Collaboration is key to establishing an effective learning environment. The teacher and the students share the responsibility of creating an environment where optimal learning can take place. Students are often unaware how their behaviors do or don't contribute to learning. Teachers may not be aware how they need to modify their own behavior to meet their students' needs. Teachers and students need to work together in identifying the characteristics of an effective learning environment and then in making their shared vision of the classroom a reality.

This article by Vicki Davis, author of the book Reinventing Writing and the blog post "Cool Cat Teacher Blog," is for educators who have decided to use Twitter in the classroom. Davis provides "the essential apps, hashtags, and tips to help." Davis discusses 100 ways to use Twitter in the classroom, safely and for maximum benefit. She discusses apps that allow teachers to manage classroom Twitters (Hootsuite) and create schedules (Buffer) as well as offering 14 tips for writing Twitters. Lastly, she offers three valuable hashtags for classroom use.

This news article begins by pointing out that "online digital technology has empowered users in ways that were unimaginable twenty years ago." Social media sites, for example, allow the average user to persuade and influence others on a global scale. The author argues that with this power comes the responsibility to apply a media literacy framework that will ensure that we are not perpetuating harmful media messages and ideas. The framework developed in 1987 by the Center for Media Literacy is still relevant in today's media landscape, and its five key concepts should serve as guidelines for all those currently engaged in online social networking.