I chose to use Instagram instead of Twitter. I had only used Instagram for personal uses before creating a new account for this assignment. My new account focuses on following accounts for professional learning. I am following many library accounts.

I followed Edutopia, which posts several questions throughout the month for professionals to share and learn from each other. I found some great ideas and activities that I could begin incorporating immediately.

I also followed some well-known librarians, authors, and educators. In addition, I followed the School Library Journal and the American Association of School Librarians. They shared a lot of great information. One controversy that was happening during this assignment was Scholastic's diversity collection. They had separated their books for the book fairs and offered the cart as an opt-in. They issued an apology and have since discontinued the separate cart but have not shared their plans for these books in the future.

Using Instagram for professional learning and communication was a new experience for me. I still don't think I have fully embraced it as a tool or am using it to its full capacity. I hope to continue to use it and enhance my teaching. We are fortunate to have these platforms that offer a free professional learning community.

Instagram offers so many resources and ideas that can be implemented in the classroom. Since our district's privacy and security procedures are so strict, I'm not sure if I could use Instagram to share student learning but Instagram does have privacy settings that our district might approve. I could see setting up a private account and using images of student work to share with families. So many people use Facebook and Instagram, it would be an easy way for them to see what we are doing in the library.

I think that connecting with other professionals and educational resources is one of the best supports that Instagram can offer. I am following some well-known librarians and educators currently. They offer great tips, strategies, and activity ideas. I have also received responses from them on posts.