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As with all social media, Twitter has the potential to be useful and a distraction. This article from edutopia outlines the useful and also contains links to other resources that can be used even if, like me, you're not yet ready to take the plunge into Twitter.

"Social Media in Education: Resource Toolkit"

The new challenge for school libraries: building a space for shared and collaborated learning.

Bridging the digital divide means more than having "access," it includes digital literacy which ensures the birth of new ideas and informed citizens. 

Google touts its new social network as having better privacy controls than others, yet as Audrey Watters reports, they could be doing more. 

Comic strips contests can be used as a tool for educating students about bullying.

""Digital citizenship" is an umbrella term that covers a whole host of important issues. Broadly, it's the guidelines for responsible, appropriate behavior when one is using technology. But specifically, it can cover anything from "netiquette" to cyberbullying; technology access and the digital divide; online safety and privacy; copyright, plagiarism, and digital law, and more. In fact, some programs that teach digital citizenship have outlined no less than nine elements that intersect to inform a well-equipped digital citizen. It's an overwhelming array of skills to be taught and topics to explore."

VideoAmy explores the topic of digital citizenship with this playlist of videos on the importance of online safety, manners, privacy, and responsibility.

Elana Leoni Director of Social Media Strategy and Marketing @Edutopia, edcamp organizer Author's Note: Thanks to Joe Manko, Liberty Elementary School principal, for inspiring this blog post during an impromptu edcamp at #SXSWEdu this year. For an example of a school trying to create a connected culture through Twitter, follow Liberty Elementary's hashtag and jump into the conversation.

"More and more, social media is becoming a part of our daily lives. Just today, Mashable is out with a report that says Pintrest (which is less than a year old) is the #3 social network in the U.S. This report mentions that the amount of monthly traffic Facebook receives is seven billion page views, and Twitter receives 182. Again, these are just U.S. statistics. If we were to look at the numbers worldwide, I would guess they would be much, much higher. But it isn't just adults who are moving more of their lives to online spaces. In a recent Pew Internet survey, 73 percent of all teens used social networks daily. The most popular of these is Facebook; however, Twitter, Myspace and even LinkedIn are not far behind. And it isn't just teens. The #1 social network for kids under the age of 13 is Club Penguin. It is visited more times each day than the New York Times. "

Social media is fast becoming as ubiquitous as the air we breathe. In recent months, many schools and districts around the country have taken steps to create social media policies and guidelines for their students and staff. In my work with several districts to draft these documents, I have seen many approaches that work well, and some that don't. That said, there is no silver bullet for administrators; every school, district, and state has a different set of circumstances. With that in mind, here are some steps that will help you determine the best approach for your own community.

How to Create Social Media Guidelines for Your School http://t.co/11t78TNg8g

Apps for teaching coding in primary school. Web based and Apple based apps.

We're exploring BYOD at our school. Even if you're not yet at this stage, this list of applications is a useful list to explore to increase connectivity and collaboration.

March 13th was DIGITAL LEARNING DAY ! Here are some resources to better inform the digital citizenship curriculum.

This guide is useful for Module 4.2 Activity 7 What is your position on the use of social media for learning locally as well as globally? What evidence can you find to support your views?

Your students may be able to update their Facebook status in a heartbeat, but can they also write a thoughtful letter to the editor, voice their opinion on a call-in radio show, or access local media to advocate for community action? How well would parents or teachers in your community do at those tasks? In Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action, media literacy expert Renee Hobbs makes a strong case for deepening digital literacy -- not only for youth but for Americans of all ages. Improving our digital and media literacy will require nothing less than a national community education effort, Hobbs argues in a position paper recently published by the Aspen Institute and Knight Foundation. Sorting through the flood of information most of us encounter daily requires new knowledge and critical-thinking skills, she says.

"Check out Edutopia's collection of articles, videos, and resources on cyberbullying, netiquette, and internet safety."