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StageofLife.com thinks the answer to this phenomenon lies not in pushing against new social media, but rather embracing it: by encouraging high school students to blog. StageofLife.com is a website for the generation growing up with social media embedded into their daily lives to meet, share stories, and learn about those in their generation and other stages of life. It is an educational resource as well, offering lesson plans and contest ideas to educators. One of the most recent creative writing lesson plans is quite innovative: its goal is to break students out of the restrictive environment of 140-character word limits while at the same time promote the use of social media in the classroom. StageofLife.com believes that blogging and other social media is an integral part of the lives of current high school students, and should be incorporated into English classes around the country.

"How lawmakers and school officials police social media can have serious implications for youth free expression. We have seen students punished for online speech that was discovered by faculty, reported by other students or with the aid of surveillance companies like SnapTrends, CompuGuardian, Gaggle, and Social Sentinel Inc. Punishment for speech often comes under the veneer of keeping schools "safe," whether from physical violence or emotional distress. But how far can that authority legally extend? When do schools go too far in policing student speech online? As we'll explain, the lines are not as clear as one might think."

"Teachers are taking up the challenge to change that. NPR Ed put out a social media call asking how educators are teaching fake news and media literacy, and we got a lot of responses. Here's a sampling from around the country:"

Credibility of info posted on social media. Role of reposrteers: fact checking sources.

"This is the first post in a three part series explaining how I take my students from interacting with sources, to interacting with each other, to interacting with a larger discourse community through social media and multimedia text."

Discusses "distributed reporting" through social media.

"Out of Eden Learn is a unique online learning community designed to accompany Paul Salopek's Out of Eden Walk. Through Out of Eden Learn, students from around the world can engage in Paul's journey and all that it represents. They explore their own neighborhoods, investigate contemporary global issues, and reflect on how they as individuals fit into a broader geographical and historical context. In addition, they share their perspectives and interact with one another on an exciting digital platform that uses social media as a springboard for deep, meaningful learning. The goal is to ignite students' interest in the wider world and support them to become more informed, thoughtful, and engaged "global citizens.""

Sounds like journalism and education have a lot in common?

"Facing History's unique video collection includes insights from top scholars, the voices and memories of witnesses to history, and inspiring stories from teachers and students who wrestle with the complex questions of history in today's classrooms. The videos selected below provide historical background and thematic insights that will be useful for teaching To Kill a Mockingbird. Also be sure to check out activities for Mockingbird that use these resources."

"so much depends upon a red cup filled with coffee or holiday latte fixins.  But does it really? Rutherford's William Carlos Williams started his famous 1923 poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" in a similar fashion, yet a recent controversy swirling around one particular red cup is either a non-issue unworthy of verse or a revealing commentary on modern culture, depending upon who you ask."