Group items tagged

high school students use Twitter to respond, in character, to issues and events in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. Students tweeted in real-time while reading the play as a class. They needed to consider tone, language and personality of their assigned character in order to respond appropriately.

Their results demonstrated that students had significant motivation to participate creatively in communicating their learning processes.

real impact that student privacy concerns have on the education sector

90 percent of respondents are either very or somewhat concerned with how private companies with non-educational interests are able to access and use students' personal information

a majority know not very much (32 percent) or nothing at all (30 percent) about how schools currently collect, use, store and destroy student data, including information such as social security numbers, grades and behavior and attendance records

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"

hey could conduct their research using books or the Internet engine SweetSearch, a search tool that limits results to academically vetted articles and avoids

much of the “world wide web” served up by Google or Bing.

narrow and academically reliable nature of the results on SweetSearch allowed the students to assign more credibility to their search results, spending more time reading for comprehension rather than deciding whether or not to throw out a source.

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

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.