchat in the Classroom?
(Image Source: Snapchat)

     Snapchat is one of the most popular social media apps. Snapchat is a social storytelling platform that lets you easily talk with friends, view Live Stories from around the world or in your location, and explore news in Discover. When I asked my students mostly ever student with a phone had a Snapchat account, but 3. Even I have a Snapchat. I enjoy sharing my stories with my friends. KQED wrote an article Getting Started with Snapchat in your Classroom. Before I read this article I never really thought about Snapchat being an appropriate Social media app for a classroom, but after reading this article I really would like to start one or something like it for my class next year. I think it will be a cool way to communicate with the students. The article provided many ways to implement the app into your classroom. Here are some of the easy ways listed to start incorporating Snapchat into your classroom tomorrow.


Reminders: Snapchat can be used for one-way communication, so it is a great tool for reminding students about an upcoming assignment or activity.
Content Examples: When you come across interesting information or real-world examples that apply to class content, Snapchat makes it easy for you to share it with your students and colleagues.
Draw and Annotate: Snapchat makes it easy to draw diagrams or annotate text on the fly. Check out Tara Martin, who uses Snapchat to annotate and reflect on text that she is reading using the #booksnaps hashtag on Twitter.
Study Session: Use Snapchat to share the top ten pieces of information about an upcoming test or assignment.

I love the ideas provided. I can use it to send the kids reminders about homework, studying  for tests, or post videos reviewing problems that were difficult for them. I think the students would love using this social media platform and they can replay it as many times as they need to understand it, which will be so helpful for many kids. The article also talked about allowing the students to create and share Snapchat content. I think that is a great idea because it does give students ownership over their learning and gives them a voice, but I think this is something I would do second semester. Like I have stated in other blogs, I think it is important to establish a classroom culture and policy around how to appropriately use the app and what is expected of them. It will be set up as a gradual release. At first  I will be in control using it like the easy ways listed above, then once the students know how to use that and the expectations then I will open it up to the students. This will allow the students to create which is one of the highest levels of critical thinking. Of course I would need to make sure it was approved by my admin but I would love to implement this next year! 
(Image Source: Pintrest) 


Here are some other resources on how Snapchat can be used in the classroom
15 ways to use snapchat in classes and schools
Six snapchat projects for a-classroom

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