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Learning is always personal, intimate, specific. Our discussions of the pros and cons of different kinds of learning have to be equally so. To settle for any less — in one direction or the other — is to shortchange one of the most important conversations we can be having right now.

Facebook promises something it cannot deliver just as many promoters promise that online instruction will transform schooling as we know it. Both are over-hyped social media.

time invested in a relationship determines its quality, having more than five best friends is impossible when we interact face to face, one person at a time. Put simply …. The emotional and psychological investments that a close relationship requires are considerable, and the emotional capital we have is limited.

personal contact sustained over ten months of a K-12 school year in the hands of skilled, knowledgable, and caring teachers, researchers have shown again and again (PDF: Rockoff on Teachers), makes a difference in students’ lives. Even the best online instructional software that create “virtual learning environments” fail to come close to what students do daily as they interact with each other and their teachers.

1) Protect their identity

2) Engage their community

Community Advocate Brand Evangelist Savvy Communication Skills, Shapes Editorial Gathers Community Input for Future Product and Services

tips for safe social networking:• Learn about and use the privacy and security settings on social networks. Consider restricting access to your page to a select group of people—for example, your friends from school, your club, your team, your community groups, or your family.• Think twice before posting pictures you wouldn’t want your parents or future employers to see.• Be cautious about how much personal information you provide on social networking sites. The more information you post, the easier it might be for a hacker, thief, or stalker to commit a crime.• Install a security suite (antivirus, antispyware, and firewall) that is set to update automatically.• Use tools to manage the information you share with friends in different groups. If you’re trying to create a public persona as a blogger or expert, create an open profile or a “fan” page that encourages broad participation and limits personal information. Use your personal profile for trusted friends.• Let a friend know if he or she posts information about you that makes you uncomfortable.• If someone is harassing or threatening you, remove the person from your friends list, block the person, and report the incident to the site administrator.• Make sure that your password is long, complex, and combines, letters, numerals, and symbols. Ideally, you should use a different password for every online account you have.• Be cautious about messages you receive on social networking sites that contain links. Even links that look they come from friends can sometimes contain malware or be part of a phishing attack.• Be aware that people you meet online might be nothing like they describe themselves, and they might not even be the gender they claim.• Flirting with strangers online could have serious consequences. Because some people lie about who they really are, you never really know who you’re dealing with.

The first way is in the classroom. Most teachers with abundant access to electronic devices have integrated desktops, laptops, interactive white- boards, and clickers into their lessons.

The second way of integrating technology is in the school. Combining online instruction for individual students tailored to their academic needs and interests with regular classroom instruction have emerged in past few years as “blended learning.”

The third way are for-profit and non-profit K-12 cyber schools such as Agora (PA) and Florida Virtual School where students receive online instruction at home or elsewhere and get their diplomas without entering school buildings.

"The Internet offers incredible opportunities to build high-level, deep thinkers if we provide the instruction that's needed."

Vicki Collet, a literacy facilitator for the Poudre School District in Larimer County, recently met with a group of middle-school teachers and posed a question: Are kids reading as much as they used to? The unanimous response: More. And yes, that includes novels, not just online fare. But the teachers saw a connection between the two — online information, including social networking, often steers students toward an attractive literary niche. Think "Harry Potter" or even "Twilight." "Then," says Collet, "they read deeply within that genre."

hese skills are not taught by rote learning alone, but rather are learned through discovery, inquiry, and exploration. Many of these skills cannot be successfully taught through an application or website, but must be experienced in class and facilitated by a teacher.

Just because an educational tool isn’t perfect does not mean it should be disregarded. Just because an online classroom does not replace the role of a teacher doesn’t mean that this learning tool has no educational merit. Though there are thousands of technological tools that help enhance instruction, it doesn’t mean that teachers will be rendered obsolete.