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"The idea of connecting with other educators, school leaders, and parents online is a great one. But figuring out where to start can be a challenge. Currently, about 80% of U.S. teachers are on social media and using it to become better at their profession. In an effort to make sure these teachers are making the most of their time, we wanted to put together a handy visual guide that will help you grow your professional learning network (PLN) using social media. These tips and ideas are simple and there's a big reason for that. Instead of giving you 50-100 different ways to use the social networks, we wanted to start small. Teachers have basically no time to learn 100 different ways to use Twitter so why not instead offer our best tips in one simple-to-use visual."

The Social Learning Academy is intended for learning professionals - in Workplace Learning and Education - who are new to social media and would like to find out more about the different social technologies and their application to learning.

"When the clocks flip and 2013 becomes 2014, some things may change. One that probably won't is that you'll still be using social media in your classroom. We know that technology and trends are changing all the time, so what will 2014 hold in store for social media? The handy infographic below takes a look at 6 trends and predictions for social media in the new year. While it is somewhat geared towards businesses, each one has implications in both the classroom and for personal use as well."

Almost all college professors are on social media these days. Many use it simply to connect with other professionals in their field or to post information on themselves and their research. But using social media inside the classroom can be extremely effective. Increase productivity, communication, and understanding by using these six tips.

"Almost all college professors are on social media these days. Many use it simply to connect with other professionals in their field or to post information on themselves and their research. But using social media inside the classroom can be extremely effective. Increase productivity, communication, and understanding by using these six tips"

"Describing yourself as 'a social media addict' doesn't usually inspire concern from other people. In fact, it's frequently included in bio descriptions on Twitter and Instagram. Decorate your LinkedIn profile with such a claim and you may even find yourself receiving interest from media and publishing companies searching for a savvy digital native. But imagine if, one day, it's not an accolade or joke at all - but a psychiatrist's diagnosis? Social media addiction has been a much-flouted term lately; maybe it's because it's January and users are looking to be more active and spend less time online, or maybe that's because social media can have a negative impact on our mental well-being. But a growing body of research is seriously considering whether problematic and excessive social media usage could be pathological and, in turn, designated as a mental health disorder. "

"Technology is changing the world at a rapid pace, and education isn't exempt from the effects of that. Social media, in particular, is one of the greatest influences of our time - not just on young people, but on culture in general - encouraging social connections and enabling the exchange of thoughts and information on a global scale. And although it has its drawbacks (peer pressure, bullying, access to questionable content, and its addictive nature, to name a few), there are also tremendous benefits when it comes to social networks - and let's face it, they're not going anywhere."

"Now that we have ushered in 2013, we are at a point where we should look back on the applications that have been gracing the home-screens of many iOS users over the past year. 2012 as a whole was a year of social media advances: developers everywhere found amazing ways to improve and extend the way that we are using social networking websites, and moreover, users who were fed up with social networking being seen as useless have been finding educational ways of making use of social networking and iOS applications in general. Let's take a look at applications old and new that have made their mark over the past year."

"Ohio educators are facing a barrage of new initiatives, such as the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System, Ohio's New Learning Standards and the next generation of assessments that require multiple changes in practice all at the same time. As educators begin wading into the waters, they increasingly are turning to social media for insight and support from their colleagues statewide. Even if you have little experience in social media, here are a few tools you can use that are quickly developing into invaluable education-reform communications tools."

"I used to teach a class called photojournalism. I usually referred to it as "digital journalism," because people assumed we were a photography class. Students created videos, podcasts, documentaries, and blogs with the goal of sharing their work with an authentic audience. On the surface, this might not seem all that practical. After all, newspapers are slashing their budgets and laying off staff. Why teach an elective class in a subject that doesn't connect to a decent job market? But here's the thing: whether we feel like it or not, we are all citizen journalists. We are all researchers. We are all sharing information online and publishing it on social media. We are all curating and producing content even if only a fragment of the population creates videos, podcasts, or blog posts. Social media is a fusion of space (social) and publishing (medium). Although it can simply feel like a place to hang out, every social media platform uses elements of traditional media. Just look at the terms: subscribers, news feed, followers, publish."

"Social media storytelling tool Storify finally untethered itself from the desktop on Wednesday with the launch of a free iPad app. Like the web-based version of Storify, which has been used by news organizations such as the New York Times and Al Jazeera, the app makes it easy to scroll through and assemble Tweets, YouTube videos, Facebook photos and Instagram photos in a social media timeline. Its drag-and-drop interface translates perfectly to the iPad."

"As teachers, the pull of social media on your students attention will already be well known to you. The online world exerts a magnetic lure on the attention of young people today, offering community and information sharing, entertainment and gossip in ways that often pull students away from the blackboard. Understanding this dynamic, some educators are now bringing social media into the classroom in surprising ways. By working with something your students already enjoy and don't, perhaps, associate with learning, there are opportunities for creative teaching, as well as making genuine connection with your students."

"Over the years I've used a lot of Google tools in my social studies classes. Some of those tools, like Wonder Wheel and Notebook, no longer exist, but many still do. Here are my five go-to Google tools for social studies classrooms. How to videos accompany each tool featured below."

"Is there a better way to start the week than by spending all day talking and learning about more effective ways to do social studies? You're right. There isn't. I had the sweet chance to spend yesterday with a small group of social studies teachers as we discussed ways to use five under-appreciated Google tools to teach social studies."

"Schoology is a free web-based learning management system (LMS) built on a social network. "

Learning Management + Social Networking Schoology is a free web-based learning management system (LMS) built on a social network. Schoology leverages the familiarity of popular social media tools to improve communication and collaboration.

Social Media search Samepoint is a conversation search engine that lets you see what people are talking about. Discover, learn and share new web sites and ideas.

"Teens Turn to Social Coding to Protect Privacy on Social Nets"

"19 year old, Andrew Watts, is a sophomore Management Information Systems major (marketing minor) at the University of Texas in Austin and penned an interesting glimpse into the world of teenage (and college) consumption (or lack thereof) of the biggest social networks. We see studies day in and day out from Gallup or Pew on polling that is then interpreted by all the hot tech blogs, but very few articles actually cite real, blood pumping teenage humans. And by the time the studies are published, most likely, the stats are dated - as teenage trends move in and out so quickly. What do they actually think, in their own words, about the various social networks? Watts lays it out:"

"This infographic paints a very interesting picture on the relationship between social media and our students. This provides more justification on why we need to teach the proper ways of using social media to our students."

"The Americas Society and Council of the Americas invited me to discuss the role of social media in education with experts and leaders dedicated to advancing and shaping the political, economic, social and cultural agendas of the Western Hemisphere. The purpose was to take what works in New York City and bring it to other education systems. To follow are some ideas I shared that global leaders can bring back to their countries. "