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12 Ways Teachers are Using Social Media in the Classroom Right Now Tweet or post status updates as a class. Teacher Karen Lirenman lets students propose nuggets of learning that are posted for parents to read. Write blog posts about what students are learning. Teacher Kevin Jarrett blogs reflections about his Elementary STEM lab for parents to read each week. Let your students write for the world. Linda Yollis' students reflect about learning and classroom happenings. Connect to other classrooms through social media. Joli Barker is fearlessly connecting her classroom through a variety of media. Use Facebook to get feedback for your students' online science fair projects. Teacher Jamie Ewing is doing this now, as he shared recently. Use YouTube for your students to host a show or a podcast. Don Wettrick's students hosted the Focus Show online and now share their work on a podcast. Create Twitter accounts for a special interest projects. My student Morgan spent two years testing and researching the best apps for kids with autism (with the help of three "recruits"), and her work just won her an NCWIT Award for the State of Georgia.

Ask questions to engage your students in authentic learning. Tom Barrett did this when his class studied probability by asking about the weather in various locations. Communicate with other classrooms. The Global Read Aloud, Global Classroom Project and Physics of the Future are three examples of how teachers use social media to connect their students as they collaborate and communicate. Create projects with other teachers. (Full disclosure: I co-created Physics of the Future with Aaron Maurer, a fellow educator I first met on Twitter.) Share your learning with the world. My students are creating an Encyclopedia of Learning Games with Dr. Lee Graham's grad students at the University of Alaska Southeast. The educators are testing the games, and the students are testing them, too. Further a cause that you care about. Mrs. Stadler's classes are working to save the rhinos in South Africa, and Angela Maiers has thousands of kids choosing to matter.

12 Ways Teachers are Using Social Media in the Classroom Right Now

Thus, many teachers are integrating technology with instruction especially since young adolescents are frequent computer users and find technology very engaging

teachers and students feel strongly that technology is an essential learning component because it assists with engagement, makes education relevant to students' lives, and serves as an inspiring force (p. 31).

"Additionally, learning experiences are greatly enhanced when all students have the technology to access rich content, communicate with others, write for authentic audiences, and collaborate with other learners next door or across the globe"

However, I also agree that social media pervades all aspects of modern society, and it has become an imperative for us as educators -- and parents -- to model appropriate digital citizenship to even our youngest learners. Do I really believe that toddlers should have Twitter handles? Not really. But we do need to introduce children to the virtual, social world around them in appropriate and meaningful ways? Definitely.

Students already have enough screen time. Students need to be able to communicate in person. Students don't need to know about social media at this point -- it isn't age appropriate.

Extend the Classroom

Engagement:

Social Learning: 

Use time outside of class better, so you can use in-class time better

This means free access to some great tools: An online gradebook, customized quizzes, a debate tool, chat, classroom blogs, the ability to track proficiency and a customized portal page.

This app gives teachers four discussion format choices. Students can either agree or disagree with a statement, answer a multiple choice question, post responses, or have the choice between adding a new response or voting for someone else's response.

“Edmodo allows students to turn projects in digitally, it helps keep kids accountable, and it allows me to provide feedback and annotated notes,” McDonald says.

Gould Burgess says Google Forms is one of the most useful applications she relies on. Using it, she can administer a quiz that her students complete electronically, and Google Forms immediately compiles all the data and organizes it into an easy-to-read chart showing how well the class did.

Celly, a group messaging service for cell phones, is ideal for educators who want to communicate instantly with students via phone but don’t want to share their personal numbers

Social media executives were searching for ways to keep users logged in and engaged

Experts say video games let people embrace their individuality, help them feel competent and also make them able to relate to other gamers.

Language always changes. Scrolling through Facebook or Instagram, anyone can notice this change. That’s not a negative, and it’s worth noting with our students. They use social media, and the discussion can fit into an ELA class.

Here are new words or definitions for words that I would argue came about because of social media. “Verses” as a verb. As in, our soccer team is verses Washington tonight.  “Couponing.” (My spell check highlighted this). The rise of reality television coupon and money saving shows gave us “couponing.” Couponing is a sport for certain people at the grocery store. “Adulting.” Students may not use this word often, but their parents might. (And again – spell check highlighted this). I adulted hard this weekend; I cleaned the house and went grocery shopping.  “Hashtagging.” Formerly known as the pound sign, the hashtag provides categories of messages. Are you hashtagging the awards show tonight? The hashtag often leads to… tags… “Tagging.” Not your clothing, but rather your friends. Will you tag me in your status? “Fail.” Normally present in, #epicfail. “Fail” was once a grade or effort, but now it has replaced “not doing well.” I am failing at life today.

Schools are busy places, and parents need a trusted place to find the right information.

It must be mobile friendly.

It must be easy to update, preferably automatically.

Nearly two-thirds of all faculty have used social media during a class session, and 30% have posted content for students to view or read outside class. Over 40% of faculty have required students to read or view social media as part of a course assignment, and 20% have assigned students to comment on or post to social media sites. Online video is by far the most common type of social media used in class, posted outside class, or assigned to students to view, with 80% of faculty reporting some form of class use of online video.

70% say privacy concerns are an "important" or "very important" barrier

And how can adults most effectively talk to young people about these crucial issues?

There’s no difference between the decisions they make in “real life” and what, how and who gets to see certain information they post on their Facebook timeline or other social networking platforms.

Third, encourage their critical thinking

Imagine a world where resources were limited to what was found in the classroom or the school closet known as the "Curriculum Materials Room." Picture a world where students wrote letters with pen and paper to communicate with other students and adults outside of the building. Due to postage costs, the teacher either sent the letters in bulk or paid for stamps out of his or her own pocket. Can you recall a time when student interests like skateboarding or video were never used as part of learning curriculum because the tools needed were either too expensive or not yet conceptualized? Do you remember a time when non-traditional learners struggled, and absenteeism meant a high likelihood of students doing poorly in school, and possibly having to retake the course?