Can We Actually Use Selfies to Teach a Lesson in the Classroom?

As I was scrolling through my Twitter feed, I came across an interesting article about how a teacher used selfies for a lesson in her classroom. This immediately reminded me of a lesson my writing class did last year with a group of third grade students. For my master's level writing course, we worked at a local public school to help improve the students' writing skills. We offered a free, after-school writing workshop where they could practice and improve their writing skills.

For my group's lesson, we ended up using a book called "The Best Part of Me" by Wendy Ewald. This book includes a picture of students' favorite part about themselves and then a poem or piece of writing describing why it is their favorite. We used this book as a model for a similar lesson we would use in the writing workshop. The writing workshops' focus was on using technology in some shape or form. We had the students take a photo of their favorite part about themselves on iPads provided to them. They loved this idea and really enjoyed getting to show off their favorite part about them, whether it was their hair, fingers, face, toes, arms, nose, etc.

I really enjoyed how we were able to use technology in this lesson plan and thought it helped transform the lesson into one that was relevant to our 21st century digital age. The students loved it as well, because they were able to showcase a part of themselves they really love in a fun and unusual way.

When I saw the recent New York Times article Twitter post about using selfies in the classroom, it brought me back to this lesson plan we used for the writing workshop. I believe using technology to intrigue students is a great way to get them interested in a lesson. In this day in age, technology is all around them, so using it in creative ways throughout the classroom helps teachers connect with their students and keep them focused.

Selfies in particular could be a great resource to use in the classroom as a writing assignment. Selfies are photos of oneself taken on a camera. You can change your facial expression to show your mood or show certain scenery in the background if you are showcasing your location. Additionally, you can take selfies with loved ones or pets to show how you feel with them. Selfies are a great way to show emotion and get to the heart of one's true feelings. While at first it may be awkward to take a photo of yourself, after time, you become more confident and realize it is just a way to communicate with your friends, family and loved ones. I love the way Jenna Wortham explains the true meaning of a selfie in her New York Times article "My Selfie, Myself",

"In other words, it is about showing your friends and family your elation when you’re having a good day or opening a dialogue or line of communication using an image the same way you might simply text “hi” or “what’s up?” (Wortham, 2013). 

What a great way to explain the true depths of what a "selfie" really is. While on the surface it may seem like any other picture, truthfully there lies a lot more underneath a simple picture of oneself. People are expressing themselves and feel comfortable doing it. They are willing to show their happiness, sadness, confidence, love, strength and courage.

Most interestingly, selfies allow for a wider range of communication via technology. When I was young, we would simply call up our friend from our home land-line. You could only hear their voice, and you could not see their face. Now, you can snapchat, send a photo, Facebook live, etc. in which you can send photos or videos of yourself to communicate with others. The great benefits of this updated form of communication is that you can really express your emotions when you are talking with friends, family, etc. They can visually see you and how you feel. What a cool way to stay connected!

So, the teacher who used selfies in the classroom allowed her students to use pictures of themselves and answer the prompt "Why Do We Take Selfies?". She was working with a high school classroom, so this topic may be a little too deep for fourth or fifth grade students (which are the grades I would like to teach!). However, I think I could still use selfies in the classroom to connect to a writing assignment.

For an assignment for upper elementary, I think I would stick to something like the lesson I presented above. I would have them talk about their positive qualities to promote positive self worth and acceptance. I would have them explain why they chose a specific facial expression, camera angle, setting, background, etc. in their photo. All of these features help express who they are and differentiate one student from another. No two photos will be the same and based off students' differing personalities, we will see there will be totally different types of pictures. Some will be artsy, some simple, some close up and some far away, some with smiles and some with frowns. All of these details tell a story and it's important to have students get in touch with and explore their emotions. A picture tells a thousand words...so now, it's up to them to write about it.

References
Connell, G. (Photographer). (2013). Best Part of Me [Online Image], Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/genia-connell/best-part-me-positive-self-image-poetry/

Network, T. L. (2017, February 21). Using Student Selfies for Writing Assessment and Classroom Connections. Retrieved February 25, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/learning/21RILN-Fogel-Shrive.html?_r=0&WT.mc_id=SmartBriefs-Newsletter&WT.mc_ev=click&ad-keywords=smartbriefsnl

Selfie collage [Google image]. Retrieved from http://www.clicktobuy.nl/image/data/selfie-collage-transparent.jpg

Wortham, J. (2013, October 19). My Selfie, Myself. Retrieved February 25, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/sunday-review/my-selfie-myself.html