Instagram Stories

For this media reflection I experimented with Instagram Stories. I was more interested in experimenting with the format of short form video and images together than the Instagram platform itself. Short form vlogging is common on several other platforms as well, including Facebook Stories, Snapchat, and Tik Tok. We have been looking at using vlogs of some kind as another way to connect with our students during remote learning, so this seemed like a great opportunity to try it out. 

I ended up documenting how I made my son's halloween costume. He decided he wanted to be Robin Hood this year, but with COVID I didn't want to spend money on buying him a costume when we wouldn't be going anywhere. So I dug in my craft stash and put a costume together. Since that is a topic many of my friends would be interested in I decided it would be an ideal opportunity to try doing a series of short videos and images sharing how I made the costume. I did a combination of short videos and still images with text, some of which are featured below.

(My husband modeling because Little Dude decided he didn't like hats. 2 year olds...)

I did find it challenging to do an ongoing vlog in this format. I initially thought sharing a craft project would be an easy thing for me to do so I could put my focus on learning about using Instagram Stories. I had to stop working and remind myself to document what I was doing. It felt very unnatural for me to do. My plan of doing a craft was based around the fact that it is something I enjoy doing, and I thought that would make it something that was very easy to share. Now having tried it, I think it would be easier to do something where I talk directly to the camera in short bursts and talk through a topic. I was getting caught up in enjoying doing something and was forgetting to 'gram it. If I were sitting down with the intention to talk about something, I don't think I would have that problem.

One of the main reasons I wanted to look at short form vlogging is because my library is trying to find more ways to connect with students during remote learning. Many departments in my building use Twitter and Instagram to stay connected with their students in a less formal and academic way than when they used email and Google classroom. We are hoping to use our new Instagram account to do 30 second book talks, share upcoming events, new books to the library, and promote our ebook collection. when we are back in person, we could also use it to promote library programs. Our main goal is to find another avenue to build community when we are not able to be together face to face, and I think using Instagram Stories could do that for us.