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social media is becoming a part of the classroom.

The Web site is pretty much dead right now, but the practical application of creating one’s own social network, right in the classroom, is definitely an inspiration.

Encouraging students to explore using technology, and use their own creativity to create their own social network, is a great, hands-on activity that can translate into the “real world,” teaching technology skills, and providing valuable marketing knowledge and offering insight into how social media works.

Sometimes, students can’t make it to seminars and other events. Broadcasting these events is a good way to help them reach a wider student audience.

If you are looking to register for classes, check email or even access class notes posted up from professors, it is possible to do so with a mobile Web client. Duke University (as well as Georgia Tech and several other schools) is making it easier to complete a number of tasks using a cell phone. Enhanced learning from anywhere can take place using social media networks and Web clients.

Students compete to find resources, and be the first to post to Twitter. It’s like a kind of scavenger hunt, and it teaches students research skills.

8. Birmingham City University, Great Britain: Degree in Social Networking If you want to be able to teach social networking like a pro, there is now a place you can turn to. Birmingham City University is offering a year-long Master’s degree in social networking. As you might imagine, course offerings include Facebook and Twitter, as well as other social networks such as Bebo. The idea is to help people learn how to use social media in a number of ways to benefit them, whether it is study skills or marketing skills.

10. University Laboratory High School, Illinois: Twittering Dante Want to learn more about a great piece of literature? Steve Rayburn, a teacher at the University Laboratory High School, had his students consider Dante’s Divine Comedy. Students used Twitter to post updates from Dante to Beatrice for inside each of the nine circles of Hell. Not only did it require students to read the assignments, but it also got them excited about it — and thinking about what they would post.

12. Georgia Southern University: Blog for a Social Media Course Barbara Nixon teaches a course titled “Making Connections: Facebook & Beyond,” which aims to teach communication and networking skills. Not only does the course teach one how to use social media, but it teaches the value of communication with others through online assignments using Twitter and Facebook, as well as other social media Web sites. Students are required to start a blog, and Nixon herself keeps a blog on the class assignments and answers questions through here Twitter account (@barbaranixon)

As a result, avid internet users often maintain separate accounts on several social networks, instant-messaging services, photo-sharing and blogging sites, and usually cannot even send simple messages from one to the other. They must invite the same friends to each service separately. It is a drag.

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According to some reports as many as 50% of employers and 75% of job recruiters concerned about alcohol/drug use, violence, and similar problems check out potential employees on the web.

Many employers argue that due diligence requires they look up Internet profiles of all job candidates. Researching students is fairly typical among high-tech employers.[5] However, some employers feel the information on social networking sites is of a personal or artistic nature and not appropriate for consideration in determining employment. Would you ask about race, sexual orientation, sexual partners, past relationships, religion, body type, favorite book or movie, or ask to see photo albums in a job interview? Perhaps not, but you can glean this information from a web site. If it's publicly available information should you use it?

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) more than half of all employers use some kind of online screening technology including social networking sites like FaceBook and MySpace.

Career advisors caution students to be discrete about the information they put on the web. Young people may know that they are just showing off and not realize that an employer will take the posting seriously or question their judgment. Most students simply do not understand that their web postings can hurt their future.

During the past few months, however, I've been seeing these acronyms showing up in interoffice emails with increasing frequency.

The House of Representatives held hearings in July 2006 regarding social networking websites. Such sites are new enough that there is not a body of case law regarding their use. Proposed legislation (H.R. 5319) addresses the social networking sites in terms of child protection rather than employment discrimination.

It behooves the law librarian to become familiar with and comfortable using these sites. How you use them is, of course, your responsibility.

A variation on the typical reading comprehension exercise is to copy and paste the text or article into a Google Doc and then set questions in the margins for students to respond to. These can be traditional comprehension/true or false questions  or questions about the language in the text. Responding to these questions can be set up as a jigsaw activity so only certain groups or individuals answer certain questions. Alternatively, everyone answers all questions and the responses can be seen stacked on top of each other down the margin.