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"Instagram is a hugely popular social network for photo sharing. Though the use of social media in the classroom may have skyrocketed, Twitter and Facebook definitely reign supreme as the key social media tools for schools and teachers. Somehow, despite the widespread popularity of Instagram, few teachers are employing it in the classroom. We've heard from a few of you that your concerns lie in the privacy arena. Since sharing photos that may be of students in your classroom should obviously be a concern - make sure your classroom account is private. You can choose to have a single account for your class, which would be the 'safest' way of approaching these privacy concerns. The teacher should be the only one who can vet followers - and they should only be associated with the class (parents, students, other classes in your school). Using a group hashtag for a particular project or theme is a good way to keep track of what they're doing, eg: #edudemicclassproject14."

How to Ensure that Making Leads to Learning http://t.co/jqjmk9NJlo #makered

"The number of mobile apps marketed to kids is growing at a rapid pace, yet a recent report by the Federal Trade Commission raises new concerns about child privacy and the lack of disclosure about the personal data being collected."

"I have a couple of more 3D printing projects that I haven't written about this year, but by the time this posts it will be the last day of school, and I feel like this would be the right time to reflect on what a year of 3D printing in the classroom was like. I started the year with a lot of ideas and excitement, but I wasn't really sure how the year would pan out. Looking back now I couldn't be happier. The level of learning that occurred this year was more than I expected. As excited as I was at the prospect of using a 3D printer in the classroom, I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to figure out how to tie it to the curriculum. I wondered if my students would be able to understand how it works and be able to use it effectively. I was concerned that I wouldn't have time for projects with all the other demands that happen in a classroom. My concerns were overshadowed by the novelty and the excitement of the printer. I think that is what many of my students felt too. They were curious, excited, and bewildered."

"Let's face it. All teachers talk, but not all teachers listen. I know, I know. You are probably thinking, "Well, students talk all the time, but they don't all listen." Granted, you may have a point there. But perhaps the root of the problem, a lack of honest and transparent conversations between teachers and students, can be discovered when Holmes' famous quotation is crossed with The RSA's animated video covering Daniel Pink's Drive. What results is a dry-erase animated video that took two sophomore students from Studio 113 and East Hall High School six hours to plan, draw, and fully articulate their concerns about the following educational concerns: Teachers' view versus students' view of school schedules. School systems' expectations of students versus students' own expectations of themselves. Purpose, application, and importance of certain curricula. The practice of not asking the most important people of all…the students. Ignoring successful educational models, such as Finland. Care to listen? The wise teachers already know it is the "privilege of wisdom" to click "play.""

"Elon Musk is concerned about the future of humanity. The tech entrepreneur shared a link with his 21 million Twitter followers Friday morning, urging them to watch Chris Paine's latest movie Do You Trust This Computer?. Musk wrote that "nothing will affect the future of humanity more than digital super-intelligence," while paying homage to the late Stephen Hawking that shared the same concerns. Paine's movie, available for free streaming until Sunday night, looks at how machine intelligence has become a pervasive part of everyday lives. It also explores how users trust smartphones and social networking with their data, an issue that's seen newfound attention in recent weeks as it emerged that Cambridge Analytica may have harvested 87 million Facebook users' data. Paine shared a trailer for the movie on its Facebook page - unlike Musk, it seems Paine has yet to fully sign up to the #DeleteFacebook movement spurred by the Cambridge Analytica scandal:"

"Last Sunday, I received a note via the contact form on my blog that was a first for me in many ways. It was the first time I had ever been contacted by a parent via my blog, the first time I could not put a comment out of my mind until I had addressed it, and the first time I ever thought about the impact a school's 1:1 take-home technology initiative could have on a family."

When my mother-in-law recently got an iPad for her elementary school classroom, her initial response to us was 'Really? How fast are they going to break that thing?!"

"Many teachers say the app helps them automate the task of recording classroom conduct, as well as allowing them to communicate directly with parents. But some parents, teachers and privacy law scholars say ClassDojo, along with other unproven technologies that record sensitive information about students, is being adopted without sufficiently considering the ramifications for data privacy and fairness, like where and how the data might eventually be used."

7 over-arching tensions, these being: 1. The tension between the global and the local. 2. The tension between the universal and the individual. 3. The tension between tradition and modernity. 4. The tension between long term and short term considerations. 5. The tension between competition and concern for equality of opportunity. 6. The tension between expansion of knowledge and our capacity to assimilate it. 7. The tension between the spiritual and the material.

"I've been pushing a lot of people's button lately because they keep throwing around this buzz word "engagement". For example, we need to increase student engagement! We need to promote student engagement! We need to provide teaching that will develop student engagement! The problem I have with this is that it seems to me that many people confused the word "engagement" for "entertainment". If kids are having fun then they must be engaged right? And what concerns me more is the people who have taken the message about "increasing engagement" and translated that into a hidden mandate to "increase test scores"."

"More middle- and secondary-school teachers are using digital tools in their classrooms and professional lives, a new report says. A study by Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project released Thursday delves into teachers' increasing technology use, but also expresses educators' concerns about the digital divide. The study surveyed Advance Placement and National Writing Project teachers across the United States, and 92% say the Internet has a "major impact" on their ability to access content, resources and materials for teaching. Teachers are becoming advanced tech users, according to Kristen Purcell, Pew's associate director for research. "

"If you were an Android user and is now switching to iOS instead, this is the post for you. Here are 10 questions that you might think of asking and the quick answers to those concerns. If you are new to the world of smartphones and you want to try iOS first, you might also be able to learn a new thing or two here."

"Since I wrote the controversial post, "5 Reasons Why BYOD is a Bad Idea" over the summer, and received such strong push back the concerns I noted, I've been looking forward to learning about sharing ways in which schools have addressed some of these potential issues. This week, guest writer Caroline Ross introduces us to several schools that have tackled these challenges."