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Even more effective ways to use Social Media in the classroom.

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Let's face it. Not all teachers are using social media in the classroom. If you're looking to start, here are some real-world examples that work.

Social media is something many teachers do not integrate in their classrooms. There. It had to be said. The truth is that most teachers are just too darn busy to actually weave the many education technology tools, social media sites, and mobile apps into everyday classroom life.

That being said, some teachers are doing some pretty incredible things with social media in the classroom. They're creating, sharing, and learning without limits. For example, teachers are having classroom-to-classroom Skype chats using Skype In The Classroom. They're taking the idea of 'pen pals' to a whole new level using technology that's free and easy to use. What's more exciting and engaging than that?

Getting Started With Social Media In The Classroom

Below is a fun graphic designed to help you get started with using social media in your classroom. The ideas are based on real-world examples we have come across as well as ideas that we've seen work. Hopefully this gives you that little extra ounce of encouragement to give social a try in your school.

1. Teachers are sharing in-classroom tweets with parents.

2. YouTube enables anyone to flip their classroom.

3. Students share their life experiences with the class using Instagram

4. Students react to homework and lessons by blogging

5. Students manage their project-based learning using Pinterest

6. Classrooms connect over Skype using projectors

7. A classroom full of students can create the ultimate guide to just about anything using wikis.

8. Use DonorsChoose and the other crowdfunding tools to help others in education.

Share Your Wisdom

What kind of social media tools and resources do you use in your classroom? Share them with us (we'll retweet ya!) by mentioning @DailyGenius on Twitter anytime.

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8 effective ways to use social media in the classroom - Daily Genius

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Let's face it. Not all teachers are using social media in the classroom. If you're looking to start, here are some real-world examples that work. Social media is something many teachers do not integrate in their classrooms. There. It had to be said.

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Helping the "fears" of social media in classrooms.

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In this information age, we can now talk to each other in ways we never imagined. T eachers and administrators face a new challenge, however, as they try to find a way to safely incorporate this technology in the classroom.

"Schools are scared about this stuff," said Elliot Soloway, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan. "Whatever they do, [schools fear that] parents will be upset, money will be inappropriately spent, they will draw the ire of the public. They're scared of all of this, so there is an extra layer of conservatism to protect the kids. But we can't let it paralyze us from taking steps into the new."

Experts like Soloway and Cathie Norris, Regents Professor at the University of North Texas agree that the fear is there, but that isn't going to change the fact social media and other communications technology is invading our schools.

"People want to use these mediums for collaboration," Norris said. "Kids can get together online and work together."

"Technology is bigger than ever in schools," added Soloway.

Both recognize the dangers of such technology, however.

"Schools are banning Facebook and all apps that have access to Facebook," Norris explained. "There was a case of a teacher in Ohio who was using an American Airlines site to teach his math classes about measuring distances. He got in trouble and that American Airlines site was banned because AA has a link to Facebook. Schools are really cracking down."

An alternative to the mainstream social media sites like Facebook and MySpace, are what Soloway and Norris called "closed systems." These are social media sites that are operated by the schools which offer the same functions as "open" sites, but don't allow anyone not affiliated with the school to be a member.

"There are closed social media like Edmodo and Saywire, which are perfect for schools," Soloway said. "These closed sites fulfill an extremely important need, and that is communication. Learning is in the conversations and facilitating the conversation is facilitating learning, so social media facilitates learning. But the context is you have to protect the kids and give the teachers oversight, and that protects everyone."

Norris believes that the closed systems can also protect teachers from making poor decisions.

"Teachers are not supposed to be communicating with students via text or social media," Norris said. "That creates a record, and communication between student and teacher can be taken out of context. You cannot be too careful. You are in a pseudo-public job, so you have to conduct yourself as such."

Apart from instituting online guidelines and offering closed social media outlets for students, both Soloway and Norris think online education should make its way into the current curriculum for both students and teachers.

"The traditional role of educators is to monitor and guide with the new media as they would with old media," Soloway said. "The question is how. A problem is there is a level of ignorance on the part of the teachers. There must be some professional development to keep teachers up to speed with this type of thing."

"We want to make responsible users of social media," Norris added. "If a kid posts something inappropriate on a closed system, you can catch it early and nip it in the bud. They are not anonymous on the closed sites. What kids don't realize is that this is a permanent record. They don't fully comprehend the finality of hitting the send button. That is why I advocate digital literacy and online etiquette classes for students."

Related resources:
From Chalkboard to 'Wall' --Managing the Benefits of School-Sanctioned Social Media Use
Social Networking Tips For Teachers
Article by Jason Tomaszewski, EducationWorld Associate Editor
Education World®
Copyright © 2011 Education World

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Social Media in the Classroom? | Education World

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In this information age, we can now talk to each other in ways we never imagined. Teachers and administrators face a new challenge, however, as they try to find a way to safely incorporate this technology in the classroom. "Schools are scared about this stuff," said Elliot Soloway, Arthur F.

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Pros and Cons of Social media in the classroom- and how to help the cons.

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Social Media | Feature

Pros and Cons of Social Media in the Classroom

There's an ongoing debate about the role social media should play in education. Advocates point out the benefits that social media provides for today's digital learners while critics call for regulation and for removing social media from classrooms. Finding a middle ground has become a challenge.

As an educational tool, social media enriches the learning experience by allowing students and teachers to connect and interact in new, exciting ways. Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn provide a platform where users can dialog, exchange ideas, and find answers to questions. These sites are designed to foster collaboration and discussion.

Despite these benefits, critics argue that there are serious risks to using social media in the classroom. What are these risks-and do they outweigh the potential for opportunity?
PROS
Educational Tool Today's students arrive on campus, fluent in Web and social networking technologies. Educators can leverage this knowledge to enrich the learning experience. With social media, instructors can foster collaboration and discussion, create meaningful dialogue, exchange ideas, and boost student interaction.

Enhance Student Engagement Social media is an effective way to increase student engagement and build better communication skills. Students who rarely raise a hand in class may feel more comfortable expressing themselves on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. Social networking platforms enable teachers to establish "back channels" that foster discussion and surface ideas that students are too shy or intimidated to voice out loud.

Improve Communication Among Students and Teachers Facebook and Twitter can enhance communication among students and teachers. Educators can answer students' questions via a Facebook page or Twitter feed, post homework assignments and lesson plans, send messages and updates, schedule or announce upcoming events, and share interesting Web sites and multimedia content. Students can use Twitter to get help from instructors or other students. A great way for instructors to give participation points in addition to in class participation is by having students tweet about something that was discussed in class.

Preparing Students for Successful Employment Students entering the workforce can use social networking sites to network and find employment. With LinkedIn, students can establish a professional web presence, post a resume, research a target company or school, and connect with other job seekers and employers. College career centers and alumni associations are using Twitter to broadcast job openings and internships. Students should follow businesses or professional organizations on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on new opportunities and important developments in their field.
CONS
Social Media can be a Distraction A common complaint among educators is that social media is distracting in the classroom. These instructors maintain that tools like Facebook and Twitter divert students' attention away from what's happening in class and are ultimately disruptive to the learning process. With the possibility that the use of social media tools can be an invitation for students to goof off, instructors should make sure they won't be abused.

Cyberbullying While social networking sites provide a way for students and teachers to connect, they can be a weapon of malicious behavior--even on college campuses. In a study about cyberbullying at Indiana State University, researchers Christine Macdonald and Bridget Roberts-Pittman found that almost 22 percent of college students admit to being harassed online. Of this group, 25 percent report they were bullied through a social networking site. Instructors who use social media as part of their course activities should be aware of potential dangers and plan to intervene on minor incidents before they become more serious. "By intervening at minor behaviors, we can stop more severe negative behaviors," said Macdonald. "We must insist on civil and respectful behavior."

Discouraging Face-to-Face Communication Some educators are concerned that while real-time digital stream may create a safe harbor for students who are uncomfortable expressing themselves, students are missing valuable lessons in real-life social skills. Students may find themselves at a disadvantage during college admission or job interviews when they need to command attention and deliver a coherent message. At social gatherings and in personal relationships, they need to be able to effectively express themselves and connect with others.

Ultimately, while the debate continues over what role social media should play in the classroom, no one can argue the influence that social networking has on today's students. This tech-savvy generation conducts much of their life through social media channels. Not surprisingly, they're already using YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter as tools for learning and collaboration. They expect that their campuses will follow suit. With this in mind, it seems prudent for today's institutions to get on the social media train and find ways to successfully integrate these tools into the classroom.

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Pros and Cons of Social Media in the Classroom -- Campus Technology

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Social Media | Feature There's an ongoing debate about the role social media should play in education. Advocates point out the benefits that social media provides for today's digital learners while critics call for regulation and for removing social media from classrooms. Finding a middle ground has become a challenge.

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Tips on how to keep Social Media safe in classes

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Using Social Media as a learning TOOL.

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Personal reflection by a teacher who started using Social Media in her classroom.

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Last fall, I took a leap by connecting my classroom.

Through Twitter, Instagram, Skype, Flickr, and blogging, my students published their projects and writing to an audience beyond their peers and me. Along the way, we reflected on what social media added to our classroom as well as what it required of us. I want to share some reflections as I enter a second year facilitating a connected high school classroom.

Why Connect?

Connected classrooms can reach beyond physical barriers to create conversations with people from other classrooms, cultures, and communities. Social media provides venues for students to share their stories both within and beyond the classroom. It also grants opportunities for them to hear stories from beyond their school. Finally, being connected helps students recognize the power of personal voice.

When I asked my students mid-year what they thought social media added to our classroom, they offered the following responses:

"Social media can expand our thoughts and ideas and connect us to what is going on in the rest of the world. It would be cool getting ideas that are actually present outside our community." Michael A.

"We could use social media as a class to compare and contrast ideas on different projects...[it] could be used to begin discussions." Mandy S.

"It is cool how we have posted pictures on Instagram of what we are doing in class...We should also look at other classes from other schools and see if they give us any good ideas about stuff we can do in class." Daniel S.

Overwhelmingly, students agreed they liked expanding learning through social media platforms. They also understood the value of seeking out different perspectives, ideas, and feedback from a greater community.

I recently asked a parent her opinion of our connected classroom. She affirmed that she loved it: "My daughter tends to be quiet. Even when I would ask her about her day and what she learned, she often gave me short, concise answers. By following your classroom's social media, I was able to get a window into her day--what she was learning and what she was working on."

What is your purpose for connecting your classroom? Before you can think about how to connect, you need to understand why. Do you want to engage parents? Maybe connect with other classrooms? Teach your students important digital literacy skills? Perhaps all three. Once you establish the priorities and purpose of connecting your classroom, you are ready to tackle the "how."

Choose a Platform

First, choose a platform that make sense. Here are some questions to guide you:

What platform(s) are you most comfortable with in your own personal or professional life? Starting from a place of some experience is always helpful when doing something new in your classroom.

What platform(s) will help you access your target audience? If your primary target is to connect with parents, find out what social media platform they are on. Choosing a platform parents are using will more likely encourage them to interact with your classroom feed.

What platform(s) will work best on the devices you have in class as well as your district's policies? For example, posting to Instagram is limited to the mobile device app found on smartphones and tablets, but posting from Twitter is possible from both mobile devices and laptops. Some districts may block certain sites. Understand your technology parameters before choosing the tools.

Freshman student Meghan wrote in her mid-year reflection: "I like connecting to other classrooms, but I feel we should channel our energy into one or two platforms." After trying to develop our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, and blogging platforms simultaneously, I agree that starting with one or two platforms makes sense. However, if you know how to connect platforms, cross-posting can be as simple as one-click.

Communication Is Key

Once a platform(s) is chosen, contact your building administration for advice on following district policies and messaging your use of social media to the community. Find a way to communicate to parents your purpose and platform for connecting your classroom. For students under the age of 18, permission from parents is often needed to publish pictures, videos, and work of students. Be sure to consider family's privacy and rights before sharing.

I found that for most parents, an email or letter was all that was needed to establish permission and trust. For the few parents who were hesitant, I reached out through a phone call to discuss their fears. Although this felt intimidating, I found these calls helpful in educating parents about the importance of modeling social media for learning in our classrooms. Many parents were thankful that another adult could help their son/daughter develop these skills, and all signed that their child could be involved if he/she chose.

The Importance of Co-Ownership

When introducing the platform in your classroom, ask students to help develop ways to use that platform to connect within and beyond your classroom. Co-create virtual community with students rather than for them. This obviously looks different for elementary classrooms than for secondary, but all students should feel a sense of ownership over the classroom accounts.

Last year, driven by a suggestion from a student, we created "social media teams" based on student preference. This year, I will again offer that option, but integrate class time for those teams to work. I also will not make it optional--each person has to commit to sharing through one of our classroom platforms.

In elementary classrooms, teachers may create "Tweet slips" for all students to practice sharing ideas in 140 characters. The class might vote on which tweet should be posted from the class account. Some elementary teachers reward students with the role of being the "Twitter reporter" for the period or day. That student asks peers for Tweetable quotes, takes pictures of class activities to summarize and tweet out, and engages other classrooms by tweeting out questions related to a current class discussion.

Build Connection Into Your Classroom Culture

Be intentional about communicating with your students about how social media or blogging enhances the learning already taking place in the classroom. Instead of an exit slip, ask students to tweet or post a summary from the day. To share out from small group work, ask students to post an image to the class Instagram with a caption explaining their work. Invite experts to chime in on class discussions by having a student post thoughtful questions through social media or blogs.

For additional resources, see these two presentations: Using Social Writing and Media in the Classroom and A Connected Classroom. These will provide more examples and ideas to help connect your classroom and expand the learning beyond your four walls. Connect with us and share your journey!

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Connecting a Classroom: Reflections on Using Social Media With My Students

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Last fall, I took a leap by connecting my classroom. Through Twitter, Instagram, Skype, Flickr, and blogging, my students published their projects and writing to an audience beyond their peers and me. Along the way, we reflected on what social media added to our classroom as well as what it required of us.

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Research to combat how to change the statistic of non-media use in the classroom.

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Social Media

Research: 9 in 10 Teachers Don't Use Social Media in the Classroom

Nearly nine of 10 - 87 percent - of teachers have not incorporated social media into their classrooms, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of the University of Phoenix. The survey also found that more teachers, 62 percent, said they are reluctant to incorporate social media in their classrooms than in 2013, when 55 percent reported such hesitation.

Only 44 percent of teachers surveyed said that social media can enhance a student's educational experience.

"A lack of tools and training top the list of educator concerns," according to a news release. "Almost all (95 percent) of K-12 teachers say they have had some level of training related to integrating technology in the classroom; however, more than half (62 percent) have had minimal or no training in the area of interacting with students and parents through social media. Nearly half (48 percent) of K-12 teachers express the desire to learn more about integrating technology into the classroom."

A majority, 82 percent, also reported that they worry about conflicts that may arise from using social media with students or their parents and 62 percent said that use of personal devices outside the classroom makes it harder for students to pay attention in group settings inside the classroom. Twenty percent of teachers who responded said they've felt intimidated by their students' knowledge or use of technology.

"We are living in a rapidly evolving world of digital and social media, and many students are totally immersed and well versed in these platforms," said Kathy Cook, dean of educational technology at University of Phoenix College of Education, in a prepared statement. "For teachers to stay current, keep students engaged and promote learning, it is important for teachers to acknowledge the influence of social media and understand how to use it to the benefit of their students."

Cook offered six suggestions to help teachers integrate social media with their classrooms:

Make sure you and your students understand your school or district's guidelines for social media. If there are none, consider developing some;

Use closed sites designed for school environments, such as Edmodo,TodaysMeet, Kidblogs orEdublogs;

Use products such as Global Read Aloud orSkype in the Classroom to connect students with peers around the world;

Use social media to bring experts into the classroom;

Use social media to get students involved in social service projects; and

Use Twitter or other social media platforms to connect with other teachers to share ideas for social media in the classroom.

"Despite challenges, tremendous opportunities exist for teachers to play a leadership role in students' digital lives, helping them learn how to use social media and understand its impact both in and outside the classroom," said Cook. "It is essential to train teachers in digital citizenship so that they can educate students about preserving their online integrity. One misstep can have ramifications for years to come, including among future employers."

About the Author

Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at jbolkan@gmail.com.

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university of phoenix college of education

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Research: 9 in 10 Teachers Don't Use Social Media in the Classroom -- THE Journal

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Social Media Nearly nine of 10 - 87 percent - of teachers have not incorporated social media into their classrooms, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of the University of Phoenix.

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Ways social media can be presented in the clasroom

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Ways social media can be presented in the clasroom

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It's overwhelming to think about packing up the summer, heading back to the classroom, and adding a new instructional strategy to your already overflowing toolbox. Yet, ostensibly, you are a fairly proficient computer user who dabbles in social media (you're reading this blog, right?), so you are curious about how it might fold into your curriculum. I apply social media in my classroom to help students view it as something that can-and will-influence their academic and professional life, hence the value of its responsible and ethical use. Here are nine strategies-one for each month of school- for incorporating social media into your classroom in ways that can encourage critical thinking through analysis and engagement.

1. Get Social
You have your unit of study and your lesson plans. Add this one small piece: everyone- including you- pick a social media service and follow someone who blogs, tweets, tumbls, scoops, or pins about the topic. If you work with younger students, you can do this as a class and use it as an opener each day or week throughout the unit. Students can write a response to the author, which incorporates what they learn in class or a summary for class that can be used as a basis for discussion. You can also form small discussion groups based on platforms or topics. The goals of this strategy are to introduce students to a variety of social media sites, teach students how to evaluate social media sources, learn the vocabulary of various social media sites (i.e. the term is tweeter not "twitterer"), help students to see social media as a source of information, and demonstrate the "social" in social media for academic purposes.

2. Blog
Chances are you give students writing assignments. And chances are, you are the only one who reads them. Yet we all know that one of the most effective motivators for strong writing is audience. Have students set up a blog and write for each other. Make sure that for each assignment they are required to comment meaningfully on two other blog posts (or else it's not social, it's just "media"). To avoid the inevitable "great post!", you should give them criteria for meaningful feedback. In my school, we have internal WordPress blogs for every student and teacher that are password protected. This makes for a great sandbox and portfolio where students can tag and track their work throughout their school years. At any time, such as when applying for college, they are able to access these posts and paste them to public sites to share their best work. There are also free platforms such as Edublogs that are tailored for teachers and students.

3. Tweet
Have all students set up a twitter account (last names discouraged) that they will use for academic purposes and create a class hashtag (this is imperative). I have had students try and use their personal account but when I followed them back, they quickly created a new account for school (I think that was valuable for reminding them about the purpose and public nature of their posts). Have students post quick homework assignments such as:

a picture of: a healthy menu item, their favorite book, something they own that they can't live without

An article about something they are studying (could assign different perspectives and use hard copies of the articles in class to do small group discussions-including source evaluation)

RT another tweeter's tweet about a topic they are studying (can't be someone they know!)

Other ideas are to have a class twitter account and talk to other classes such as #kinderchat or have a twitter competition with another class. Last year, our Environmental Science class challenged our Global Issues class to a Tweet-off. The goal was to see which class can get the most quality followers, motivated by prizes along the way (note: @SAEnviro earned @HansRosling as a follower!).

4. Scoop
Scoop.it is a great site for any kind of current news items your class follows. You can create a class page about a topic and, with an educator account ($6.99/month) student users can post articles to the page. Students are able to write their own summary or commentary of the article and others can comment. This worked well with my Middle East course and we used it to guide class discussion of current events that were guided by student interests.

5. Pin
Pinterest is a way to visually curate your interests by "pinning" them to a virtual board. Used in a classroom, these boards can curate any unit of study and multiple users can be given permission to pin to one user's board (i.e. for small group or whole class). If students are required to write a brief analysis of each pin, each board can become a visual annotated bibliography (this could also be achieved in a non-visual way through a social-bookmarking site such as Diigo). In a geography class, you could have students pin things they would pack when traveling to an assigned country (or things they would bring home). In an English class, you could have them pin the imagined treasures of an assigned character from a novel (such as Jane Austen's Emma), along with the textual support for why they chose that item. Science students could begin with an inventor and invention then pin all the things that have resulted from it, with a description of the connection. Finally, students in a language class could pin items in a vocabulary category and put the word (or word in a sentence) in the description.

6. Tumbl
Tumblr is a micro-blogging platform that is a cross between a blog and twitter. As with all social media, the key with Tumblr is authenticity and content creation. It is very easy to create an impressive Tumblr through retumbls but creating a tumblr that creates new content involves more than regurgitating content that already exists. A solution to this, which can work well for teachers is the secondary vs.primary blog feature. If the teacher creates a primary public blog, then secondary blogs can be set up as part of the primary account that are password protected. These secondary blogs are not able to follow other blogs, like posts, ask questions, or submit to other blogs. This limited use forces students to seek out content to read and to create content of their own. Tumblr could be a great way for an Activities Director to manage blogging by club presidents, an elementary teacher to manage updates about ongoing classroom projects, or a secondary teacher to assign ongoing updates about topics that the class is following throughout the year.

7. Point and Shoot
Part of being a good social media user is not just using what's already on the internet, but creating content for others. How many times have you directed students to Flickr's creative commons? And how many times have you asked students to contribute to it? The next time you go on a field trip, randomly assign students hashtags to be posted with the pictures in creative commons. For example, on a trip to the science center, students can be put into groups, given digital cameras, and assigned hashtags such as: #history, #future, #astronomy, #ocean, and #weather (#science is assumed and would be added later, along with any other appropriate hashtags the students identify). These pictures could be uploaded to Flickr and tagged with the hashtags, then saved with creative commons licenses so that others could benefit. If your school or class has a Flickr group, these pictures can be added to the pool of pictures.

8. Skype
This is not just for the friends and family we know- it can also be used to meet new friends around the world. As you read above, #kinderchat uses twitter to connect with other classrooms, which often results in kindergarten class "Skype playdates" during the school day (as a station or class activity). Skype has their own network for educators that can link classrooms based on what you teach and the projects you are interested in doing and international organizations such as iEARN have formed collaborative groups such as the iEARN Skype Community. And Skype is not just for international connections. Schools in Maine and Arizona reading a Robert Frost poem together or schools in Charleston and Gettysburg simultaneously analyzing the civil war can be very meaningful.

9. Time it
Dipity or Tiki-toki timeline platforms allow student users to collaborate on a timeline at the same time. History is the obvious subject choice for this platform but other content areas can benefit from it as well. Using the timeline contributions to generate discussion is what makes this social media. If science students were assigned various perspectives in the cloning debate, a timeline could be co-created to represent the evolution of the discussion throughout history. Additionally, students can comment on each other's posts to offer critical analysis, dissent, and support. Carry this over to classroom discussions and you will find yourself over-planned for the unit!

You can see that I lean away from platforms created for educational use and toward those that the students already use (or ones they are likely to use). I think that showing the educational uses of public social media has more longevity and applicability. There are countless other platforms to consider such as Visual.ly, Infogr.am, Goodreads, Instagram, and Vine. If you have suggestions and ways that you've used social media effectively in the classroom, please share in the comments.

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9 Ways to Use Social Media in Your Classroom

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It's overwhelming to think about packing up the summer, heading back to the classroom, and adding a new instructional strategy to your already overflowing toolbox. Yet, ostensibly, you are a fairly proficient computer user who dabbles in social media (you're reading this blog, right?), so you are curious about how it might fold into your curriculum.

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What I want others to know about Social Media in the classroom

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Is Social Media Relevant? Take the Quiz

Before we talk social media, let's talk about the relevance of social media by taking a quiz. Which of the following is most likely to be true?

☐ Should we teach letter-writing in the classroom? Kids need to write letters and mail them. But what if they become pen pals with strangers and share private information with them? What if their letter gets lost in the mail and the wrong person opens it? Are we opening up a whole dangerous world to our students once they mail letters to others? Surely students will send thousands of letters through the mail in their lifetime.

☐ Should we teach email in the classroom? Kids need to email other people and should know how to title a subject. But what if they email someone bad? What if they accidentally send it to the wrong person? What will we do? And are we opening up a whole dangerous world to our students once they email others? Surely students will send thousands of emails in their lifetime.

☐ Should we teach (dare we say it) social media in the classroom? I mean, they don't have to learn microblogging on Twitter -- you can do that in Edmodo, right? You can have a private blog or put them on Kidblogs or Edublogs instead of letting them post long status updates on Facebook, right? Are we opening up a whole dangerous world to our students once they are writing online and posting comments to each other? Surely students will post thousands of status updates, pictures, and blogs in their lifetime.

The Social Media Answer

☑ There's one form of writing that can arguably get someone fired, hired or forced to retire faster than any other form of writing. (If you don't believe me, read "How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco's Life" in the New York Times.)

☑ There's one form that will most likely be read by college admissions offices and teams of student "stalkers" hired to vet students before they receive scholarships.

☑ There's one form that will prevent some people from running for political office and get others elected.

One form of writing is that powerful.

If you guessed social media, you're right.

The Social Media Myth

The myth about social media in the classroom is that if you use it, kids will be Tweeting, Facebooking and Snapchatting while you're trying to teach. We still have to focus on the task at hand. Don't mistake social media for socializing. They're different -- just as kids talking as they work in groups or talking while hanging out are different.

You don't even have to bring the most popular social media sites into your classroom. You can use Fakebook or FakeTweet as students work on this form of conversation. Edublogs, Kidblog, Edmodo, and more will let you use social media competencies and writing techniques. Some teachers are even doing "tweets" on post-it notes as exit tickets. You can use mainstream social media, too.

12 Ways Teachers are Using Social Media in the Classroom Right Now

1. Tweet or post status updates as a class. Teacher Karen Lirenman lets students propose nuggets of learning that are posted for parents to read.

2. Write blog posts about what students are learning. Teacher Kevin Jarrett blogs reflections about his Elementary STEM lab for parents to read each week.

3. Let your students write for the world. Linda Yollis' students reflect about learning and classroom happenings.

4. Connect to other classrooms through social media. Joli Barker is fearlessly connecting her classroom through a variety of media.

5. Use Facebook to get feedback for your students' online science fair projects. Teacher Jamie Ewing is doing this now, as he shared recently.

6. Use YouTube for your students to host a show or a podcast. Don Wettrick's students hosted the Focus Show online and now share their work on a podcast.

7. Create Twitter accounts for a special interest projects. My student Morgan spent two years testing and researching the best apps for kids with autism (with the help of three "recruits"), and her work just won her an NCWIT Award for the State of Georgia.

8. Ask questions to engage your students in authentic learning. Tom Barrett did this when his class studied probability by asking about the weather in various locations.

9. Communicate with other classrooms. The Global Read Aloud, Global Classroom Project and Physics of the Future are three examples of how teachers use social media to connect their students as they collaborate and communicate.

10. Create projects with other teachers. (Full disclosure: I co-created Physics of the Future with Aaron Maurer, a fellow educator I first met on Twitter.)

11. Share your learning with the world. My students are creating an Encyclopedia of Learning Games with Dr. Lee Graham's grad students at the University of Alaska Southeast. The educators are testing the games, and the students are testing them, too.

12. Further a cause that you care about. Mrs. Stadler's classes are working to save the rhinos in South Africa, and Angela Maiers has thousands of kids choosing to matter.

It's in the Standards

If you're going to ignore social media in the classroom, then throw out the ISTE Standards for Students and stop pretending that you're 21st century. Stop pretending that you're helping low-income children overcome the digital divide if you aren't going to teach them how to communicate online.

Social media is here. It's just another resource and doesn't have to be a distraction from learning objectives. Social media is another tool that you can use to make your classroom more engaging, relevant and culturally diverse.

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A Guidebook for Social Media in the Classroom

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Before we talk social media, let's talk about the relevance of social media by taking a quiz. Which of the following is most likely to be true? ☐ Should we teach letter-writing in the classroom? Kids need to write letters and mail them.