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A good post from Common Sense Media about where teens are with social media today. The questions "Are teens totally over Facebook? Or are they using it even more than ever? are asked and an answer is attempted. From reports it is evident that there are many and varied social media being used by young people. Teenagers are dividing their attention between a sizeable number of apps and tools. These all allow them to write, share, video-chat, and even shop for the latest trends. The advice is:"You don't need to know the ins and outs of every app and site that's "hot" right now (and frankly, if you did, they wouldn't be trendy anymore). But knowing the basics -- what they are, why they're popular, and what problems can crop up when they're not used responsibly -- can make the difference between a positive and a negative experience for your kid." A few of these media are discussed in light of this.

"Social media can be an incredibly useful teaching tool. The social networks students use are conducive to so many facets of modern learning such as collaborative planning, data and resource sharing, and progress updates concerning group work. It appeals to our digital natives, and social media is very easy to use. The prospect of teaching with social media can be alluring or repulsive, depending on your understanding of it, and your experience with it. The truth is, it doesn't need to be difficult or stressful. For any teacher wanting to broaden connections with students through different teaching strategies, social media is a terrific choice. That said, it pays to do a bit of homework on the subject before diving in. Let's look at some of the things that are worth considering before making the move to teaching with social media in a classroom environment."

" As teachers, we all have assumptions -- and likely some opinions -- about teenagers and social media. But are those assumptions correct? Now we have research to help us find out. Common Sense is releasing (Sept 18) its latest research report, Social Media, Social Life: Teens Reveal Their Experiences, a deep dive into the social media habits of American teenagers. This research is the second wave in an ongoing study tracking teens' attitudes about social media; the original report was released in 2012."

Some ideas here to get you started. "What draws teens into a story more than anything? Voice. They want to read about a teen that's going through intense experiences--whether it's realistic fiction or fantasy. There are many brilliant YA audiobooks. The author shares a few of their favorites.

"Creating comic strips can be an effective method of communicating for the young and a great way for teachers to encourage reluctant writers to start producing stories. There are a growing number of free comic strip websites available online where visitors can easily digitally create their own comic strip story." The author shares their experiences of a couple of comic strip websites that they have tried out recently.

Options for teachers to make virtual learning or distance learning work for all your students. CommonSenseEd has put together a list to assist teachers (The best tools for virtual and distance learning tools to build great learning). Tools to build great learning experiences for remote students. They have grouped the tools according to some key needs teachers may have when setting up virtual classrooms.

"This guide will give you insights into how educators around the world are approaching school closures. Thousands of teachers worldwide are currently sharing snippets of their experiences via social media or their blogs. We've compiled, curated, and built on some common themes and ideas to create this extensive guide."

"Remote learning is a major opportunity for schools to refine their lesson planning and delivery. The efforts of teachers to adapt classes to online platforms has been nothing less than heroic. Now we have the chance to incorporate the ingredients that create effective remote learning, accelerate expertise and enhance the experience of our students.  The rapid shift to remote learning has been unprecedented and we are all learning as we go through this. At its worst, remote learning can be disorienting and disconnecting. We all need to be innovative in creating learning that is engaging and involving for our students. The ideas in this paper are derived from the author's research and work with schools of the air and distance education as well as his work with students who have been unable to attend school due to mental health issues.  "

"There are lots of ways to incorporate video into the classroom. From capturing students' attention as you kick off a lesson, to providing context for a new learning experience, teachers use videos in lots of different ways. Whether you are looking for a clip to send home to students via Google Classroom or want to connect a video link for a QR code scavenger hunt, educational 360 videos are worth exploring. 360 video gives students the power to explore a space from every angle. YouTube hosts a range of 360 video content and one of my favorites is from the BBC. On the BBC's YouTube channel you'll find different types of video options for a virtual visit to places around the world. As you search through their content you'll see that they've tagged their videos as 360 to make it especially easy to find."

"Some strategies for personalizing and enriching the remote learning experience. Currently, one very popular strategy is the creation of classroom scenes using Google Slides populated with their flexible Bitmojis."

A fun look at hardcopy books from IKEA

Data from a survey about books and digital references indicates that both are important to researchers/students in 2015.