SnapSmashing -- Snapchat (not just for kids anymore!)

So...Snapchat.

Obviously I am a hardcore techie (see blog title), but when I first heard about Snapchat, I immediately jumped to the conclusion that there would be no way to apply it in the classroom, and furthermore, I wanted no part of an app whose popularity was driven by the fact that the Snaps disappear in short order.  It just seemed like a recipe for disaster.  Since then, with regard to Snapchat, I have had an Eric Sheninger-like epiphany.  Thanks to an enthusiastic and uber-talented Voxer group dedicated to using Snapchat in the classroom, I have come to find limitless possibilities for using Snapchat to teach World Language.

The possibilities so excited me, that I volunteered to do an Ignite session (my next post will be on Ignite sessions, but the link below is an example) on "SnapSmashing" -- like Appsmashing, but with Snapchat at the heart.

Just imagine the possibilities in the World Language classroom:

• Interpretive Listening -- via 10 second video clips (and it doesn't get much more entertaining than seeing your teacher lensed like a dog speaking Spanish. -- Trust me, they'll replay it.  CI on the edge.
• Interpersonal Communication -- drop the snap videos into a Voxer chat, and have students respond via text or voice.
• Presentational writing -- Still Snaps can be created by teacher or student to use as writing prompts -- students take on more of the creation responsibility rather than simply curating and consuming pre-existing images.
• Presentational speaking:  students can start small by recording their own video snaps in the TL

What are you waiting for?  Get snapping!

Hot off the presses: Snapchat has just released a new feature called "Memories" which allows snappers to archive & organize snaps on the Snapchat server - a useful tool for teachers just got even better!