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Social media is now being embraced by even the hardiest traditionalist as perhaps the best way to get messages to the masses and individuals. First seen as somewhat of a fad, Facebook is now the most used search engine on the web and even figures like Barack Obama and The Queen have a page.

Bullying is a worry for any student and indeed their parents but research has shown that pupils are far more likely to be bullied on the school bus than they are on any social media site.

John Seely Brown on Interest-Driven Learning, Mentors and the Importance of Play

in the past, it was likely to be very hard to find other people around you with your specialized interests. For example, when I was obsessed with building transmitters and radios as a kid, there were maybe five other kids in the entire state of New York who were also designing electronic equipment. I had no cohort group. Today, no matter how specialized a kid’s interest is, he or she will find a cohort group. When my godson was 9, he became fixated on penguins. He went on the internet, and he found himself a group or a collective that was deeply engaged with penguins. I said to him one day, “Well, who is this group?” And he said, “Well, they have a funny name.” And I said, “What’s that?” And he said, “Johns Hopkins!” He’d locked into a research group at Johns Hopkins! Yes, as a 9-year-old.

I personally feel that in order to get hooked on something—well, that’s the role of a great teacher, a great mentor. The role of the mentor is to get you to discover things you might not actually know you were interested in, to confront topics you may not be very good at understanding, but once discovered, you will.

The potential of personalized learning technology—as evidenced in the military, gaming, corporate training, and informal learning—suggest the potential going forward is much greater that what we’ve seen to date.  When technology is used to extend, personalize and transform learning, it makes a world of difference.

What is the best use of our class time? More precisely, how do we ensure that students do the most cognitively demanding work inside classrooms?

I’m a firm believer that showing is way more effective than telling