Teachers have begun to introduce social media to their students as early as first grade, providing them a safe way to use these online tools in the classroom. The natural curiosity of children, as well as their desire to use the same technology as their parents or older siblings are using, has prompted many schools to begin teaching children how to use social media in elementary school. As digital natives, children almost have to learn the latest technology in order to be successful in school and prepared for the workforce. But by introducing them to social media tools at a young age, they can be taught how to use these tools responsibly in a safe environment that is monitored and guided by their teachers and parents.

The use of digital media for learning appears to be one of the tools that students want to use in the classroom, according to a recent survey. The Speak Up Survey compiles data from thousands of teachers, students, parents and administrators in an effort to understand the educational process and how to improve it. The results of the survey indicate that students have a growing interest in social-based learning, want to connect with a network of resources, and want to be able to access a digitally-rich learning environment without restrictive rules imposed by the school districts. In addition, students also want to understand how what they are learning actually applies to the real world.

Blogging can often take on a negative connotation, as the news is filled with stories about individuals using this forum to verbally attack others or to express negative feelings. But it is also a popular way for young adults to express their opinions and communicate with one another. Blogging can also be used as an educational tool, helping students learn from other students or reflect on their own educational experiences.

Implementing changes, even on a small scale, can be overwhelming, especially when those changes have the potential to affect a group of impressionable young students. As with any major decision, it is important to consider how you will introduce the change, how it will affect the current situation, and what the potential benefits are. As an educator, keeping up with current technology trends can prove to be a challenge. It can be difficult to deicide how to best utilize different forms of technology that will not only hold the students’ interests, but also improve the learning process for them while not impeding the way you want to manage your classroom. The following 5 questions have been developed to assist you in deciding how to best incorporate technology into your classroom. Following each question are brief explanations of the strategies I used to enhance the students’ use of technology in my classroom.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being in New York for the Apple launch of iBooks 2, iBooks Author and the new iTunes U. In the days leading up to the event, I must have read 20 articles about the speculation surrounding Apple’s Education Announcement. From what I had read, it was clear that Apple wanted to disrupt the textbook industry. I thought about the many ways a new “GarageBand for books” could possibly revolutionize education. Being an advocate for integrating technology into Career and Technical Education, I was thinking of ways in which students could work independently through a competency-based curriculum, thus creating a differentiated learning environment. This would provide the instructor the means to work one-on-one with students who need remediation. With a special needs population of over 45% at my school, I see the value in creating learning tools to further assist students in learning new material. Now that is not to say that you can’t do this with current technology, but there is something transformational about the way kids learn with an iPad (at least from my perspective of what I have witnessed in my class).

The use of social media has infiltrated almost every aspect of society, from the corporate world down to private consumer use. Most recently, the field of education has begun to jump on board, with more and more educators and administrators recognizing the potential benefits of communicating through social media. Although intended to be used as an educational tool in schools, social media policies and guidelines still need to be in place in order to ensure that our students are using it for the purpose of learning. That is why in my classroom I not only encourage my students to use social media as an effective marketing tool, but I also teach them how to use it responsibly and productively by posting the right kinds of material.