Abstract:

The coronavirus pandemic with Universities worldwide moving on-line and students starting to feel deprived of communication and interaction has made educational establishments rearrange their teaching methods and turn to various means of interactive learning once not seeing as educational tools.

In a tech-savvy community with most of the students being avid proficient Instagram users the former has become an integral part of today’s life, yet the interest to this platform as a possible e-learning component of distance learning programs at the University level was long not approved and neglected.

The article investigates Instagram properties and gives guidelines on how to implement the application for educational purposes, serving as both supplementary and independent teaching tool. It analyses the application’s potential as a complementary educational element used in the classroom to encourage blended learning in a mixed educational environment. Furthermore it introduces approach to the application under consideration as the core element of the overall on-line study course. The author goes into study of Instagram efficiency in teaching foreign languages at its all levels, namely mastering pronunciation, speaking, listening, spelling, writing and reading skills. Moreover, the article investigates motivational aspect, ways to bring teaching outside the classroom and make e-learning more interactive. The author considers the means of encouraging students into collaborative activities, promoting interpersonal skills and peer feedback in the environment where e-learning is the only educational option. The article suggests ways to assess students’ Instagram activity and offers the system of evaluating their advance in studying the information presented by the lecturer on Instagram page. It proves beneficial effects of Instagram as an educational tool, which offers students the learning process that they enjoy and which makes studying engrossing and insightful.

Keywords:

e-learning, educational applications, mobile learning, blended learning.