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Social bookmarking in education is a new and exciting opportunity for teachers and students to connect and collaborate online.

One of my favorite things that Sheryl says when she talks about the challenges that schools face right now is that this generation of kids in our schools is the first not to have a choice about technology. Most of us grew up in a time when technology was an add on, and for many of us, we still see it as a choice, especially in education. (Just the other day I was at a meeting of about 25 school leaders and teachers to discuss how social learning tools can be infused into an inquiry based curriculum and only one person was using technology to take notes…me.) I look at my own kids and I know that technology will be a huge part of their learning lives because a) they want it to be and b) they’ll be expected to be savvy users of the devices of their day to communicate, create and collaborate (among other things.) They’re not going to be able to “opt out.”

Can we change students’ behaviors by making learning fun? Ed Webb shared this video and started a great discussion on his website about the pedagogy of fun. I would like to continue the discussion here, because I do think that the educational system is programmed to make learning tedious. Exploration, discovery, problem-solving, and collaboration should be fun, but often this part of learning is lacking in curricula. I believe it is the best part of learning, which is why I hope this video inspires you and maybe your staff!