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A mind-blowing infographic on Social Media to share with others. Another reason to harness that power in education.

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered the educational benefits of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

"It seems like just yesterday that I was a disconnected nomad working hard to maintain the status quo and conform to a rigid system commonly known as education. You see, prior to 2009 I was adamantly opposed to even the thought of using social media for both personal and professional reasons. As a building level leader burdened by endless responsibilities, I could not fathom wasting even a precious minute in what I saw as a perpetual time sap. " Read the rest of this post to see how Eric discovered being connected on social media and engaging in conversations with passionate educators has transformed his work in education.

This is a way to share articles, posts, etc. across several social media accounts. Check it out!

A presentation by Richard Byrne on how to use some different digital collections of Primary Source documents to teach high school social studies lessons in Honors level classes, as well as other classes. 

A new style of interview that could become more the norm. Check it out!

How is it this video (or others) went "viral". Turns out it may be profit driven more than "outrage" at education and a demonstration of poor digital citizenship. Audrey Watters will give you a perspective that is informative and eye-opening. It will help you to better understand, as well, the power of social media in the construction of "truth". 

12 practical ways of strengthening relationships by Angela Maiers - former teacher and now an educational consultant and motivational speaker, especially in the use of social media. These are a great strategies for anyone.

Backchanneling has a lot of promise with students in many different content areas. Here is a Social Studies teacher who shared her first experience using Today's Meet as a tool for doing formative assessment and teaching critical thinking skills during a film she showed students. Check out the learning process she shares in her reflection.

"Geo Listening " provides a service that monitors the posts of the 14,000 students in the Glendale Unified School District, to help curtail cyberbullying, drug use, and other problems. This article provides for great discussion with students, teachers, admin., and parents.

"ames are infiltrating every aspect of daily life - and everyone's now a gamer, in one form or another. Early-on "gamification" involved adding simple game mechanics like points, badges and leaderboards to websites and apps. But that's not what makes games truly compelling. Good games take players on a journey, giving them something to learn, master and share. Gamification 2.0 is about creating game-like digital services that shape real-world behavior and deliver deep value to players, -- using a blend of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. In this talk, we'll do a teardown of the biggest and most influential social gaming services, and distill those lessons into these Seven Core Concepts for Smart Gamification. "

Wonder what the Gettysburg Address might look like on Twitter? Check this out! Fun thing for U.S. History teachers and others just as a way of discussing the impact of social media.

"What is a PLN? Why is it important? In module 1, I go over how to build a PLN and where to find teachers and people to connect with. PLNs can be built with people you meet at networking events, online, blogs, social networks, and microblogs like Twitter. This is the first module of a ten module series."

What is a PLN? Why is it important? In module 1, I go over how to build a PLN and where to find teachers and people to connect with. PLNs can be built with people you meet at networking events, online, blogs, social networks, and microblogs like Twitter. This is the first module of a ten module series."

"The Secret To Getting Every Student Excited About Writing" - some interesting thoughts on how social media can engage students in the writing process.

Dropbox is one of those tools that's an essential for teachers, admin., and students

This list is considered the "best of the best" by AASL and is comprised of free, user-friendly sites that encourage a community of learners to explore and discover. They also provide a foundation to support AASL's Standards for the 21st-Century Learner. The sites offer tools and resources in content collaboration, content resources with lesson plans, curriculum sharing, digital storytelling, managing and organizing, and social networking and communication.

This Google Chrome extension helps you better manage the amount of time you spend on FB and other social sites. It will actually lock you out of visiting the sites again until the next day (or a time you select). Sounds like a good way to build self-discipline.

Ready for the next generation of textbook creation that utilizes good pedagogy? Imagine a living, breathing, dynamic textbook that offers different assignments for each individual based on their learning styles, allows for student-created work to be posted and featured based on accuracy/creativity votes and having students all around the world discuss content and share resources in real time through an integration with Google's new social networking service Google +.  Imagine all of this in a new dynamically changing interactive living 21st Century textbook ecosystem. Brain Mannix  would like to use the Blackboard/Collaborate platform as an engine to bring students and teachers around the world together to make this happen. Check it out!

"What Is Transformational In Your Educational Vision?      Part of the challenge in educational reform is that not everyone defines learning or education the same way.  Sure, we all refer to things such as literacy, college and career ready, 21st century skills, etc.        However, what is the core purpose of one's education?  Beyond specifics related to employment skills, literacy skills and standards mastery, I offer up this idea: Education is meant to transform one's life.  In other words, education has to dramatically, or even radically, transform the person into a new, improved person that is more emotionally, socially, and intellectually ready for any challenge the world has to offer."