Teaching the iGeneration

"Many people question the value of twitter and if it can really make an impact for an educator. After nearly two years as a user, I can say with little hesitation that twitter has impacted my life in ways both subtle and profound. "

"Accepting email contributions to your Posterous Spaces blog means that don't have to spend time walking students through creating log-in credentials for another service. Simply have students send an email to "yourblog'sname" @posterous.com and their posts can appear on the blog. It's the quickest way that I have found to get a classroom full of students contributing to one blog."

"I am very skeptical of flipping. Mostly because of the fact that kids leave school to do more school and that just isn't right. (But that is a post for another time...) I do believe that there is a more practical application of the flip that doesn't involve the classroom. Faculty meetings. Someone on Twitter asked me the other day if I had any resources for making faculty meetings better. I thought about it and it dawned on me. Why not flip them. We use the same reasoning for flipping a classroom and apply it to the faculty meeting. "

"Announcing a new way to use video to create customized lessons: the "Flip This Lesson" feature from TED-Ed, now in beta at ed.ted.com. With this feature, educators can use, tweak, or completely redo any video lesson featured on TED-Ed, or create lessons from scratch based on a TEDTalk or any video from YouTube. How? Just plug the video in and start writing questions, comments, even quizzes - then save the lesson as a private link and share with your students. The site allows you to see who's completed the lessons and track individual progress. It's still in beta, but we're so excited about this feature we had to share."

"The biggest reason that the #EduBros event was a big deal is that it is the best example of educational professionals leveraging Social Media to connect with the world around them. Our only goal was to put together a party for friends. It turned into a trending event around the world where people took pictures of their finger in front of their face in the hopes of attending. I was able to connect to people I never thought possible because a friend and I decided to be a little silly. Social Media is a tool that can be used in so many different ways that it is just wrong for any educator to say there is not value in using it. Like all tools, educators need to search for the value and utilize it. While this specific event does not make me a better teacher, it has connected me with more educators which can make me a better educator. That is the big take away from this whole event. It's what I hope everyone who reads this walks away with as well. "

"Search engines may make it easy to find information, but they don't necessarily do the same for learning it. That's why the founders of social test prep startup Grockit want to re-configure online content such as YouTube videos, Wikipedia entries and ebooks into ordered lesson plans. Their new product, Learnist, works a bit like a Pinterest for learning. Soon anyone (the capability is still invite-only at launch) will be able to compile content pieces onto a board or "learning." A nifty bookmarklet makes it easy to collect content from other sites. Unlike Pinterest, however, creators suggest a path in which to consume each content component. Users can check off each component as they go or "re-add" it to one of their own learnings. "

"The Classroom 2.0 Book went live yesterday and I am proud to have a chapter ("Setting the Stage for 1:1") in this free e-book that was created as part of Classroom 2.0's 5th Anniversary Project (You can check it out below). As of now, 16 chapters have been uploaded and more are to follow in the days ahead. A few of the chapters currently available include the following topics:"

"Train up your Google-Fu with these 20 tricks that will focus your searches with laser precision. If you can't find something on the web using these ninja skills, it probably doesn't exist."

"We've created the Twitter Handbook for Teachers, a brand new, interactive, 13-page guide to Twitter. This guide is for educators who are new to Twitter, or veterans to the social media platform who want to bring Twitter into their classrooms or grow their network. Is that you? Sign up to get your free instant download!"

"Once a week, a new to-do pops up on my productivity software client that alerts me that it's time to do a blog entry. Most of the time I admire the line and proceed to complete a dozen other tasks that, if not completed, will affect my job performance. Yet, I am fully aware that I am a part-time Web 2.0 evangelist like many of you. Here are a few reasons why educators should blog:"

"The end of the school year is upon us however many are looking forward to next year. You may be thinking what can you do differently next year? How can you stand out above the crowd? How can your school become a larger part of the school community? While Twitter is beginning to catch on with many educators, schools are lagging in their adoption of the platform. But let's think about it. Twitter is a quick and easy tool to let the entire school community know whats going on with you and your students. Updates can come from anywhere and users don't have to have a Twitter account to follow along. But where do you start? What are some things to consider? Here is my primer and some advice for schools (and districts) that want to start using Twitter."

"On May 16th, Skype announced that it is joining forces with Penguin Group, New York Philharmonic, Science Museum London, Peace One Day, and Save the Children with a view towards giving teachers educational content and access to expert speakers via video calling. This collaboration represents Skype's latest attempt to reach its goal of connecting one million classrooms globally. Skype in the classroom will now feature each organization's content, projects, and available guest-speakers, with Penguin Young Readers Group connecting authors with students for discussions about books, reading, and writing. The New York Philharmonic will offer live interaction with musicians and educators. Save the Children and London's Science Museum will have individual projects on Skype in the classroom by the end of the year. Skyping is no longer a novelty - a once-in-awhile special event. It's becoming a routine part of being an effective 21st century teacher."

"More-so than ever, content is available in abundance via YouTube. We, including our students, can consume content constantly from any device with an internet connection. Have you ever stopped to think about what it means when you upload your own original content to YouTube? Things like: How do I upload something? What settings are crucial to know about? How is this applicable to my classroom and students? Whether you're uploading content you've filmed yourself or uploading a screencast for your students, I thought I'd share some of the YouTube settings that I've found to be most important to make teachers and students aware of."