This week I struggled with posting on my Instagram again, upon doing some reflection I think it is because I am struggling to incorporate my two identities of student teacher and fashion content creator. I have been conflicted between where to put my energy, because I have to put almost all my energy into schoolwork I find it very difficult to devote my leftover time and energy into content creation. It just seems like my time could be better used either continuing to work on school work or to rest and recover.

Photo by Emma Scholten on Instagram Stories

Because of this reflection, I decided to do a little bit of research into why social media marketing is an important skill for teachers to have. I thought that maybe I would be more interested in spending time creating content if it was related to teaching. We have had some discussions in class about teachers as content creators, and I wanted to dive a little deeper into that concept. In my EdTech presentation we discussed social media use in the classroom and our various opinions and research on the topic and I am a strong proponent of teachers incorporating or leveraging social media within classrooms. From upEducators, I found a article discussing the reasons it is important for teachers to have social media skills. These included communicating efficiently, engaging students, keeping parents in the loop, and collaborating with other educators.

Graphic by UpEducators

These reasons are very similar to the reasons I feel that using social media as a tool for teaching is so important. I also think that maybe trying to make content that is related to teaching would help me be more motivated to create content in general. Even if it is not strictly related to school even creating content that revolves around my student teacher life such as outfits of the week for practicum, or a vlog of my morning routine as a student teacher would allow me to engage in my creative outlet while still having it relate to school. I would like to try creating this kind of content to see how it makes me feel and also see how it performs on Instagram.