Documenting Children's Learning Using Instagram Reels

It was my absolute pleasure speak as keynote at the Canadian Early Mathematics Education Conference in quaint Kingston, Ontario on August 22, 2022. In addition to being able to stroll the downtown area and marvel at the beautiful campus of Queen's University, I meet many amazing educators who connected with me regarding early math learning, humbled me with kind comments about my work, and fascinated me with interesting questions regarding the teaching and learning of mathematics in the early years.

 

My presentation focused on sharing stories from my classroom in hopes of inspiring educators to consider how they might create opportunities for joyful math in all areas including art, literacy, the classroom environment, routines, and outdoor learning. I also shared information regarding the documentation I collect regarding math learning and how children can help co-create this documentation as part of assessment process. 

Throughout my presentation I shared many Instagram reels that I had created this past school year. These were often meant to be quick, easy and entertaining ways to make the learning visible for children, families and the community. I embedded the clips throughout the presentation to help highlight specific ways math could easily be integrated into other subject areas. I also spoke to how Instagram reels could be used as a form of documentation.

I was not surprised that the majority of conversations I had with educators after my presentation were regarding Instagram reels. Many people were curious to learn more. As a result I thought it might be helpful to blog about this and share the ideas beyond the conference.

There are many reasons why I would encourage any educator to consider creating reels as a form of communication regarding learning and special events happening in the classroom. I can think of many more, but here are my top ten:

1. Instagram reels are an engaging way to share information in a format that appeals to a viewer's senses and emotions. Catchy sound effects, music, text, stickers, hashtags and filters can be used to enhance photos and videos that help amplify the message you are hoping to send. In this reel I'm hoping to show in a humorous way how messy kindergarten children can get when exploring the outdoors, and that it's normal and healthy.

2. Instagram reels can help educators share best practices with others using social media, helping them reach beyond their immediate learning community and idea share with many others. I like to post reels that explain teaching strategies or that challenge traditional ideas or routines that others might be curious about. For example here is a reel that encourages educators to think beyond traditional 'calendar' during morning message.

3. Instagram reels can help explain the steps behind a specific activity so others can try it themselves. This way of explaining the process appeals to visual learners who would rather watch a video than read steps. The size of reels also mean that the instructions should be succinct. This reel explains how to create textured watercolours using simple materials.

4. Instagram reels can help educators unpack activities for families and the community so the learning can be made visible. This might be especially helpful for experiences that families might be unsure about including messy sensory experiences. I tried to use this reel to explain the rich learning that happens in mud play.

5. Instagram reels can help change a viewer's perception of a non-preferred subject or task. For example I try to use reels to show the beauty and wonder of mathematics because so many people still default to their negative experiences and consider it a cold and solitary experience. I want to portray math as beautiful and interconnected to nature and our everyday experiences. This reel shows a few examples of math integrated in areas of the classroom.

6. Instagram reels can be co-created with children and used as a form of communication to provide a summary of the week's experiences. They can very effectively replace weekly newsletters or bulletins meant to share news from the classroom. Children can suggest clips to include and educators can chose salient videos that highlight the rich learning that has occurred. This reel highlights some of the events that happened in one week in the spring.

7. Instagram reels can be used to give families and the community tours of the classroom and other school spaces. I have shared tours of my classroom during kindergarten registration when potential families are viewing the school, during Covid closures so families could virtually step into their children's learning space, and also as a way to share with other educators who might be looking for new ways of organizing their space. This reel is a flashback to a previous classroom I had in hopes the ideas sparked conversations and starting points for educators.

8. Instagram reels are a fun way to share a bit about yourself to your school community. I like to create a few personal ones that show my interests, pets and family in order to humanize me to my school community and make myself relatable. This definitely depends on one's comfort level to allow others to take a small step into your life and might not be for everyone. This reel was created on a sunny, lazy Sunday in my backyard.

9.  Instagram reels help educators connect with a 'professional learning community' or PLC. Use a rich wording when describing your work. Adding hashtags to your reel will also help audiences find your work as well as having it appear in the reels section of the app. It can be liked, shared or commented upon by others. Many times creating reels will help an educator connect with other like-minded people, and it's very enriching to view reels created by others. An Instagram PLC will provide endless opportunities for networking and collaboration! This reel piggybacked on a sound trend and was meant to show math in very different ways.

10. Instagram reels are a fun, creative outlet! I am always engrossed in creating these and love the challenge they provide. Involving students in their creation helps a class become producers and not just consumers of information. When co-creating and reflecting upon reels, children engage in digital documentation and can appreciate the depths of their work and understanding, and plan next steps for action. I love how this reel coordinates a fun song with the child's math game.

Tips to get started:

*find educators to follow on Instagram that work in your field, or share interests - use hashtags to help locate experts and other interesting people

*watch the reels stream in your Instagram wall - even though many of these videos are not related to education, they are entertaining and can spark ideas for your reel creation

*use up to 30 hashtags to describe your work - the more you use, the better viewers can locate your work

*capture as many videos and photos as you can in your classroom - you never know what might turn out to be interesting and important to include in a reel

*ask children to share ideas for photos and videos, or invite them to include their own work to make reels authentic and meaningful

*take photos and film videos vertically to make them fit properly into the Instagram formatting. Horizontal images and videos can still be used, but they have a large black frame around them which makes them appear small and harder to view

*use filters, stickers, locations, text, etc. to enhance your work

*jump on trends and modify them for educational use in order to help your reels be discovered by others

*reels (unless they have sound copyright or restrictions) can be saved to your phone or computer, and mashed with other tech - you can share these saved videos on twitter, in digital documentation programs like Edsby or Seesaw, or added to a blog (like I have here) to get the most out of your work

To see more of my reels and connect on Instagram please follow @McLennan1977!

Coding Stories and Games

We are pleased to have presented our workshop  Creating Coding Stories and Games at the 2018 ETFO Kindergarten Conference!

 

 

 

 

 

Here is our presentation for those interested in what we shared.

                   

Communicating in Algorithms: Connecting coding to literacy

"We should think about what we mean by literacy. If you say, "He's a very literate person," what you really mean is that he knows a lot, thinks a lot, has a certain frame of mind that comes through reading and knowing about various subjects. The major route open to literacy has been through reading and writing text. But we're seeing new media offer richer ways to explore knowledge and communicate, through sound and pictures."

Seymour Papert, 1997

Mother's Day was filled with sunshine, laughter and the usual mess of having the kids home for two days in a row; roaming indoors and out and savouring the freedom that unstructured time provides. However what was interesting for me was that this weekend Caleb expressed an interest in learning how to use the Rainbow Loom. Not one to spend much time on crafty business, he had passed up opportunities using the extra loom I had picked up for him a few weeks ago. But early Saturday morning I noticed him watching Cadence work from afar. He eventually made his way to her side and spent several minutes observing her. Was it hard? Could he borrow her stuff? Did she have extra elastics for him too? Would she help him if he got stuck? He peppered her with questions. She timed her answers to the crescendo of video clips as she worked on her Ninja Turtle design. And then something caught his eye in the corner of her screen. He was sold. There, in bright red and yellow, was the most comical looking elastic-y hotdog. And with that he was off to gather his loom and iPad, and set to work on the kitchen table.

After an hour or so I heard him set his hook down with a clatter. I approached him to see how it was going.

"Terrible!" he responded. "The girl is this video doesn't give good directions. I have no clue what to do. She's not making any sense."

Caleb's frustration trying to following someone's inadequate directions reminded me of how powerful and precise oral language has to be in many of life's situations. Not only do we need clear and direct explanations, we also must be ready and able to carry out the directions in the manner they were given in order to experience success. He was unable to make a Rainbow Loon hotdog because the directions did not make sense to him. I immediately thought of coding. In the past I have spent much time linking coding to math due to the rich, integrated opportunities for number sense and geometry it provides. But what about literacy? Many educators are continuously looking at ways to embed and improve meaningful language-based activities in their emergent programs. Can coding help with this? How does coding encourage users to become more proficient communicators? Can coding strengthen kindergarten literacy programs in the same ways it does math?

I believe that kindergarten children who utilize complex, integrated coding activities in their daily lives will have opportunities to strengthen their literacy skills. Here are some of the ways:

Coding requires accurate language in order to be successful. Computers follow the code outlined in their programs. There is no room for interpretation, and as a result, a programmer must be incredibly clear and detailed in their algorithms. When children use coding as a language of communication in the classroom they practise this succinct way of articulating directions to others on a regular basis. Over time they will improve in their abilities to be precise when crafting these programs and directing others in activities.

Coding reinforces concepts of print.  In our classroom children are encouraged to write their code in different ways. They can order our class set of coding cards on the floor or in a pocket chart, or they can write their directions using a series of predetermined symbols (e.g., arrow, stop sign). When writing or reading these directions they are encouraged to move from top to bottom, left to right replicating the way we read and write in the English language. I always ask them to use their 'reading finger' and point to each card as they work. This reinforces the same concepts of print we are working on in our whole and small group literacy activities.

Coding uses symbolic language that children will be able to read and write even if they are not yet fluent using letter and sound relationships. Because kindergarten coding uses pictures, many children can easily create messages for one another by sequencing coding cards, or drawing established symbols digitally or on paper. A class can determine their own set of symbols before coding work begins so that everyone understands what they represent. Over time and with experience children will become proficient communicators using these. Just as early mark-making is a foundational part of establishing positive literacy behaviors, coding helps children easily communicate their ideas to others showing that oral language can be translated and preserved in multiple ways.

Coding builds confidence and fluency in early readers and writers. With practice children will improve in their abilities to communicate using symbolic language. In our classroom coding activities are always very popular and as a result even the most reluctant children in more traditional literacy activities want to participate. This grows their mindset and confidence because the more they practice, the better they become.

Coding encourages active listening. Regardless of how well constructed an algorithm is, it can only be successfully implemented if a child is listening intently and following through successfully on the given directions. Coding work requires concentration and full engagement. This helps children practise being attentive and responsive listeners.

Coding is a universal language that helps people speak to one another all over the world. In our classroom children blog and tweet extensively about their daily experiences. A very important part of the inquiry process is sharing one's understanding beyond the metaphorical 'walls of the classroom'. Because coding is used all around the world (and such a hot topic in education right now) children can participate in a global event, communicating with children in different countries, even where English is not the common language. One of my daughter's favourite things to do online is look inside the many creations posted on the Scratch website so she can see the code that was used.

Coding sequences a story from beginning to end which requires users to group events together and retell them in the proper order. In our classroom children often use favourite texts as the foundation of their coding games (e.g., retelling the events in the Gingerbread Man; helping the Gingerbread Man escape the fox at the end of the story). This means that children need to be able to accurately sequence a story in the correct order so that it makes sense. They need to consider the beginning, middle and end events and retell these in their coding directions so that the game makes sense. This strengthens their comprehension of literature and encourages them to demonstrate their knowledge in hands-on ways as they play with stories. 

Coding often tells a story that requires users to imagine setting, characters, and plot. This reinforces comprehension of texts, especially when favourite read alouds are used as the inspiration behind activities. When creating their own stories using the coding board, children need to establish their own engaging characters and plots in order for the activities to be fun to play.

Coding is found in our daily routines as we compose instructions to one another in our classrooms and beyond. Thinking and communicating in algorithms extends beyond coding activities. There are multiple opportunities each day for adults and children to give and receive directions to others. When we think as coders, we realize that we are more effective and efficient when our communication is clear and easy to follow. Children can be reminded of this in their work outside of programming. Educator Brian Aspinall (@mraspinall) emphasized at a recent PD event that I attended that he asks his students to "speak to each other in algorithms" in daily activities, even those unrelated to coding, in order to emphasize clear and direction language.

Coding can become an expressive language, much like the arts, helping children to articulate their ideas and show their comprehension to others. Emergent programs influenced by Reggio Emilia encourage children to explore and share their learning using 'hundreds of languages' including the arts, physical expression, and building. Coding can become another language children use to communicate in inquiry-based classrooms, especially once they are proficient using it on a regular basis. For example, why not encourage a child to demonstrate their understanding by creating a code to show and share their new knowledge with others (e.g., coding the lifecycle of a butterfly).

How else does coding encourage literacy in the classroom? Share your ideas in the comment section below or tweet me @McLennan1977 and tag it #codingandliteracy. 

 

Creating Coding Stories and Games

We are pleased to be presenting Creating Coding Stories and Games at the 2017 ETFO Kindergarten Conference! You can access our powerpoint here: Coding Stories and Games