Based on a talk given at the GISA Conference on Nov. 2, 2015.

I post a picture and 2-3 sentences every day from my classes. There are several benefits of this practice I think you might appreciate: 1) I reflect daily on how class went, 2) my teacher portfolio practically builds itself, and 3) I get feedback from teachers around the world.

Join the #teach180 movement by posting a photo a day from your classroom. The easiest way is to Tweet your picture with the #teach180 hashtag. My talk outlines several other methods, too, including Instagram and traditional blogging platforms.

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How do you start? Two simple steps:

  1. take a photo of something interesting happening in your classroom
  2. share the photo
  3. repeat as often as you like

When I told them I was giving this talk, several #teach180 bloggers shared their reasons for using this format:

  • “Writing is hard. Submitting a photo with a tweet is something I can actually do.” –Paul Martenis, @Mr_Martenis
  • “A full length blog is overwhelming to me. I can commit to 140 characters.” –Sheila Orr, @mrssheilaorr
  • “180 blogging gives me something easy to focus on – a full-length blog feels (to me) like it needs to be deep and insightful whereas a 180 blog could easily be a photo and 5 sentences (and often evolves into more). It feels more consistent, too.” –Nicholas Chan, @sergtpeppa
  • “[It’s] easier to post & follow, less time commitment” –Ben Wildeboer, @WillyB
  • “[Daily photos] give me a nice summary of the school year. I often refer to photo collections from previous years to verify pacing or other kinds of special events.” –Jonathan Claydon, @rawrdimus
  • “[The 180 blog is a] snapshot of a day, vs in depth. Much easier to maintain, and interesting to compare year to year where I am in my curriculum.” –Heather Waterman, @watermanphysics

Also, what kind of teachers would we be if we didn’t offer advice on joining us? Here are tips to help you get started and stay with it:

  • “Post length is a killer. Keep it short and sweet. A picture’s worth a thousand words, right?” — Frank Noschese, @fnoschese

  • “I’d advise to not worry about missing days (or weeks). Don’t try to catch up, just jump back in where you are.” — Ben Wildeboer, @WillyB

  • “Really it’s just working on forming a habit. I carry my phone around with me and it’s been the easiest way to remember to take a picture on a regular basis. It also encourages me to have a classroom that has a lot of picture worthy moments. 180 days of worksheets is no fun.” –Jonathan Claydon, @rawrdimus

  • “Get your students in on the action by publishing their user-submitted photos.” –Me

  • “Be open to sharing not just learning tasks. Also include school culture, funny students, etc.” –Frank Noschese, @fnoschese

  • “Workflow: Take photo with smartphone, share photo to WordPress media library (not “new post”), write actual post on a computer. Have backup photos for those days you forget to take a picture or when it’s a quiz day.” –Frank Noschese, @fnoschese

Will you join us? Add yourself to the #teach180 Google Form (view the participating blogs here).