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"It's a controversial topic: do you introduce social media in the classroom or ignore it? Whether you use traditional social platforms or social-focused tools, many educators find that this technology helps increase engagement and excitement with students, many of who are already very familiar with it. "Students communicate, research, collaborate, create and publish online with or without the help of parents or educators. These same students then hop on social media to promote, discuss and share their thoughts with the world. The digital environment is offering us some of the greatest learning opportunities that young learners have ever had," says Gail Leicht, an 8th grade teacher. Bringing social networking into the classroom gives quiet students a chance to shine; sharing their voice online is often easier than speaking out in class. It also opens the doors for collaboration and communication between peers, both inside and outside of the classroom. Not to mention, it gives teachers another opportunity to connect with students. Despite the benefits, many educators still shy away from using social networking in the classroom because they are unsure about how to integrate it successfully. In fact, fewer than 20 percent of U.S. teachers use social media in the classroom, according to USNews.com. Luckily, the process isn't quite as daunting as it seems. Not to mention, you don't need to use traditional social networks to take advantage of social networking in the classroom. Follow these simple steps and watch as your students start sharing, commenting and publishing while learning important lesson material."

A social-media guide for public broadcasters targets the skeptical and the ambitious Until now, hundreds of independent NPR and PBS affiliates have had no common resource for best practices in social media. By Andrew Phelps Even though NPR and PBS have social media policies (while other news organizations choose not to and still others debate their value), hundreds of independent public broadcasters have shared no common resource for social-media best practices. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting wants to fill that gap with a newly released social media handbook for stations, which is hosted at the National Center for Media Engagement website. CPB commissioned the marketing firm iStrategy Labs to write a guide that targets a broad audience: not just the stations who need guidance, but the stations who still need convincing of social media's value."

"As teachers, we all have assumptions -- and likely some opinions -- about teenagers and social media. But are those assumptions correct? Well, now we have research to help us find out. This week, Common Sense is releasing its latest research report, Social Media, Social Life: Teens Reveal Their Experiences, a deep dive into the social media habits of American teenagers. This research is the second wave in an ongoing study tracking teens' attitudes about social media; we released our original report in 2012. Back then, Snapchat was just a fledgling start-up, and Facebook was a top choice for teens. But how -- and how much -- teens use social media has evolved almost as quickly as the technology itself. This year's report doesn't just tell us about teens today; compared with our original data, it shows us just how much things have changed. It might seem like teens are using social media more than ever (it's true -- they are!). Teachers work with teens every day, so it makes sense that we have our own opinions and anecdotes about their social media use. But it's important to remember that our personal perceptions about social media might not always reflect what our students experience online. And that's why this research is so important. The results of this latest study help us question our assumptions and start addressing real issues that help our students. "

"Social reading is revolutionizing the way anyone reads. While most participate in social media, such as Facebook or Twitter in their personal lives, social media in the form of social reading is expanding into the classroom, making reading more enjoyable and exciting for all readers young and old. The basis of social reading is simple, through the use of apps and devices reading goes beyond the actual words on the page and opens up a myriad of options for readers to share their thoughts, favorite quotes, and overall opinions of the things they have read. Social reading apps allow readers to connect and share, much like a book group, all through the use of technology. These 5 social reading apps make communicating about books and literature very simple and enjoyable all from the comforts of a tablet or smartphone."

"Social media enables collaboration, which for adult learning is the key to success for most adults. The best form of collaboration comes through conversation, which is often enabled by various social media tools. The key to accepting social media as a tool for learning comes in the term "Social". This requires involving other people in order to have a conversation. This requirement precludes the use of social media being a passive endeavor. It takes time to learn the tools, time to learn the culture, and time to learn the strategies to effectively learn through social media. All of this discourages people from even attempting to change what has made them comfortable in their profession. It requires effort, time, and work."

"Regardless of whether you think every infant needs an iPad, I think we can all agree that technology has changed education for the better. Today's learners now enjoy easier, more efficient access to information; opportunities for extended and mobile learning; the ability to give and receive immediate feedback; and greater motivation to learn and engage. We now have programs and platforms that can transform learners into globally active citizens, opening up countless avenues for communication and impact. Thousands of educational apps have been designed to enhance interest and participation. Course management systems and learning analytics have streamlined the education process and allowed for quality online delivery. But if we had to pick the top ten, most influential ways technology has transformed education, what would the list look like? The following things have been identified by educational researchers and teachers alike as the most powerful uses of technology for learning. Take a look. 1. Critical Thinking In Meaningful Learning With Technology, David H. Jonassen and his co-authors argue that students do not learn from teachers or from technologies. Rather, students learn from thinking-thinking about what they are doing or what they did, thinking about what they believe, thinking about what others have done and believe, thinking about the thinking processes they use-just thinking and reasoning. Thinking mediates learning. Learning results from thinking. So what kinds of thinking are fostered when learning with technologies? Analogical If you distill cognitive psychology into a single principle, it would be to use analogies to convey and understand new ideas. That is, understanding a new idea is best accomplished by comparing and contrasting it to an idea that is already understood. In an analogy, the properties or attributes of one idea (the analogue) are mapped or transferred to another (the source or target). Single analogies are also known as sy

"I remember George Couros when he came to our District, asking the question, "If you don't know what a hashtag is are you considered illiterate today?" I thought about that as I read a recent article by CEO of Hootsuite, Social media skills millenials lack.  Ryan Holmes states that using social media effectively is "the most important digital skill for tomorrow's CEOs"  He refers to a "social media gap" which is further supported by Professor William Ward, professor of social media at Syracuse University, who states "Students using digital and social media professionally in an integrated and strategic way have an advantage. [They're] getting better jobs and better internships …"   The fact is, students are good at connecting with people they already know, but don't understand how to network professionally.  I would add they don't often know how it works for learning either. That is a compelling reason to incorporate social media in the context of the classroom and yet there is a real reluctance to do this by many Districts."

Social Media, Social Life: How Teens View Their Digital Lives is the latest research report from Common Sense Media's Program for the Study of Children and Media. We surveyed over 1,000 13- to 17-year-olds nationally to understand how they perceive social media (like Facebook and Twitter) affects their relationships and feelings about themselves. Read highlights from the study in the infographic below, and visit our research page to download the full report.

"The myth about social media in the classroom is that if you use it, kids will be Tweeting, Facebooking and Snapchatting while you're trying to teach. We still have to focus on the task at hand. Don't mistake social media for socializing. They're different -- just as kids talking as they work in groups or talking while hanging out are different. You don't even have to bring the most popular social media sites into your classroom. You can use Fakebook or FakeTweet as students work on this form of conversation. Edublogs, Kidblog, Edmodo, and more will let you use social media competencies and writing techniques. Some teachers are even doing "tweets" on post-it notes as exit tickets. You can use mainstream social media, too."

"Did you know it's possible for students to use social media as a classroom research tool? Over the years social media has evolved from being a mere communication platform where people can connect with their long-time friends. It has matured into a platform where people conduct real business in addition to just making connections. At the time of this writing (the fourth quarter of 2016) Facebook is the most popular social media platform with almost 2 billion followers. It started out as a channel where people could re-establish some of their lost connections. Today, in addition to this, major brands are using the platform to market their goods and services. That is how far our social media has evolved. With such changes, it's only fair that students should be able to take advantage of such opportunities. There are so many ways students can use social media for research. Why struggle with research papers when there is plenty of help out there? Instead of focusing on chatting up friends, they can use that time constructively and get something done. HomeworkDesk.com decided to make a list that will help you."

"While my last blog post was focused on developing shareable content FOR schools via social media, I have taken a step back to look at the bigger picture and the different components schools need to consider and gain fluency in order to best harvest the power of social media for them. awareness of the difference between social media IN schools and FOR schools social media strategy for schools social media platforms and tools: characteristics, capabilities, type of content suited for particular platform, image/video sizes characteristics of shareable content"

What Is Social Bookmarking: Social bookmarking is a form of bookmark sharing that allows you to bookmark websites on the Internet using a service instead of using the browser's bookmarking feature. This service also makes it easy to share bookmarks. The sharing and collaboration feature explains the use of the word "social" in this term. Social bookmarking uses a form of tagging that allows users to tag sites they want to bookmark with a keyword, similar to how Twitter hashtags work.

What Is Social Bookmarking: Social bookmarking is a form of bookmark sharing that allows you to bookmark websites on the Internet using a service instead of using the browser's bookmarking feature. This service also makes it easy to share bookmarks. The sharing and collaboration feature explains the use of the word "social" in this term. Social bookmarking uses a form of tagging that allows users to tag sites they want to bookmark with a keyword, similar to how Twitter hashtags work.

"Editor's note:  Vicki Davis just wrote a new book called, Reinventing Writing. I asked her if she could contribute a post to The Innovative Educator explaining specifically how social media has reinvented writing. This is that post.   As hall of fame baseball player, Babe Ruth said, "Yesterday's home runs won't win tomorrow's games." To level up writing, we need to take advantage of the out-of-the park features and capabilities that social media inspired concepts give writing instruction. Most of us know how it feels to write an exciting Facebook status update or a powerful tweet. Without delay, we know the impact of our words as they are retweeted, commented on, and liked (or ignored.) With this in mind, it stands to reason that students want a response too. Paper essays that are only seen by the teacher with a wastebasket as their final destiny are a needless waste of time and potential. Writing can be so much more exciting and it isn't that hard to do. Notably, social media is impacting writing in the classroom in ten powerful ways. You don't have to be on social media (or even like it)  to feel the lift social media concepts can give writing in your classroom, as I share in my new book  Reinventing Writing released just this month."

"Traditionally as students come back to school, it is important to establish a positive classroom culture. Today, more and more districts are following the lead of places like New York City where schools are empowered to support students in the responsible use of cell phones and social media. That means that not only must we support the establishment of a positive classroom and school culture, but we must also ensure our students are engaging positively and responsibly as digital citizens.  While students are all familiar with the "social" aspect of social media, teachers have an important new role. That is to help students consider the "power" of social media for academic and career success. If our students want to run for office, run a business, or change the way things are run where you live, work, or play they must be savvy in the use of social media. "

"Stress about a meeting that is still a week away, handwringing before talking to the cashier in the grocery line, worrying about seeing an acquaintance on the street-for people with social anxiety disorder, even the simplest task can prove challenging. The symptoms of social anxiety often set in around adolescence, when people place a new emphasis on social interactions and their place in their peer groups. But some academics fear that greater access to technology could exacerbate social anxiety among teens, particularly as smartphones, tablets, and computers become omnipresent in and out of the classroom. And even though teachers are increasingly exploiting the devices as learning tools, they also play an integral role in stemming the tide of social anxiety."

"Social media has become an essential part of most people's everyday lives, from checking Facebook and Twitter to posting blogs, Pinterest listings, and uploading YouTube videos. However, and with smartphones making it easier than ever to spend time on social media networks, in what ways can these networks be leveraged to engage and build a foundation for future student learning? While the potential of distraction is there, the right social media teaching strategies can lead to creative learning, and a productive approach to making social media part of ongoing professional development."

"Last week I laid out 3 Untapped Social Media Resources for Teachers. This week we take a look at how to leverage social networks for students.  My sister is a senior in high school. Whenever we spend time together I ask her about "what the kids are into these days?" She is right in the heart of the age range for kids who use social media the most (13-18 yrs old). Our conversations give me a sense of how kids are using social media and her thoughts on using it for learning, or even if there is a place for it. She tells me all the time that she's "addicted" to her phone, just like most adults. Most of her time is spent on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. She and her friends are sending photos, snaps and videos back and forth all day long. That is their world. They are continually capturing what is happening around them and sharing it with each other. And we have the data to back her up. "

"Recently, I presented an online webinar with education colleagues from different parts of the U.S. The webinar, Social Media Savvy for Educators, was well received. Our purpose in sharing was to: Support educators who were new to using social media Support them to seek out a few resources Support them to launch into those spaces In this webinar, we shared ways to tap into the power of social media to increase professional effectiveness, student engagement and parent participation. K-12 educators and leaders attended and participated to learn about integrating Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, Google Hangout and more into their everyday work. An interesting issue emerged as we stepped through the webinar -- we observed that many participants did not know how to "get started" using social media tools. "

Have you been spending too much of your time on social media recently? Is that making much of your internet usage wasteful? Social media can be so addictive, so much that we spend hours on it without really noticing. While social media does contribute in healthy discussions and is also our primary source of news and ideas at times, it's equally likely to encourage us to refrain from learning something useful in our lives. It's very important to keep our social media usage in check if we want to enrich ourselves with great learning experiences and upgrade our lives. Here are 25 great websites which you should check if you want to escape from the vicious trap of social media and live a life full of knowledge, joy, and inspiration.