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Used mindfully, how can digital media help us grow smarter?  My years of study and experience have led me to conclude that humans are humans because we invent thinking and communicating tools that enable us to do bigger, more powerful things together.

etter than anyone else, he helped me to understand the importance of attention as the ultimate, finite, precious resource, one which must be constantly attended to, strengthened as a muscle, husbanded for our productivity.   “When it comes to the interacting with the world of always-on info, the fundamental skill, on which other essential skills depend, is the ability to deal with distraction without filtering out opportunity.”

Rheingold’s chapter on Attention offers valuable suggestions for strengthening our mindfulness by using meditation, goal-setting, “intentionality,”  and other tools to become more metacognitive and more intentional about how we concentrate in the times when we choose to do so. 

“For decades, the center of computing has been the desktop, and software was modeled after the experience of using a typewriter,” said Georg Petschnigg, a former Microsoft employee who is one of the creators of Paper, a new sketchbook app for the iPad.

“People are living in the moment and they want to share in the moment,” Professor Sundar said. “Mobile gives you that immediacy and convenience.”

There can no longer be an “opt out” clause when dealing with technology in our schools, especially from our administrators. We need to prepare our kids to live in this world now and in the future. Change may feel hard, but it is part of learning.  We expect it from our kids, we need to expect it from ourselves.

Once teachers decide how they’re going to use Facebook, they need to follow through in a way that takes class participation on the social network seriously. Junco’s research suggests that social media efforts in the classroom are most effective when they are mandatory and impact grades.

recommend using Groups and Pages to communicate with students:

Groups: Members of groups do not need to be Facebook friends, but each person in the group receives a message when any member posts to the group. Groups can be either “open,” “closed,” or “secret.” Phillips, Baird and Fogg recommend that teachers create closed groups, which means that the content of the group is private. Be aware that the list of group members will still be public unless you choose the “secret” option.

Social Justice Teacher Preparation Technology Integration Networked Learning Twitter Parents as Partners – Building Learning Networks Posted by Shannon Smith on 2/20/12 • Categorized as Best Educational Practices,Distributed Leadership,Parental Involvement,Twitter 5 "fist bump" cc by Mark H. Anbinder on flickr Many schools are beginning to use social media to send out information to parents. Examples include twitter feeds and facebook pages. These initial forays into social media are a first step. They provide parents and the community with greater access to information regarding the school and the learning happening within its walls. A key facet of school leadership is developing relationships, both within staff and also with families and the community. This relationship building must include seeking feedback and listening. Most of this work is done face to face, through school events or outreach programs and even through informal conversations in the hallways or at drop off or pick up time. We live in a time w

Follow news feeds. Have students follow news feeds relevant to the course material in order to keep current information flowing through the class.