Watch this week's conversation above or listen/download the audio-only below.

The statistics are sobering: About 130 million U.S. adults read below a sixth-grade level; approximately 45 million U.S. adults are functionally illiterate, reading below a fifth-grade level; and 21% of U.S. adults are classified as functionally illiterate, unable to complete basic reading tasks, according to the OECD.

Matt Bardin, a former New York City public school teacher who transitioned into ed-tech with Zinc Learning Labs, has developed a platform aimed at addressing America's reading crisis. He argues that teachers shouldn't try to compete with TikTok's dopamine hits, but instead offer the deeper satisfaction of meaningful reading experiences.

His platform is currently offering free student licenses to teachers who complete training modules, as part of a mission to transform reading culture in American schools.

In the snippet below, Bardin talks about the state of reading in the United States:

In this next snippet, Bardin talks about how teachers shouldn't try to compete with TikTok but to engage them in different ways.

And in this final clip, Bardin discusses reaching peak dopamine levels and what comes next for education:

• Tech & Learning Conversations with Kevin Hogan

Educators talk a lot about teaching students to think critically online. But the uncomfortable truth is that some of the biggest offenders spreading misinformation right now are not kids. It is adults. And our students are watching.

Scroll any feed and you will see grownups confidently sharing posts that collapse under the slightest scrutiny. A fake Donald Trump post. A fabricated Jason Kelce quote about Bad Bunny. Misinformation about vaccines, shared without any supporting evidence or credible medical source.

Posts that seem plausible spread quickly, even when the speaker lacks expertise or the information lacks context. Different examples, same problem. People are sharing information without asking the most basic question: Where did this come from?

If you bother to share, you should bother to cite and check the source. That is the baseline skill we should all expect.

The SIFT Method: A Simple Framework Adults Need Just as Much as Students

Common Sense Media breaks media verification into four steps using the SIFT method, a routine that asks readers to Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, and Trace claims to their original context. Schools that teach SIFT give students a reliable routine for evaluating information.

Stop

Pause before reacting or sharing. Do not rely solely on whether something feels surprising, emotional, or too perfect. Misinformation now spreads because it feels plausible and aligns with existing beliefs. The Jason Kelce and Donald Trump examples seemed realistic enough to pass a quick glance. That is why it is essential to stop and reflect.

Investigate the source

Check who created the content. Are they credible? Do they have expertise in the topic? A simple guide to analyzing media can help surface foundational questions such as who is the author and what is their purpose.

Find better coverage

Look for the source behind the screenshot. Screenshots are easy to fabricate and often circulate detached from context. Check if reputable outlets or official sources have covered the claim. If the only place reporting a sensational story is a meme page or an unverified screenshot, that is a red flag.

Trace claims to the original context

Go back to the primary source. Screenshots are not sources. It is easy to generate fake or altered images that circulate widely without context. Posts without links are invitations to misinformation. If a link is provided, follow it and read beyond the headline.

The power of SIFT is that it is practical. Not academic. Not overwhelming. Just a quick, efficient way to keep bad information from spreading.

Adults Are Modeling the Wrong Habits

In districts where media literacy is part of the curriculum, students are more likely to have sharper instincts for spotting manipulated content than adults. They understand how easy it is to generate fabricated content and stage authenticity. They also recognize how repost culture strips away context.

The skills students are learning today should not stay in the classroom. Adults would benefit from the same instruction and should be open to learning from a generation raised with media literacy as a necessary skill.

Teach What Responsible Sharing Looks Like

Here is a simple rule worth adding to every classroom, staff meeting, and parent workshop:

If you share something, you should also share the source.

• No source, no credibility.
• No link, no trust.
• No verification, no repost.

As educators and leaders, we can model this. When someone shares a claim, ask them where they got it. When students catch something questionable, encourage them to walk through SIFT aloud. When adults fall for viral misinformation, treat it as a teachable moment, not a shame exercise.

The message is simple: Responsible citizens verify before they amplify.

A Path Forward

Misinformation today moves faster than ever. The answer is not fear. It is skill building.

SIFT is not just a classroom routine. It is a life skill. A civic skill. A family skill.

If adults want young people to navigate information responsibly, they must model those habits themselves. And if adults never learned these skills, they can start now.

Schools can teach SIFT in advisory, ELA, technology social studies, or really any classroom, and share the same guides with families through newsletters, school apps, or parent workshops so adults can build the skill on their own.

That is media literacy in action.

California is poised to become the first state to require warning labels on social media platforms, following the passage of Assembly Bill 56 through both houses of the state legislature. The groundbreaking legislation, now awaiting Governor Newsom's signature, represents a significant step in addressing the youth mental health crisis linked to excessive social media use.

In this conversation with Mikey Hothi, Director, California Kids & Tech Policy from Common Sense Media, he emphasizes that this legislation mirrors successful warning label campaigns for tobacco and alcohol. With Governor Newsom facing an October 13 deadline to sign or veto the bill, advocates are mobilizing grassroots support from parents and educators to secure this landmark children's digital safety protection.

The law would require platforms with “addictive feeds”—including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat—to display prominent warning messages to minor users. Upon opening these applications, users under 18 would see a 10-second warning covering 25% of the screen, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms and has not been proven safe for young users.

The legislation includes escalating warnings: after three hours of use, a secondary 30-second warning would cover 75% of the screen, with additional warnings appearing every subsequent hour.

Research shows that minors often spend more than five hours daily on social media platforms, and with adolescents who spend more than three hours per day facing double the risk of mental health issues, the need for intervention has never been clearer. This legislation represents a state-level response to what many see as federal inaction on digital safety for children.

Meta AI is the tech giant’s standalone AI chatbot. It works much the same way as other AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc., but is integrated with Instagram and Facebook and can therefore draw upon each profile to tailor responses — which is both interesting and, well, creepy.

I’ll admit that until recently, I hadn’t given much thought to Meta AI, but Meta is investing a lot in the technology, and Meta AI is one of the top 10 most used AI tools according to a recent AI usage report. Therefore, it’s worth looking at from an education perspective, though, as with any AI tool, it's vital to make sure it is approved by your school or district’s IT team before using it in class, particularly with students.

Ultimately, I found that Meta AI was faster than the competition and performed as well, or almost as well, in most instances.

What Is Meta AI?

Meta AI is tech giant Meta’s standalone AI chatbot app that can be used in a browser or phone app. It has robust capabilities, including image generation and a talking mode that rivals the best around.

As mentioned previously, unlike other AI tools, it can draw upon each user's Facebook and Instagram profiles and, in theory, tailor better responses to each person as a result.

Another unique feature is that it has a discover mode, which is basically a social media feed of AI-generated text and images. Users can share their AI creations with others in this mode. The idea is this adds a social element to AI conversations and creations, though personally, I didn’t find this feature that fascinating—I’m hoping to see less AI-generated material on my social media feeds, not more.

How Much Does Meta AI Cost?

Meta AI is free. To use it, you need to go to Meta.AI on a browser or download the app and set up an account. You can also log in through an existing Facebook or Instagram account.

The process of setting up an account is quick and easy, and on the whole, Meta AI’s interface is a strength.

What Are Some Ways To Teach With Meta AI?

Meta AI works much the same way as other chatbots and can accomplish many of the same tasks.

For instance, for class prep it did a nice job generating quizzes related to subjects I teach, and a fair job with lesson plans, though ChatGPT outperformed it when I asked for a follow-up with specific examples. I teach writing, and when I prompted Meta AI for examples of unclear writing vs. clear writing I could share with my class, its examples were not that helpful. Meanwhile, when I made the same request to ChatGPT, it included a vague run-on sentence next to a well-written one.

Some teaching opportunities unique to Meta AI include working with students to analyze its tone. It's designed to be more social and seamless during interactions, so you can see if your students pick up on this--how is its voice different from ChatGPT or another AI chatbot?

Additionally, the way in which it integrates with the personal data of social media users provides a teachable and discussable moment.

What Makes Meta AI Unique?

Meta AI is really fast in its responses and can be accessed directly from other Meta apps, including Facebook and Instagram, which makes it really convenient to use.

In my experience, Meta AI provided shorter answers that were more to the point than ChatGPT, which was often a good thing when using it as an alternative to a search engine. This was less important when trying to get Meta AI to prepare potential class materials.

The social element of the app is another unique feature, but not one to which I was particularly drawn. I found scrolling through other users' AI AI-generated writings and artwork boring and had no desire to share my own AI creations.

That said, I could see a scenario in which particular groups of AI users might come together on a platform such as this. For instance, it could be helpful to be in a group dedicated to AI and education to see how other teachers are using these tools. Though a good old-fashioned Facebook group dedicated to AI in education might accomplish the same thing.

Meta and some reviewers have talked about Meta AI’s voice mode as a strength, and pointed to advantages over ChatGPT's voice mode. In my tests using the voice mode, I didn’t find it better than other voice AIs I’ve used—it was the same or maybe a little less lifelike.

Bottom Line: Would I Use Meta AI for My Own Teaching?

Sure. I like how fast it is relative to other tools, and its conversational tone is helpful in some settings when you don’t need a complete college-level dissertation. And there’s potential for the social element.

That all said, Meta AI is definitely not earth-shattering, and other than its speed, it seems to be outperformed by other tools available. So if AI is a big part of your teaching practice, I’d check this out, however, if you only use AI occasionally and already have a tool you like, there’s probably not a major reason to make the switch.

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• AI Starter Kit For Teachers

A new study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that when young people reframe their relationship with social media, they reduce its negative impact on their mental health.

The study, conducted by researchers in Canada, looked at 393 social media-using young adults between the ages of 17 and 29 who had elevated mental health concerns and said that social media negatively impacted their lives. These participants were randomly assigned to three groups: a control group that continued to use social media in the same way; a group that was encouraged to abstain from using social media entirely; and a group in which participants took a tutorial and were encouraged to use social media in a way that enhanced connectedness.

During the six-week period in which participants were tracked, the control group did not improve, as expected, however, members of the abstinence and education groups both saw mental health improvements, albeit in different ways.

“The abstinence group was the only group to cut back on depression, stress, and anxiety over the six-week period,” says Amori Yee Mikami, the study’s lead author. “But the education group, the ones we taught the tips and tricks to, they were actually the only ones to cut back on fear of missing out and loneliness.”

Mikami, who is psychology professor at the University of British Columbia, says the study and future research in this area has implications for how school leaders and other policy-makers respond to social media’s mental health implications.

“There's a lot of like talk about how social media can be really bad for your mental health, and I think it can be,” she says. “But to me, the biggest takeaway is that there might be another option in addition to, or instead of, just trying to quit, there could be a way to instead learn some tips and tricks to use social media in a smarter way.”

Social Media and Mental Health: Using It Differently

The participants in the education arm of the study were encouraged to be mindful in their social media use.

“A lot of people say that they use social media kind of mindlessly,” Mikami says. “It's like a reflex: You pick up your phone to check, but you don't even know why you're checking. It just feels like a habit. What we're trying to do in that education group is to change that pattern. So to use social media more intentionally with purpose, and while paying attention to what you're getting out of it, and how it's making you feel.”

She adds, “The point is to log out from, or try to detach from, move away from, reduce the type of use that's making you feel bad, but conversely, lean into and amp up the type of use that is making you feel good and bringing you the things that you want in your life.”

Generally speaking, people want to avoid things such as doom scrolling and comparing themselves to an influencer they don’t know or truly care about. Instead, people should spend more time focusing on the type of social media use they tend to enjoy, which is usually focused on those they know and care about in real life, Mikami says.

“Lean into those relationships,” she says. “That might mean trying intentionally to be more actively engaged with them, commenting on their posts, sending them a direct message.”

Implications For School and Classroom Policy and Future Research

Mikami says the next stage of this study is to look at the impact of similar interventions in younger teens in the middle or high school age range in the U.S. or secondary school in Canada.

“Some of the participants in our study said that the tips and tricks were really helpful now, but they would have been more helpful when they were in secondary school,” Mikami says. “A lot of them said, 'Well, it just felt like social media was our whole world back then.'”

In the meantime, educators and parents can help children by changing their own social media habits and discussing that.

“Adults of all ages are probably just as guilty of mindless social media use as teens are,” Mikami says. “I encourage parents and teachers to think about your own social media use and the model that you're setting for your kids, and then talk about it with your kids.”

Many schools have banned cell phones in the U.S., in part in an attempt to limit social media use, and Australia has even banned it for children 16 and under. This research suggests that might not be the only option.

“I wonder if it's unrealistic for everybody to stop social media use entirely; even if you try to forbid 16-year-olds to use social media, they're going to find some way around it,” Mikami says. “Then you've made it forbidden, and once they're 17, I wonder if you'll see a rebound effect.”

She adds, "Cutting down social media use on average is probably a good idea. What I like about this study is that there are other options, too. It's not just about the total amount of time you use social media. It's also about what you're doing on social media.”

• I Tested Social Media Civility Around A Hot Topic And The Results Will Surprise You
• From Social Media to School Halls: Understanding and Preventing Cyberbullying

Grok — the AI tool from X and its polarizing owner, Elon Musk — offers similar teaching opportunities as other popular generative AI tools, but also has some unique features and advantages that set it apart.

I began exploring using Grok for various teaching purposes after a recent discussion during which my editor and I realized it was one of the only prominent AI tools we had not covered. I had been avoiding Grok because of general AI fatigue, and because of Musk’s troll-like behavior online. However, I was ultimately impressed by the AI and its capabilities.

For the most part, Grok performs like your standard AI tool, but was noticeably faster in its response than some others I've used. It is supposedly inspired by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and designed to be funny; I didn’t encounter anything I would classify as comedy, but the tool did have a less formal, more conversational tone than some other AI chatbots with which I’ve interacted.

Finally, and most importantly, Grok can search X (formerly Twitter) and the internet, and is therefore privy to up-to-the-minute information, which can provide some teaching advantages but also make preventing students from cheating more difficult.

All that said, Grok, like other AI chatbots, did suffer from hallucinations at times, and wasn't head-and-shoulders above other models in my experience.

Teaching With Grok

Many teachers are already familiar with different ways in which AI tools can be used to assist with teaching tasks. You can use Ai to help generate quizzes, create outlines for presentations, brainstorm ideas, etc.

Grok performs all these tasks as well as other AI tools I’ve experimented with and arguably a touch better than most thanks to its speed and more natural/conversational-style voice. However, what really sets Grok apart from other AI options is the real-time ability to search the internet and X.

For instance, Grok was able to adequately answer questions about a recent football game. It accurately summarized the final score and various points in the game. While a sports score may not be important for your class, access to real-time information is. Want to discuss the latest natural disaster or Google’s recent gains in quantum computing? Grok does a really nice job summarizing these topics. What’s more, Grok is great about sharing links to the information it provides if you want to verify anything.

Of course, as with all AI technology, every pro tends to come with a con. Grok’s ability to access the internet makes it that much harder as a teacher to create AI-proof assignments. One way I can frequently spot if a student is using AI to write their assignments is if their writing about recent events makes no sense. Grok is too “smart” for this.

Providing Citations and Teaching Through Conversation

As mentioned, one of the excellent features of Grok is its ability to quickly direct you to sources. Sometimes I had to ask it what the source for specific information was, other times, it automatically provided it.

Grok can also search for specific types of links you might want as a teacher. For instance, I asked it to find stories that were written with the “inverted pyramid,” a story structure frequently used for news stories, and it provided several examples instantaneously. This can be helpful for many teaching situations.

Some AI enthusiasts have talked glowingly about the ways in which conversations with AI help you learn about a topic. I haven’t found that to be the case, but Grok was closer to being helpful in this way than other AIs I've attempted to use as a tutor.

For example, since it generates responses faster, I found myself spending more time discussing new topics I was trying to learn with Grok. These included a discussion on a physics concept in quantum mechanics I struggle to visualize. Grok’s answers were not the same as talking with a real physics tutor but did provide some context and examples I hadn’t thought of. Grok also suggested watching specific YouTube videos on the topic, which was useful.

Hallucinations and Limitations

Grok is not perfect. Though less full of misinformation than the platform on which it is hosted, Grok did miss the mark on a few prompts.

For instance, I asked it to summarize a story I wrote in a Tweet thread, and it invented details that were not in the story and were not accurate. To get an accurate Tweet thread description of the story, I had to explain the mistakes and ask it to stick to facts in the story.

How Much Does Grok Cost?

Grok is available for free to X users but they are limited in the number of questions they can ask. I was cut off after 25 prompts in a two-hour period. But it's likely that access will evolve over time.

If you're willing to pay, subscribers to X Premium, which costs $8 per month, get unlimited access to Grok.

Bottom line: Is Grok Right for Educators?

Grok was slightly better than most other AI tools I’ve used in terms of speed and conversation. I was also generally more pleased with its initial responses, but my prompt writing abilities have recently improved, so that might have also been a factor.

One of Grok's main selling points is its ability to process recent information, but it’s not unique in that or other features.

Ultimately, I wouldn’t recommend students use Grok because X has so much toxicity these days. I’m also not sure if Grok’s slight advantages over some other AI tools will sway users who don’t like Musk personally and/or just don’t like spending time on X.

If the speed of AI responses is an issue you encountered, or you just like experimenting with AI, I’d give Grok a whirl. On the other hand, if you’d rather steer clear of anything associated with this company, I think you can rest assured you’re not missing anything earth-shattering.

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Bluesky is a relatively new social media platform from the creators of Twitter/X. It’s a familiar interface that looks to provide a haven for those in need of a reprieve from the existing social media offerings. What’s more, Bluesky is an excellent space for educational professionals.

If you’re looking to migrate over, or to just try Bluesky, here’s a few things you should know!

What is Bluesky?

Bluesky is a social media platform used for making short commentary on any number of topics. The platform resembles other popular forms of social media, so if you’re already familiar with how to use services such as Facebook or X, Bluesky will come naturally to you.

Your feed will show accounts that you follow being updated regularly. One way you can curate your feed to what you want to see at any given time is by creating custom feeds. Bluesky caters the algorithm to you specifically, instead of using one overall algorithm for the entire site.

What Makes Bluesky Different?

Bluesky is built with accessibility in mind. The platform was created using what’s known as the AT Protocol. This means that Bluesky is as transparent as can be in its creation and use. Consequently, using it for educational purposes, group gathering, and other instances, will be much more uniform and secure than with other platforms.

Unlike other forms of social media, the AT Protocol allows your information to be accessible and not locked within the platform. If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable with a company having sensitive information about you on their networks (and if you decided to go elsewhere, that your information would stay with that company), then Bluesky should make you feel at ease. If you decided to move to another platform, your information would go with you.

Starting a social media account can be a daunting task, especially if you’ve had existing profiles for years. Bluesky not only provides a familiar network to use for staying in touch with friends and family, garnering news and information, or collaborating with colleagues, it also allows you to keep your personal information safe and secure.

How to Use Bluesky

First, you start by making a profile with your information, much like you would with any other social media platform. After you set up your profile, confirm your email address and you’ll be good to go!

As with other social media, you can post comments, images, links, videos, and other content. You can also search posts by hashtags and users.

According to the Bluesky Help Site, there are currently no plans to be able to make your profile private. As Bluesky is a public platform, posts and certain actions (such as likes or blocks) are made public.

Deleted posts are said to be deleted from Bluesky servers as well, eliminating all traces of the information you no longer want to have on the site.

If need be, you can also request your information from Bluesky.

Once you have an account, you can moderate posts from others, including blocking, muting, and flagging for abuse. For more information on how to create custom feeds and adjust what kind of information your feed receives (and more on moderation) you can visit here.

Many users offer starter packs, which is a curated collection of favorite or related accounts for you to follow. And of course, once you’re officially on Bluesky, we encourage you to follow Tech & Learning on Bluesky!

How Can Educators Use Bluesky?

In addition to following specific users, such as Bluesky Education Peeps, or Tech & Learning as mentioned above, users can search education-related topics by hastag (#), such as #edtech, #STEM, or #AI. Users can also engage in public discussions about education, teaching, edtech, and more, and find all sorts of teaching advice, best practices, and tips.

Similar to Twitter/X, Bluesky also showcases "Trending" topics on the platform, so it can be used to help students explore current events and happenings. So far, Bluesky has been a more transparent and tightly monitored platform, so many of the unsavory bot-driven content is not present.

• Why I Ignore Social Media (Mostly): Advice for School Leaders
• How to Teach With Social Media

Lessons from a Social Media Experiment

In an era during which online interactions often devolve into toxic exchanges, a recent social media experiment I tested offers a glimpse of hope for civil discourse.

Inspired by the desire to test the waters of online debate, I posted a hot topic on my social media feed, curious to see how my friends and family—who hold diverse views—would respond.

The Experiment

The post was simple, yet pointed: "I believe in science, not in those untethered to the truth."

This triggered a variety of responses, from affirmations on the importance of facts over feelings to humorous remarks about university rivalries. Notably, the conversation remained respectful and constructive, showcasing a hopeful beacon of online civility.

Reactions, Reflections, and Connections

Some participants emphasized the importance of facts guiding feelings, while others expressed frustration with misinformation maintaining a focus on facts. The dialogue highlighted that even in disagreement, respect persevered.

One comment that stood was "MATH DOESN'T LIE," underscoring the reliability of numbers in personal and professional contexts. This sentiment resonated with many, reinforcing the value of objective truth. One respondent amplified this by suggesting math is factual, science is not. Disagreements remained kind and thoughtful.

Ultimately, this experiment connects to my broader educational goals. Schools and our communities can teach us to think critically and to engage respectfully. Encouraging civil discourse matters when developing informed citizens capable of navigating contestable issues. As one commenter noted, everyone has the right to think independently, and discussions should aim to understand rather than change minds. As my daughter says, “FACTS!”

This social media experiment offered a refreshing perspective into the window of online disagreements. In contrast with the caustic approach of keyboard warriors, this group showed maturity, intelligence and respect. Rather than devolving into primal fight, flight or run reactions, they approached the subject with openness and respect.

The Educational Benefits: Critical Thinking, Empathy, and More

Several studies and discussions suggest civility in online interactions can foster environments conducive to learning and intellectual growth. Consider how literally critical this is in schools, where we want our community to thrive through learning.

The effect is profound: individuals can engage more effectively in discourse on important topics, such as moral and political issues, by providing norms for respectful and constructive dialogue. The development of civility as a virtue involves internalizing norms through practice and structured interactions, which can enhance one’s ability to evaluate beliefs and contentious issues critically. I refer to this as disrupting dumbed-down dysfunction.

And there’s more–civil online discussions are considered more informative and persuasive than uncivil ones. In a study examining the effects of synchronicity and civility on perceptions of online political discussions, civil interactions were found to be more credible and engaging. Civil discourse encourages participation and deliberation, which are essential for developing critical thinking skills.

This reveals to me as an educational leader what I could have only hoped for–that online platforms can foster meaningful exchanges, not toxic, destructiveness. It serves as a reminder that our role as educators and school leaders includes promoting critical thinking and empathy, and that this is more significant than ever in the amplified online world.

By embracing these principles, we can transform digital spaces into arenas for thoughtful dialogue and mutual understanding. That, my friend, is hope.

• 7 Things School Leaders Can Do To Promote Digital Citizenship in the Community
• 6 Ways For School Leaders to Address “Whispers”

I love writing about my lived experiences as an educational leader because I know that people who face the same circumstances, or will eventually, can learn from it. As school leaders, we often think about the obvious factors that impact a school’s culture: curriculum, instruction, discipline policies, and our school’s mission statement. Yet, there’s another powerful force that flies under the radar: whispers.

These "whispers" come in the form of informal conversations, rumors, and negative talk circulating among school community members. While seemingly small and insignificant, whispers have the loudest echoes that can be harmful to the school environment if we don’t act strategically.

Whispers, much like a virus, spread rapidly and uncontrollably, often mutating and infecting the school with misinformation and misunderstanding. As a principal, I’ve learned that these hushed, quiet comments often hold a disproportionate amount of power and volume, especially if I don’t redirect any.

Managing whispers is critical to disrupting negative energy and shifting to a positive, trusting school culture. Consider addressing whispers in ways that stop full-blown issues while also potentially turning any to your advantage, like I do.

Start here:

1. Addressing Whispers: Promote Transparency and Open Communication

When information is unclear or withheld, people fill in the blanks. This is often when whispers and rumors inaccurately distort. This is human nature. Our brains need to conceptualize reality, which is why a school leader has to deliberately share with transparency.

Regularly updating goals and challenges reduces assumptions. Remember, if you don't tell your story, someone else will, filling in the holes and creating their own version. That whispered version is often wrong and destructive.

For instance, leaders often encounter an unexpected challenge in the school. When it happens, proactively seek feedback and focus on ways to improve the situation while involving stakeholders in the conversation, to ensure everyone is on the same page. Meetings, newsletters, and casual conversations are opportunities to build trust and prevent whispers from gaining disproportionate momentum.

2. Address Issues Early and Directly

One of the fastest ways I combat the ripple effects of harmful whispers is to address concerns head-on. If I catch wind of a rumor spreading, I take it as a signal to engage in direct, honest communication. Acknowledging the issue is always the approach; ignoring it is not. Don’t crawl under a rock, stand on it!

When I notice unease among teachers about a change, I interrupt the rumor mill, organizing informal discussions to address concerns, clarify misunderstandings, and explore possible solutions. When people feel heard and valued, the undermining current fades fast.

3. Model Positive, Productive Dialogue

Whispers often emerge from a place of frustration, confusion, and assumptions. As a school leader, I must model how to channel these feelings into productive conversations. I encourage staff to speak openly about challenges and frustrations in a purposeful manner. When they see their leader maintaining professionalism, even in the face of adversity, it sets the tone for how difficult conversations can be constructively approached.

During interactions big and small, I frame issues in a solution-oriented way. Rather than letting a whisper linger, I invite staff to share best practices, strategies, and new ideas to address common challenges, and I “close the loop” by leveraging these as concrete solutions. This way I usher the conversation toward growth, rather than allowing negative echoes to spread further and louder.

4. Foster a Culture of Trust

When trust is set as a foundation, whispers hold less weight. School community members are less likely to believe or spread rumors. Building trust takes time but is crucial for long-term cultural growth. Open-door policies, regular feedback opportunities, and being visible throughout the school day go a long way in building rapport with stakeholders.

I make it a point to spend time in classrooms, hallways, and the lunchroom, talking with students and teachers. By being accessible and approachable, I reduce the likelihood that concerns are discussed in hushed tones, behind closed doors.

A zone of indifference fits well here: principals who are available and proactively confront rumors can prevent misunderstandings and assumptions from running rampant. This helps staff view leadership as honest, reasonable and legitimate, thus maintaining trust and cooperation.

5. Create Spaces for Constructive Venting

Sometimes, whispers emerge because people simply need to vent. It’s human nature to feel frustrated or dissatisfied, and individuals should feel they have a safe space to express feelings.

Instead of allowing those emotions to build up and create a negative undercurrent, I create opportunities for staff to share feedback in a structured, comfortable way. By providing outlets, you can keep emotions from turning into dangerous, festering whispers.

6. Recognize the Power of Positive Whispers

Whispers don’t always have to be negative. In fact, fostering a culture of positive chatter can lead to significant opportunities for encouragement, success, and community pride. Celebrate wins—whether it’s a teacher’s creative lesson, a student achievement, or a school-wide success. When people are exposed to positive encouragement, they’re more likely to feel valued and pay it forward, creating a ripple effect of positivity throughout the school.

The whispers that echo in a school can either tear it down or build up its culture. This matters. As a school leader, it is my responsibility to ensure whispers don’t resonate as damaging, loud distortions. By promoting transparency, addressing issues directly, fostering trust, and modeling constructive communication, we can guide our school community away from rumor-driven negativity and toward a culture of positive dialogue and growth.

• Why I Ignore Social Media (Mostly): Advice for School Leaders
• How to Quiet the Hyperactive Hive Mind in Schools

Ensuring students’ safety and responsibility online must be a priority for schools. While educators often focus on teaching students about digital citizenship and literacy within the classroom, it is important to engage parents and the entire school community. School leaders play a critical role in fostering this.

Digital citizenship reinforces the norms of appropriate, responsible technology use. Etiquette, security, and the ethical use of digital resources serve as the framework to use digital tools safely and effectively. Understanding these concepts is crucial for students' success and safety while engaging in their digital orbit.

Digital and social engagement offers major advantages and at the same time the potential risk for significant negative impacts on children and families. We see this online, everyday. Shifting to the positives of supportive networks and messaging online, rather than admonishing the detrimental impacts, is the road to success for school communities. Educators owe it to families to teach how to interact in constructive online engagement.

First, Understand the Trouble Spots

Recently, I heard a quote: “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” Some debate exists about where this originated but it appears to be centuries old, and could be a derivative of the Jonathan Swift saying from 1710: “Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it.”

My point? All the noise about misinformation online is something that has always existed in other formats. We used to call it propaganda. We likewise have age-old methods for righting the digital citizenship ship in our schools.

A study conducted by Twitter (now X) demonstrated that false news travels six times faster and farther than the truth. Sound familiar? Maybe Swift foresaw, or little has changed. Either way, it reinforces the significance of helping our school communities to foster a constructive approach to good, honest digital citizenship, with some age-old wisdom, as well as develop new techniques to leverage the very technology that disrupts a positive experience for online users.

Social media also creates other landmines, such as the online disinhibition effect, about which I’ve written. When misinformation spreads rapidly online, the school community is affected by the "hyperactive hive mind," a sort of destructive gang mentality which leads to toxic groupthink. This has no place in schools, where children should find sanctuary in learning and development.

7 Things School Leaders Can Do To Promote Digital Citizenship in the Community

1. Disrupt negative interactions such as the hyperactive hive mind by promoting positive online interactions through the benign disinhibition effect. This method cleverly flips the script, by which supportive and monitored online groups can provide healthier engagement alternatives for students. People feel liberated in this safe zone, more comfortable sharing personal information, feelings, and vulnerabilities online than in real life, where they fear judgment and the danger of social ostracism.

People can provide compliments, defend others, and donate to charitable organizations when anonymous online, since they fear being judged by others disagreeing with them less. Kindness, support, and generosity fosters a network of prosocial contexts, and these happen everyday online for digital citizens. Informing families of these safe spaces can be the catalyst for altering online engagement to constructive interactions.

2. Promote critical thinking by questioning the credibility of sources and recognizing misinformation. By providing tools and strategies for identifying reliable content, it fosters a culture of skepticism and inquiry.

3. Emphasize the importance of adults modeling responsible digital citizenship. Children often mimic the behaviors they observe, so it is crucial for parents and educators to demonstrate ethical online conduct.

4. Avoid rabbit holes. “Reply only twice” is a method that encourages us to limit our responses to two online exchanges to foster clarity and efficiency, while preventing prolonged threads of back and forth.

When digital communication with the school community becomes inefficient and unclear, redirect the conversation to direct dialogue, such as a phone call or meeting. This shift allows for real-time clarification and a more personal interaction, reducing the risk of misinterpretation and enhancing understanding. Additionally, this provides the experience so many new generations need, to learn to interact in person, during which empathy and understanding always have the edge.

5. Encourage open conversations at home, and even help structure it. In communications with parents, provide them with conversation starters and strategies for talking to their children about digital citizenship. For example, ask them to discuss the consequences of sharing personal information online or the impact of digital footprints on future opportunities. This open dialogue builds a foundation for mutual trust and accountability. It is also helpful to schedule homework or other family activities around the student to help further family interactions about digital citizenship.

6. Partner with local organizations. Partner with local organizations and law enforcement agencies who specialize in digital safety. These partnerships can provide valuable resources and additional expertise for your school community.

For example, inviting a local cybersecurity expert to speak at a parent night or coordinating with a nearby community center to host a joint event can expand your reach and reinforce your school’s commitment to digital citizenship. This was one of the most profound experiences we had in our school community, because parents got to see firsthand examples of how significant these interchanges can be, for better or worse, and much depends on how the adults steer this.

7. Celebrate good citizenship. When you see students practicing responsible digital citizenship, acknowledge their efforts publicly. Share these stories in your newsletters or on your school’s social media channels. Recognizing these positive behaviors not only reinforces the message but also encourages others to follow suit.

Ultimately, It is essential to ensure that students, parents, and educators understand the significance of responsible and informed use of digital technologies.

By prioritizing digital citizenship and literacy, we can prepare our students, families and school staff to navigate the digital world responsibly and safely. It is a collective effort that requires the involvement of each of these stakeholders. Through open communication, education, and modeling responsible behavior, we can cultivate a school community that values and practices digital citizenship, ensuring a positive and productive digital future for our students.

• Best Free Digital Citizenship Sites, Lessons and Activities
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On April 24, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a law that could potentially ban the popular app TikTok if it is not sold by its Chinese-owned technology company ByteDance within twelve months. 

The law will not disrupt the popular app in the immediate future as it is expected to be met with legal challenges and other delays. However, a TikTok ban eventually could have a significant impact on classrooms as both students and teachers have embraced the platform for instruction and learning.

Tech & Learning reached out to our advisors and regular contributors for their takes on how the absence of TikTok might play out.

How do you think a TikTok ban will impact classrooms and education?

Erik Ofgang, author and adjunct professor, Western Connecticut State University 

When it comes to TikTok I'm more Boomer than my actual generation (Millennial), and have never found using TikTok to be enjoyable, but from what I hear it's a hit with the kids as well as many educators who are more open to new media than I am. For them, losing TikTok will be huge. 

If the ongoing collapse of Twitter/X taught us anything, it's that communities that have formed on one platform don't necessarily migrate to other platforms, even if those other platforms have more or less the same capabilities. It's kind of like when a beloved bar or hangout closes, the scene could move somewhere else in town but very rarely does.

Carl Hooker, education consultant

I don't think a TikTok ban will impact classrooms or education greatly. I think some of the features of TikTok, such as creating short-form video instructions, are helpful to students and teachers. Kids (and adults) are greatly captivated by short-form videos, which can be distracting and unproductive (although fun in the moment). Users will gravitate toward YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels to satisfy this craving in lieu of TikTok. 

I also predict that the void left by a TikTok ban will likely be filled by another company much like what's happening with Twitter/X at the moment. All-in-all, I would say a TikTok ban will have little impact (negatively or positively) on education.

Todd Dugan, Superintendent, Bunker Hill, Illinois

It won't have an impact. It will just be replaced by another app.

Mike Afdahl, Coordinator of Tech Services, Northwest GA RESA

It is a place for entertainment, but also a driver of culture. Similar to how TV and movies were a driver of culture from the 1950s to early 2000s, TikTok drives culture among our middle and high school students. Banning that will have an impact in removing that platform of culture formation. 

However, FB/Instagram/YouTube were (and are) drivers of culture prior to TikTok, and these may fill that void. These things are cyclical, as I remember logging onto AOL Instant Messenger in my younger days.

It also removes a content creator site, which many educators use to get ideas, share similar struggles/successes, and build community around a content creator/topic.

Stephanie Smith Budhai, Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum, Drexel University

Regardless of which side of the TikTok ban you are on, the field of education will be impacted. The ban presents an opportunity for educators, administrators, families, and communities to look deeply at the use of similar social media technologies, focusing not only on the academic benefits of its use, but what using these tools means for information sharing, potential misinformation and disinformation, and privacy.

Michael Gaskell, author and Principal, Central Elementary School, East Brunswick, NJ

My answer is broken into two parts to recognize the dichotomy of advantage and concern associated with TikTok, and other social media sources in general. 

Being the father of two teenage girls, I have learned that much of their personal research is often organized around social media access points, such as TikTok. For instance, they may discover a recipe that is appealing that we try from TikTok. Or they may discover a nearby must-visit destination that is little known to us and may not have been a discovery of ours without their use of Tik Tok. And these are just personal examples. Students on TikTok are discovering ways to solve math problems, construct a persuasive essay, and even get advice on how to appropriately interact in an interview.

These are just a few of the many advantages students gain when using TikTok and other social media sources. Clearly, the interface has become a popular destination for them, and the attraction and appeal of the way information is communicated is working. 

On the other hand, with benefits come challenges. Recently, social media CEOs testified before the Senate about known and research-evidence about how social media was causing harm to children. Tragically, some even lost their lives due to destructive impacts of toxic social media. 

We know that bullying persists on social media and monitoring student behavior can be difficult. Students often feel anonymous and experience the "disinhibition effect," a way people can disassociate from their real selves and become a much worse version online. We see this happen every day, and TikTok is no exception. 

Much of the attention is focused on the concerns of security and international exposure of information on Tik Tok. The more immediate concern rests with known harms done to children. Best summarized in a timeless classic, former president Teddy Roosevelt once said, "Comparison is the thief of joy." A great challenge children face today is always feeling like they have to be on top of their game on social media. They get no rest or breaks from this. It's constant, 24/7, and they aren't sleeping well because they're glued to their phones under their pillow. 

Certainly, these issues need to be addressed and while the restriction on TikTok is an attempt, the answer is in how we manage social media and the impacts on children in general. Leverage the advantages, and teach and minimize the disadvantages. These are the solutions that will work long term.

• How Can TikTok Be Used in the Classroom?
• 4 Learning Tips From A Cognitive Scientist Turned TikTok Star

Teachers across the country have become Instagram famous. Unfortunately, one such teacher has also experienced AI cyberbullying. The instance occurred when a student used AI to replicate his image and then posted inappropriate social messages using that image to look like the posts came from the teacher. The teacher identified the fraudulent posts and alerted administrators before the posts were widely viewed. The administrator determined who the student was, and the student was disciplined.

This unfortunate use of generative AI can pose serious challenges, especially around cyberbullying. When we typically think of cyberbullying, we think of people posting harmful content targeting specific individuals. Until generative AI became more mainstream, we rarely considered whether or not the bully was an actual person. Of course, behind the AI is a person using the AI generative software, but that creates another level of separation, making it even harder to determine who the perpetrator is.

AI and Cyberbullying 

Algorithms are used in various platforms to automate the monitoring of online forums and other web-based locations where bullies intimidate their victims. Australian and Ireland legislation has been passed to increase the scrutiny of monitoring online behaviors to reduce cyberbullying. Monitoring such behavior can be challenging, especially when the bully is a child. For example, one instance of bullying occurs when girls, usually teens, take pictures to post on Instagram, and when they post them, they tag girls who are not included in their friend group to taunt or intimidate them. This behavior is complicated to monitor and devastating to its target.

AI has been a tool for bullying for years, and in 2019, Time published an article about Instagram’s war on bullying by utilizing sophisticated monitoring tools and human moderators to reduce fake news and accounts used to target individuals as a form of cyberbullying. The head of public policy for Instagram noted teens are exceptionally creative, and generative AI gives them even more tools to become creative bullies. 

Cyberbullying.org collects stories from people who want to share their cyberbullying experiences, and many of the stories are related to imposter posts. The site also notes that previously bullies had to spend time to create their hate messages, but generative AI expedites that process and can welcome others to engage in these harmful activities. 

Using AI and Other Strategies to Prevent Cyberbullying 

The good news is that generative AI is also used to flag unnatural behavior patterns online, including how frequently content is posted or if sentiments are repeated. Advances are needed to tag or mark images created using generative AI software and then posted on social media. These advances include being embedded with metadata storing those variables or stored on a secure data ledger system. 

In addition to these strategies, platforms need to improve their ability to detect harassment and other forms of bullying. Verifying genuine users is another attempt to reduce the number of accounts used for this crime. 

Ultimately, there is no replacement for humans being in the loop. Intentional monitoring of student online activity and awareness of student relationships when they are in person on campus can undoubtedly have a positive impact. Putting policies and practices in place now around generative AI, especially concerning bullying behavior, is a necessary action this school year. 

• What is Cyberbullying?
• 4 Ways to Prevent Cyberbullying

To say that Threads, the new social media app from Meta, is off to a great start is something of an understatement. 

Launched on July 5, it garnered more than 100 million users in only five days, easily outpacing ChatGPT as the fastest-growing app ever. This growth was fueled in part due to its ease of use with Instagram as you can automatically upload your Instagram profile and bio to Threads and follow everyone you follow on Instagram. 

And much like ChatGPT, Threads has significant implications for educators. 

Many teachers, professors, and school leaders -- myself included -- have been increasingly put off by the toxic and unstable turn Twitter has taken, which intensified after Elon Musk purchased the social media app at the end of 2022. However, I haven’t been able to find another text-based social media site with the same critical mass of journalists, educators, writers, and academics who share new research and off-the-cuff professional tips. It’s too early to say for sure, but Threads might just be the social media site that hastens the sinking ship Twitter has become. 

However, there are already privacy concerns about Threads, which openly collects data on each user, including about browsing history, financial information, location, and contacts. 

Will Educators Use Threads?  

“We know that social media have been adopted by educators for various teaching and learning purposes, and Twitter has been one of the most widely used platforms,” says Christine Greenhow, an educational psychology professor at Michigan State University who studies social media use among teachers. “Historically, teachers have used Twitter for professional learning, networking, staying up to date on trends in the field, and finding and sharing resources, for example #EdChat. However, educators, and I include myself here, have grown increasingly frustrated with Twitter under its new leadership.” 

Threads seems designed to provide users with a Twitter experience minus the toxicity that has soured the social media app for many. Threads is text-focused, allows users to reshare other posts, and for better or worse, just like Twitter, has no edit button. Once you click "post," you either delete it or live with the errors you’ve made -- at least for now. 

“Educators have been evacuating/looking to leave Twitter ever since Musk bought it, and probably before then, as they tend to get attacked on social media for various reasons,” says Carl Hooker, a K-12 education consultant, author, and presenter. “A few replacements have spun up as a result -- Mastodon, BlueSky, and now, Threads.” 

He adds, “Out of those three platforms, I think Threads has the best chance of being a Twitter replacement. However, many who I've spoken to will continue to use Twitter for a while to come as there is a base of connections/followers on there that has built up since its inception in 2007. I've been personally slowly pulling away from Twitter for a while as many of the new algorithms and hate speech changes make it a tough landscape to navigate.” 

What is Using Threads Like?  

“I'm trying all three platforms and so far found Threads to be the easiest as it's essentially Instagram without the pictures,” Hooker says. “I'm also using K12Leaders for my education-only platform to share content, knowledge, and resources. It's much more than a streaming social media service, so its uses will be different than Threads.” 

While Hooker appreciates Threads’ fast and easy-to-use interface, he suggests there are still some ways the site can be improved. “[The] timeline can get clogged with influencers unless you change your settings,” he says. “[It’s] similar to ‘old Twitter’ circa pre-2016, when you filter out all the noise.” 

In addition, using Threads myself, I haven’t yet noticed the kinds of academic- and journalism-focused threads and conversations that used to be my favorite part of Twitter. 

Greenhow also hasn’t noticed these conversations migrating to Threads yet. “I think whether researchers switch over to Threads will depend on whether other institutions and organizations that researchers care about, and typically connected with on Twitter, move to Threads – educational institutions, funders, journalists/the media, publishers, etc.,” she says. 

One current holdup might be Threads’ limited availability globally. The app is not currently accessible in many countries, including those in the European Union, because of issues Meta is having with EU data privacy laws. “Researchers network with scholars around the world,” Greenhow says. 

Another barrier is that Threads doesn't currently allow users to search the app either by hashtag or term, so it is currently hard for users to congregate around any specific topic. 

Either way, many of the journalists and academics I follow on Twitter have created profiles on Threads, so I believe it is only a matter of time before academic and journalism Twitter moves to Threads, but we’ll have to see. 

What Might The Future Hold?  

Greenhow believes Threads’ connection to Instagram might make the platform particularly attractive to educators. 

“According to recent surveys, Instagram is more widely used by educators today than is Twitter,” she says. “The majority of young people especially – who makeup or will make up new teachers – are already on Instagram,” she says. 

John Roche, a professor in the Department of Creative and Professional Writing at Western Connecticut State University, left Twitter after Musk’s takeover and is cautiously intrigued by Threads. “I think we're all curious as to what Threads can offer,” he says. “Will it provide information, entertainment, and engagement in some way that Twitter and other social media did not or could not? Or is Threads a new flavor of the same old, same old?” 

He adds, “I think an inherent paradox of this era of spending so much of our time on screens is that we're losing true connection due to the dynamic of social media, yet we turn to social media to satisfy our increasing craving for connection.” 

Either way, Roche says, there’s another reason educators may want to at least familiarize themselves with Threads: their students are sure to use it. 

"I'm sure it will come up in class discussion early on in the upcoming Fall semester," he says. 

• How to Teach With Social Media
• How Can TikTok Be Used in the Classroom?
• A TikTok Lesson Plan

When I see a post about a friend or relative’s child who has achieved a milestone, such as graduation, marriage, or birth of a new child, I smile and like 👍🏻(or love ❤️) the post. However, I ignore almost all other social media. Why? Because most of it is negative, completely false, or highly inaccurate. And more importantly, it makes me less intelligent. 

Don’t take my word for it – here is a study confirming it. Yes, engaging in negative energy online lowers your intelligence!

Tune in to one of the greats on the subjects of wellness and intelligence: Seth Godin. He presents constructive and productive ways to manage human interactions, laying bare Facebook's decision to build an algorithm to divide people. Social media has been weaponized to isolate, not bring together, unless we are careful. We can be, if we follow the right course.

Consider the damages characterized in one research study, which reinforces that false information travels eight times faster and farther than truth: Why? Because humans are wired to attend to negative and inflammatory information. We want to see how an exchange unfolds and if there is a threat, and then we want to prepare to defend ourselves. 

Our children’s education and wellness are dependent on a set of values that promotes a Think Again (2021) approach. Adam Grant urges us to change the way we think and learn, so that we are able to move on, adapt, and thrive. Doing so comes with a recognition of the destructive power social media has. A degree of devastation so profound, it makes us less intelligent. 

Solutions to Online Negativity  

There are ways to redirect ourselves from the negative social media feedback loop that echoes relentlessly. 

Awareness is a start. Applying techniques to tap the frontal lobe’s higher cognitive areas are substitutes for negative feedback loops. Practices such as focusing on deep work by leveraging technology can be a solution. 

Physiological techniques such as binaural beats and breathing practices can help reverse provoking our less intelligent thoughts. I wrote about these time-tested, efficient and effective strategies that include simple, accessible, and quick ways to provide a cognitive boost against disruptive online primal reactions that can deter the effects of online toxicity.

Recognizing that when, via social media, we battle with and dehumanize someone who is not present with us, we are retreating to inferior methods of communication. We miss intonation and the decency that comes with in-person interaction, and draw highly inaccurate conclusions, with incomplete information about another person.  

The answer is to bring people back together, to allow us to see one another and move away from two-dimensional thinking so we can draw more accurate, empathetic, three dimensional conceptualizations. With keyboard warriors, the attack says everything about them and nothing about you. Refuse to give them the satisfaction of a response or an opportunity for continued engagement.

Exchanging Perceived Negativity for Actual Facts 

Another strategy is to present the danger of the awareness heuristic, or a mental shortcut used to consolidate large amounts of information our human brains are incapable of collecting bit by bit. Unfortunately, this also leaves us prone to making highly inaccurate conclusions. 

For example, consider how many individuals fear flying, yet flying remains the safest way to travel. Continuing to draw the emotionally irrational conclusion that air travel is dangerous is the awareness heuristic at its worst. We see a plane crash and make a disproportionate conclusion about the likelihood of it happening to us. 

Teaching others to logically recognize this inclination and providing factual information is an antidote to our vulnerability about misunderstanding reality online. 

Likewise, when being repeatedly exposed to negative or aggressive content on social media, it can increase the accessibility of negative cues in memory, which can impact their judgments and decisions. This results in a vicious cycle of negative exchanges that perpetuate more negative behavior. The awareness heuristic risks amplifying disproportionate views, as people are more prone to be exposed to this information rather than seeking balanced perspectives. This can pose a harmful impact on one’s ability to engage in productive solution-oriented exchanges.

Filtering out the negativity bias that persists on social media and being more cognizant of a factual approach helps everyone in school communities. They develop stronger relationships and integrate into thriving, more intelligent social networks that produce opportunity for all children. We even access higher developed parts of our brains, making us smarter! 

Schools are the ideal space to teach and guide our community about these warning signs, ways around them, and methods to apply solution-oriented logic.

• How to Lead Post-Pandemic Students to Thrive After Years of Isolation
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Many educators have wondered whether they should be leaving Twitter and what social media platform might emerge in its place since Elon Musk completed his purchase of the company at the end of October 2022. 

Several researchers who study social media use by educators and within education are still looking for the answers to these questions, which is still an evolving situation.

Are Educators Leaving Twitter?  

No studies have yet been conducted on Twitter patterns among educators since Musk’s takeover, but certainly some individual educators are leaving the platform in search of less toxic pastures. However, this does not seem to be happening en masse, at least not yet. 

“I’ve seen a lot of talk about leaving,” says Jeff Carpenter, Professor of Education and Director of Teaching Fellows Program at Elon University (which has no relation to Elon Musk). “There’s a lot of concern about what's going to happen with the platform, and will there be a point at which I need to leave?” 

This concern is two-pronged for many educators. “There's that real and important concern about the platform and its ethics in the decision-making since the leadership change,” says Carpenter. “Then they're also just weighing what's going to happen with my people. Because a lot of teachers feel that they have meaningful sort of connections to other teachers on Twitter.  And so some of it is coming down to where will other people go? And will they go?” 

Will Educators Leave Twitter for Mastodon?  

Mastodon is probably the most talked about potential replacement for Twitter. The open-source and free software offers a decentralized, self-hosted social network.

“Mastodon is something that some of the education students I know have mentioned,” says Christine Greenhow, an educational psychology professor at Michigan State University. “But I think they're just in startup mode. It's very new. It's very niche.” 

One potential obstacle Greenhow sees to the app taking off with educators is that Mastodon requires users to choose a server. This process can scare off less tech-savvy users, even though adherents of the platform say it is much less involved than it sounds. 

Questions about the sustainability of Mastodon are also viable. “I like the ideas behind open source and free, and not tying into these capitalist structures,” Carpenter says. But success stories with that type of model, such as Wikipedia, are rare. 

What about Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit?  

Educators who leave Twitter may end up spending more time on other familiar social media platforms. “Facebook is the most studied social media among K-12 teachers,” Greenhow says. “We know that the majority of educators in the last few years are still using Facebook to network.” 

Many teacher-centric Facebook groups are very active with large memberships. “I wouldn't be surprised if some people are trading in their Twitter for Facebook,” Greenhow says. 

Teachers also frequently use Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram. However, none of these existing social networks perfectly recreate what drew some educators to Twitter. Instagram and TikTok tend to be more influencer-driven and less of a networking spot, while the closed nature of Facebook groups can create a barrier to networking opportunities, Carpenter says. Reddit has a norm of anonymity, which can have value but also makes it a very different place for educators to connect on than Twitter was at its best. 

Future Social Media Use Among Educators  

Going forward, if the situation at Twitter does not improve, finding a good replacement will be difficult. “I think that the big issue is that there's not some ethically pure platform out there, with all the right features that teachers want,” Carpenter says. “It's interesting to think of Reddit as a place that people might go to from Twitter because of Twitter being messy, because Reddit is plenty messy.” 

Facebook and Tiktok also have their issues, Carpenter adds. 

Joshua M. Rosenberg, a professor of STEM education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who studies social media use at schools, predicts that if teachers do leave Twitter in large numbers there will be more than one replacement for the social media site. “My guess is that Mastodon won't be the platform that teachers or others in education turn to but that there will be a greater proliferation of different spaces, social media and others, that teachers turn to achieve the same goal, but with maybe less of the downsides of some of these massive platforms that are pretty well-documented,” he says. 

On Twitter a teacher’s post might be seen by a relative or friend who is not an educator and that can sometimes be good because it widens the conversation, but it can also lead to unproductive debates and toxicity. 

“Social media is not a good place to engage in a nuanced debate,” Rosenberg says. “These different spaces could lead people with more niche interests to stay within those groups, and at least at the current margins, that seems like a good thing.” 

• How School Social Media Accounts Put Student Privacy at Risk
• How to Teach With Social Media

U.S. schools and districts routinely share student photos and names on public school social media accounts, new research from the American Educational Research Association reveals. 

The study’s authors estimate that more than 4.9 million posts have included identifiable images of students on public Facebook pages, and about 726,000 of those posts are thought to identify one or more students by their first and last names. 

The common media release forms many parents sign at the beginning of the year often don’t explicitly include social media. In addition, many educators and parents are unaware of the potentially harmful ways in which student images and names from social media posts can be used, says a co-author of the study, Joshua M. Rosenberg.

“This study, we hope, is a constructive warning,” says Rosenberg, an assistant professor of STEM education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “This is not meant to say all educational social media use is bad or dangerous, or that there's any high degree of risk associated with a single post. It's more saying that in aggregate, and over time, there's some potentially serious downsides that come from sharing this much personally identifiable information in a publicly accessible way.” 

Student Privacy: Serious Downsides to Public Posts 

The dangers of schools posting student names and pictures on social media fall broadly under three categories, Rosenberg says. 

1) Companies and governments accessing the data

“We know that foreign and domestic governments access public social media data,” Rosenberg says. “What do they use that for? We don't really know. But in many cases, it's for things that we know adults don't like, and they wouldn't like for their children to be wrapped up in.” 

For example, there are companies that collect public social media posts and other public internet data and compile it into a database that law enforcement agencies can use to probabilistically identify suspects for crimes. “This is an example where it's probably not illegal, but it's the kind of thing that parents and kids probably wouldn't like if a photo that was shared on a school or district page ended up in a database used by one of these policing companies to identify possible suspects in a crime,” says Rosenberg. 

2) People seeking images of children 

“There's data from Australia that suggests that around half of the images shared on child pedophilia websites came from public sources,” Rosenberg says. “These photos could end up being collected and presented in such a way that they look very different, and they are used for very creepy, and potentially really damaging purposes.” 

3) Individual risk

“We've heard many anecdotal stories of kids in custody disputes, in which one parent looks on the social media pages of their child's school or district to try to find out where they are, so that they can try to find that child and possibly do things that run counter to some custody agreement or some protection order,” Rosenberg says. “There's also the risk of stalking of individual kids. We have anecdotes of this.” 

How Schools and Parents Can Be Safer with Social Media Use 

The first step to better protect student privacy is for school leaders and parents to start thinking more about potential risks, Rosenberg says. Unlike personal social media accounts, school accounts are always public and often have many more followers than an individual user would. School accounts can also place students in specific geographic areas in ways even public personal social media accounts don’t. 

Rosenberg advises school leaders to make their school and district accounts private, though he acknowledges this has downsides, including less visibility for posts and more administrative work approving followers to the account. “That single step alone would prevent the large-scale collection of these data for purposes that are hard to anticipate at this point,” he says. “Another change we suggest making is to not post photos that readily identify students' faces.”

He also suggests never posting students’ full names, and instead posting only their first name or only their first name and last initial.  

Finally, Rosenberg advises school leaders to review their media release policy and make sure it is current. “From a study that is ongoing, we found that less than 20% of [school media release policies] mention social media explicitly,” he says. “So a lot of these media release policies were written for a different era when social media use wasn't ubiquitous.” 

Parents should also read these types of releases carefully and talk with their children’s educators. “I would encourage parents and students to ask questions about how schools and districts are sharing this kind of content,” he says. 

The goal of the research is to spark broader conversations around this issue and serve as a warning. “It is definitely not a criticism of educational leaders,” Rosenberg says. “Myself and my colleagues have all shared information about ourselves, and family members on social media. And so we see this more as a constructive dialogue that we hope to start where we can slowly nudge ourselves and others into using social media in a way that doesn't have as many potential downsides for student privacy.” 

• What is Digital Wellness? How One School Implements It
• 4 Ways To Prevent Cyberbullying
• 6 Tips for Protecting Student Data Privacy

Increasingly students are turning to TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media platforms when it comes time to research school topics. 

A recent survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of McGraw Hill finds that 78%, or roughly 3 in 4 students, turn to social media when studying to find supplementary content for their classes. It also shows that 19% of students spend six or more hours per week searching for study content and help with classes on social media.

Other research shows that kids and teens spend an average of 91 minutes watching TikTok videos per day. 

While most educators are wary of their students using social media as an information source there are ways that they can help students navigate the various platforms and disinformation. 

Social Media As a Source

Dr. Trey Guinn, chair of communication at the University of the Incarnate Word in Texas, understands the impulse students have to search sites such as TikTok and YouTube for information.  “When I'm talking to my friends, and they say they completed a house project, I often say, ‘How did you know how to do that?' and they're like, ‘Oh, I watched it on YouTube,’” Guinn says. 

Students go to social media to learn in the same manner but what they find there isn't always helpful. “For my students who do turn to social media or YouTube, I question if the content they're getting is quality and actually helping. And in most cases, when they show me what they found it's quite disturbing," Guinn says.  

That’s why Guinn likes to provide his students with high-quality resources that extend beyond the textbook and capitalize on the technology that makes social media so popular. “I have a lot of students who are so intimidated by a big textbook that they wouldn't open it for all the money in the world,” he says. For example, he recommends tools such as Sharpen, a study app from education publishing company McGraw Hill that is designed to mirror the look, feel, and ease of use social media sites provide. It is also vetted to ensure credibility of its sources.

Media and News Literacy  

Regardless of their own feelings about it, social media is something educators need to contend with and can help their students navigate. “Kids are on social media, and it's an undeniable force in our society that can and does have some valuable information and access to experts,” says Christine Elgersma, senior editor for learning apps and websites at Common Sense Education. On the flip side, she says social media is hard to contain and control because the privacy issues can be so extensive. 

Elgersma advises teachers to consult Common Sense Education’s guide to social media use for educators. 

One good approach in general is for educators is to ground class exploration of social media in source evaluation. “It’s a great place to practice media literacy and news literacy because those are the sources that students are encountering in their daily lives," she says.  

Providing access to fact-checking sites and continuing to teach digital citizenship should also be part of any approach involving the use of social media as a research source.

Career Training and Connection With Students 

Whatever misgivings about social media educators may have, students are on these platforms and more frequently consuming history, chemistry, English, and other lessons through these. 

Amanda Granger, director of community engagement at WNET New York Public Media, says recognizing this reality is part of the reason she and her colleagues are working to develop a series of social media videos designed to teach K-12 students about different career opportunities. 

“In public media, we see that we are really able to effectively reach young children and older audiences, but it's incredibly challenging for us to reach youth on broadcast,” she says. “So we've been doing a lot of thinking about how we reach them directly with digital. How do we reach young people directly with content that is accurate, entertaining, informative, and safe for them to consume, since they're going to be on these platforms anyway?” 

Since students spend so much time on TikTok each day Granger says, “Let's meet them there with this content and get them interested and aware of all the different careers that exist.” 

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Teaching with social media can be an effective way to engage with students and build community. Christine Greenhow, an educational psychology professor at Michigan State University, has studied social media’s use in education and has found that when used as a class communication tool, teaching with social media has a number of benefits. 

These benefits include making students feel more engaged in learning, creating deeper interactions between teachers and students, and expanding learning communities beyond school walls. 

However, teachers need to make sure they are fostering responsible social media use that protects student privacy and adheres to the rules in their district or school. Those under 13 are not permitted on most major social media platforms, so the advice here pertains to high school students and older. 

Before making social media a part of class, teachers also should ensure they’re not violating IT or other school policies.  

Teaching with Social Media: Choose a Social Media Platform  

After ensuring they’re adhering to their school’s rules regarding teaching with social media, the first step for any teacher looking to have students post class-related material to social media is to decide which platform to use. 

“It's good to informally survey your students to ask what are they already using,” Greenhow says. “What do they feel comfortable with? What would they absolutely not want teachers to integrate into the classroom? For instance, some students have carefully crafted profiles on Instagram. And now, if you're going to ask them to use their Instagram for classroom purposes, you're, in a sense, hijacking this curated identity.” 

Additionally, Greenhow advises teachers to use a social media platform with which they themselves are familiar and comfortable. 

Choose a Closed or Open Mode of Communication 

Some teachers are more comfortable incorporating social media into class in a closed social media platform, for example, a dedicated Facebook Group that only class members are allowed into. Students can use this type of group to engage in class-related discussions and post short assignments. 

Using social media in this manner can have advantages over using an LMS in some instances. “If your goal is for your students to communicate their viewpoints in text, maybe an LMS is just fine,” Greenhow says. “But when you use social media, you see not just the students' post, but their profile is attached to their posts. On social media the people are as central as is the content they upload and share. So you get to see the students’ profiles and maybe learn something about them you wouldn't otherwise know.” 

This knowledge can provide new ways to connect with students as individuals and around class material. 

Harness the Hashtag  

The potential for teaching with social media expands when teachers use open systems rather than closed ones. Creating a hashtag for the class or for specific assignments that students post to can be a good way for students to find different ways to connect with course material as well as one another. 

“If you're teaching English and you're studying Wuthering Heights, you could have them go out and find resources related to the book or to the location or things that they're interested in related to the Wuthering Heights topic, and then have them use the class hashtag,” Greenhow says. “It's a way for you to see what your students are interested in, in ways you might never have known had they not done this assignment. It’s also a way for them to find their own way into the course material.” 

Extend Class Community  

Teachers can also strategically use these classroom hashtags to extend and deepen the conversation. For instance, some English teachers Greenhow has studied had their class tweet at an author who they were reading. “Then the author would become part of the Twitter stream,” Greenhow says. "The students really were excited about that, because that makes the book sort of this living, breathing thing that they could then talk to the artist about.” 

The concept applies to classes in other disciplines as well. “You could be tweeting at mathematics professors who maybe are doing something interesting in math to pull it into an algebra class in high school,” Greenhow says. “That's an example of when you're using the social media to expand the class community beyond the classroom walls.” 

Network with Social Media 

As students advance in their academic careers the opportunities to use social media as a professional network increase. For instance, Greenhow asks her doctoral students to use Twitter to network with experts in their field. 

“One of my goals for my students is that they start building a research community around their topic of interest or this educational issue that they're becoming an expert in through their dissertation,” Greenhow says. “I'll say, 'Find 10 scholars whose work you're reading, or who have a presence on social media, or who you want to know, or who you want to know you, and follow them. Look at what they post and maybe even tweet at them, maybe even direct message them.'” 

Social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and others are increasingly being used as networking tools by professionals in various fields. Making students of any age aware of that and encouraging them to build those professional networks as soon as is appropriate, can help provide them with a powerful life skill. 

Safety and Media Literacy  

At any age, it’s important to discuss responsible use of social media and teach students to become critical consumers of the media they consume, social or otherwise. 

Greenhow recommends teachers incorporate digital citizenship for any of these lessons as well as media literacy. Students should be critical of social media sources and content and watch out for the toxic behavior that is all too often a part of the discourse on most social media platforms. 

“Model good behavior and teach that to your students,” Greenhow says. "When you see inappropriate behavior, use that as a teachable moment to say, ‘As citizens, what do we do when we see these things?’” 

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Social media sites and apps are a natural for education. Given that students today are digital natives and familiar with the details of these popular platforms, educators are well-advised to thoughtfully incorporate these into classroom and remote teaching. Fortunately, most social media sites and apps include controls to restrict the potentially troublesome features that tend to distract from learning. 

These social networking/media sites are free, easy to use, and offer rich opportunities for educators and students to network, create, share and learn with each other. 

Brainly
A fun social network through which students ask and/or answer questions in 21 topics, including math, history, biology, languages, and more. Students earn points by answering questions, rating comments, or thanking other students. Free basic account allows unlimited questions and free access (with ads). Parent and free teacher accounts available, and answers are verified by experts.   

Edublog
A free Wordpress blogging site that lets teachers create personal and classroom blogs. Edublog’s step-by-step guide helps users master both technical and pedagogical features. 

Litpick
A terrific free site devoted to promoting reading, Litpick connects readers with age-appropriate books and book reviews. Kids can read their peers’ book reviews or write their own, while teachers can set up online book clubs and reading groups. A can’t-miss site for educators.

TikTok
A relative newcomer on the social media scene, TikTok has exploded in popularity, with more than two billion downloads worldwide. The music video creation app is free, easy to use, and familiar to most students. Teachers can easily create a private classroom group for sharing fun and educational video projects and assignments.   

ClassHook
Bring engaging and educational movie and television clips into your classroom with ClassHook. Teachers can search the vetted clips by grade, length, series, standards, and profanity (you can’t choose your favorite profanity, but you can screen out all profanity). Once selected, add questions and prompts to the clips to get kids thinking and discussing. Free basic account allows 20 clips per month.

Edmodo
A well-known, established social media community, Edmodo provides a free and safe social media and LMS platform with a highly useful suite of moderation tools. Teachers set up classes, invite students and parents to join, then share assignments, quizzes, and multimedia content. Online discussion forums allow kids to comment, offer feedback on one another's work, and share ideas. 

edWeb
A popular website for professional learning and collaboration, EdWeb provides its one million members with the latest in certificate-eligible webinars, best practices, and research for education, while the multitude of community forums focus on diverse topics from 21st century learning to coding and robotics.

Flipgrid
Flipgrid is an asynchronous video discussion tool designed for virtual learning. Teachers post topic videos and students create their own video responses using the Flipgrid software. The original post plus all responses can be viewed and commented on, creating a vibrant forum for discussion and learning. 

Facebook
The most prominent social media site in the world, Facebook is a simple and free way for educators to network with their peers, keep up with the latest education news and issues, and share ideas for lessons and curricula. 

ISTE Community
The International Society for Technology & Education community forums are a great way for educators to share their ideas and challenges on technology, digital citizenship, online learning, STEAM, and other cutting-edge topics.

TED-Ed
A rich resource for free educational videos, TED-Ed offers much more, including pre-made lesson plans and the ability for teachers to create, customize, and share their own video lesson plans. There’s even a lesson activity page for monitoring student progress. 

Twitter
Everyone knows about Twitter. But did you know that this super-popular social networking site can be employed for education? Use Twitter to teach kids about digital citizenship, or combine it with third-party apps to extend its functionality. Hash tags such as #edchat, #edtech, and #elearning will guide education users to relevant tweets. Twitter is also an easy way to stay connected with your fellow educators and the top education issues of the day. 

MinecraftEdu
The celebrated online game Minecraft offers an education edition designed to engage kids with game-based learning. The STEM-related lessons can be individual or collaborative and focus on the problem-solving skills that students will need in every phase of their lives. Tutorials, discussion boards, and Classroom Mode make this a great place for teachers as well!

Instagram
This famous social networking site has been in the news lately, and not in a positive light. Nevertheless, Instagram’s popularity makes it a natural for teaching. Create a private classroom account, and use it to showcase lesson ideas and student work, communicate with kids and their families, and act as a hub for positive reinforcement. The platform is widely used by teachers to share their best classroom projects and concepts. 

TeachersConnect
A free networking site by teachers, for teachers, that features moderated community forums with topics including careers, literacy, mental wellness for educators, and more. TeacherConnect’s founder Dave Meyers maintains an active presence in the forums.  

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In December 2021 principals everywhere found themselves scrambling to provide assurances to their communities while investigating an increased number of security threats. I was one of those principals, and have become alarmed, not as much by the threats, but by the misinformation being fed to our communities. 

Consider that school communities are already taxed by the seemingly never-ending pandemic. Add unsettling news and we are instantaneously brought over the edge. An increase in toxic groupthink amplifies these problems. 

I have researched and written about the negative effects of social media distortions, and propose time-tested practices for school leaders and their communities to embrace. For example, start by presenting convincing evidence of truth, and help people reclaim an objective lens. Help them see that misinformation is the dangerous product of an online feedback loop, with algorithms designed to drive more inaccurate news content, further fueling our confusion and concern.

While increasing school tragedies expose the harshest societal realities, an event is still far unlikely to occur. Reinforcing ways to fight online misinformation begins with a recognition of the damage caused, and formulating strategic ways to address panic and anxiety. 

These challenges disrupt school communities, so we must find ways to make schools restorative sanctuaries for learning. Recognition starts with identifying the toxic groupthink as a hyperactive hive mind that impairs everyone.

The Hyperactive Hive Mind in Schools 

The hyperactive hive mind is groupthink at its worst. It is inflamed by the destructive forces of digital disruptions. 

While school violence causes devastating tragedy, students have a far lower chance of being harmed in school than almost any other risk they face. This includes traveling to and from school, catching a potentially deadly disease, and suffering from a life-threatening injury through interscholastic sports. But the hyperactive hive mind fools us into believing the risk is far greater.

Why?

People are emotionally connected to their children, and that causes us to override practical thinking and logic. We assess the prominence of a school shooting, based less on the probability and more on the nature of the experience. Scientists refer to this as the awareness heuristic: a mental shortcut we rapidly make to measure the expected chance of something too big for us to understand. These shortcuts are often grossly inaccurate, catalyzed by primal thoughts that are the enemy of higher cognitive processing. Social media aggravates this. In fact, a Twitter study confirms that false information travels so much faster than facts that the frequency occurs fully six times faster.

No wonder school communities endure hyperactive hive mindset. We are inundated with misinformation, and filtering through this can be overwhelming. How do we overcome this and find a path to truth?

The Answer

Consider two interconnected paths to provide protective solutions: internal (within school) and external (beyond school walls).

Internal: Shield learners and staff within schools in ways that allow them to engage the frontal lobe for higher thinking while protected at school. The climate leaders commit to cause a lasting impact on a child’s experience. Fortifying a school community with the structures to nurture the kind of learning that creates engaging interactive experiences is the answer.

Numerous models promote learner-friendly, comfortable environments. For example, New Jersey’s Positive Behavior Support in Schools System is a positive behavior incentive program for individual students and schools. Evidence-based programs should be inclusive and integrated in all communities.

External: Focus on teaching students and families about outside traps we are prone to, and how to find escapes.

Students are away from school for two-thirds of their day. Educators have little control over what students are exposed to, and how to manage the many obstacles and confusion they encounter. This is especially true of negative content and misinformation. 

A best practice is to teach self-regulation strategies. Our work assisting students and families in managing the constant distractions and alarming news cycles includes a strong commitment to simplify this information.

Also highlight for families reliable, evidence-based truths. Unveil this, and the statistical probabilities highlighted previously. Teach students and families alternative habits. 

Teaching Focused Empowerment in a Distracted World 

The Benign Disinhibition Effect

Use social media to initiate positive social media experiences, something referred to as the benign disinhibition effect. Positive, supportive, and monitored groups who aid one another anonymously offer a safe and confidential place to seek support. 

These are searchable online, and having access to such a group offers an alternative that is healthy for online engagement, similar to the effect of anonymous, in-person support groups.

Diminish Comparison Effects

Many well-known figures address comparison traps by exposing the real version of themselves online. They are closing the fantasy gap of a perfect persona who students feel they cannot compare to. It is wonderful to see famous individuals share their vulnerabilities to empower others to feel okay about their own imperfections.  

Inhibit Bad Online Behavior

Teach children the damaging effects of misbehavior online. Online history is easily uncovered by colleges and potential employers through searchable, archived databases. Helping learners recognize that behaving badly online is never kept secret enables them to avoid going down that path before it’s too late.

Remember Online Feedback Loops Make Us Less Intelligent

Help students see that negative social media engagement has an adverse effect on their wellness. In fact, it drives them to be less intelligent, which has a harmful, and potentially long-term damaging effect on their aspirations and dreams. Using on and offline tools, such as ambient noise, journaling, and gratitude practices, are all methods to fight against the detrimental effects of the hyperactive hive mind and, in turn, individually harmful impacts.

Consolidating these ideas into a framework and implementing these practices can result in groupthink being shifted into productive flow rather than a hyperactive hive mindset.

Students and families need to understand the benefits of solitude and a tranquil absence from the relentless echoes of online rants. Learning to harness this time instead in more constructive ways yields productivity dividends that are remarkably more positive. This enables whole schools to empower themselves to thrive, rather than suffer.

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More than Generation Z or Generation Alpha, students today may fairly be termed Generation Digital. They've lived their entire lives with the internet, smartphones, and instant communication. Given that many kids know more about digital technology than their teachers do, it may not seem obvious that lessons in digital citizenship are necessary.

But these lessons are. Regardless of their tech savvy, children still need guidance in learning the rules of the online and social media landscapes—both how to cross the street safely and how to navigate their increasingly complex and pervasive digital universe. 

The free sites, lessons, and activities below cover the breadth of digital citizenship curriculum, from cyberbullying to copyright to digital footprint. 

Best Free Digital Citizenship Sites, Lessons and Activities

AT&T’s Achievery
Whether you celebrate or look askance at the neologism “achievery,” you’ll find a lot to appreciate in this free site from internet giant AT&T. An extensive collection of downloadable and printable PDF lesson plans from a variety of highly respected sources are searchable by grade, category, and resource provider. No account is required and it’s simple to browse resources on this easy-to-navigate site. Diverse topics range from the basics of digital citizenship to more in-depth ones such as AI algorithms, white-hat hackers, and large language models. Do sharks love ice cream? Yep, that’s there too. 

Teen Voices: Oversharing and Your Digital Footprint
Teens listen to other teens. Sometimes that’s a problem, but in this video from Common Sense Education, teens talk frankly about the harm of oversharing personal information on social media and the permanence of even so-called “disappearing” messages. Put peer pressure to good use. 

CTRL-F: Digital media literacy
From the Canadian civic education nonprofit CIVIX, the digital learning platform CTRL-F aims to enhance students’ critical thinking and fact-checking skills. Once you get through the slightly tedious sign-up forms, it’s easy to explore the strong collection of lessons, exercises, and expert videos. Resources are conveniently accessible via Google Drive or local downloads. Be sure to check out the Example Bank, which features a variety of topical news stories for students to evaluate, ranging from simple (Did the Simpsons predict a bridge collapse?) to challenging (Is Patrick Moore an expert on climate change?). Available in English and French.

Common Sense Education’s Digital Citizenship Curriculum
If you access only one digital citizenship resource, make it this one. Common Sense Education’s Digital Citizenship Curriculum includes interactive, customizable, and bilingual lessons and activities, browsable by grade and topic. Each step-by-step printable lesson plan includes everything teachers need for classroom implementation, from learning objectives to quizzes to take home resources. Integrates with Nearpod and Learning.com.

PBS Learning Media Digital Citizenship
A comprehensive, preK-12 resource for teaching 10 digital citizenship topics. Videos, interactive lessons, documents, and more are easily searchable by grade. Each standards-aligned exercise features a downloadable video accompanied by support materials for educators, transcripts, and lesson-building tools. Shareable to Google Classroom.

NewsFeed Defenders
From the top online provider of evidence-based history and civics education, this engrossing online game asks students to take control of a fictional social media site with the goal of boosting traffic while being alert for fake news and scams. A great way for teens to appreciate the risks and responsibilities that an online presence confers. Free registration is not required to play, but it does allow users to save their progress and unlock other benefits. 

Google’s Be Internet Awesome
The Be Internet Awesome downloadable curriculum is accompanied by the slick and sophisticated animated “Interland” game, featuring cool music, super stylish 3D graphics, and colorful, fun geometric characters. The curriculum includes five lessons and a teacher’s guide.

Which Digital Citizenship Skills Do Students Need Most?
It’s not just cyberbullying, privacy, and safety. Common Sense Education’s Erin Wilkey Oh takes a dive into the research to provide ideas for broadening your digital citizenship curriculum while boosting kids’ news literacy, focus, and habits of mind.

Digital Citizenship Progression Chart
This super-useful guide organizes the elements of digital cItizenship by concept and lays out a timetable for appropriate introduction by grade level. Best of all, it links to a spreadsheet that can be copied, downloaded, and adapted for your own classroom.

Google Digital Literacy & Citizenship Curriculum
Google teamed up with iKeepSafe to produce this digital citizenship curriculum that’s interactive and hands-on, and gives students the opportunity to learn by doing. Each topic features videos, lesson plans, and student handouts. 

7 Tips and 1 Activity To Help Digital Citizens Engage With Empathy
We spend a lot of time cautioning our students against potentially unsafe digital interactions and practices. This article takes a different view. By guiding kids toward appropriate digital communication and engagement, educators can help them develop openness to new ideas and empathy for others.  

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• From Social Media to School Halls: Understanding and Preventing Cyberbullying
• Best Cybersecurity Lessons and Activities for K-12 Education 

Technology is changing the social-emotional learning landscape that all students navigate every day, from how they express themselves to how they communicate with friends and family. How educators support all students, regardless of language or ability, to promote their own well-being and be a positive influence online, continues to be a priority for all school districts. 

And in light of the pandemic, that SEL piece of digital citizenship has become even more critical.

“Even though students are back in the classroom and it’s supposed to be back to normal, it doesn’t quite feel like that,” said Tali Horowitz, New York education director for Common Sense, during a session of the recent New York City Department of Education Beyond Access virtual professional development conference. “It’s been a rough year for all of us. We may have lost people close to us, our students may have, and there’s a lot going on.”

Accordingly, much of the focus in schools has been on social-emotional learning. “Much of that is around soft skills, not core content,” said Jackie Patanio, edtech citywide lead, NYCDOE. “Not things you need to know for math, right, but soft skills on how to interact with one another and build those skills internally, so you can build a relationship with someone and learn how to empathize with them.”

Resources, lessons, best practices, and activities to help boost SEL in digital citizenship were the focus of the discussion during the session, which can be viewed free on demand here. 

Common Sense Education has also created a resource center full of free resources for promoting SEL in the digital lives of students.

Social-Emotional Learning & Digital Citizenship Takeaways 

Taking stock. To help support SEL and connect with students and families, teachers may want to consider focusing on specific key areas with the help of these questions from ShareMyLesson:

• Experiences: What losses or significant changes has your child experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic? 
• Feelings: How has your child handled being out of school, away from their friends, and sheltered in place with your family? 
• Anticipation: What has been your child’s reaction when they knew they were coming back to school? 
• Behavior: Is there anything else about your child’s behavior during the pandemic that you think will help us help them take full advantage of their time with us? 
• Consider adding: How can the school support you? OR What could help your child have more success in school? 

“Remember, this work should never be done alone,” said Laura Ogando, program manager for Digital Literacy & Inclusion, NYCDOE. “When we’re working on these topics, we need to connect to the support community, and involve our social workers, guidance counselors, school psychologists -- there’s an array of folks in the building.” 

During the pandemic, social media was cited by students as important for keeping connected to family and friends, staying informed about current events, and getting information about COVID-19, according to research by Common Sense. 

In addition, there’s been a marked increase in hate speech online, and learning to navigate all this is an essential part of good digital citizenship. “It’s important to teach our students how to be upstanders,” Horowitz said. “How do they address and report people when they see this kind of hate speech, and how do they handle it when it’s hitting themselves as well.” 

SEL and digital citizenship lessons. Common Sense Education offers a plethora of free, vetted SEL-focused lessons.

“The beauty of these activities is that a lot are quick, 15-minute activities, which is great when you need to address something but don’t want to take up an hour,” Ogando said. “It’s all just very practical. These lessons are not necessarily bounded by grade. Some students may not have gotten these lessons when they were younger.”

Many Common Sense lessons start with self, and then go to responsible decision-making, and then finally widens out into social awareness. 

Different lessons that span across various grade bands are available. For example, during the presentation, one lesson on self-management was shared. It focuses on teaching children to say goodbye to technology by developing a three-step routine consisting of pausing, breathing, and finishing up. Act out scenarios are partnered with the lessons to help students learn to use the lessons, and space is also provided for students to reflect on the lesson.

Another lesson that was shared focuses on being a “super” digital citizen who makes sure other students make good choices and are safe, responsible, and respectful. Other shared lessons explored digital “drama” and considering other peoples’ perspectives as well as dealing with online and digital relationships. 

Every lesson also has a family conversation piece and is available in Spanish. “It’s a good opportunity for families to share their thoughts and ideas around these topics as well,”  Horowitz said. 

Finding what works best. To help lower stress and prevent online burnout, it’s important to remind students that they can put conversations on mute, turning off notifications or stepping back before responding. Or that they can even disconnect completely by putting down their device and just going outside. 

“We’re working to help our students find what works best for them versus what the tech company says works best for them,” Horowitz said. 

• How to Teach Digital Citizenship
• Supporting Digital Citizenship During Remote Learning

Wondering how to talk to teens glued to their phones who primarily communicate through SnapChat and TikTok? The new book, Does Your Teen Talk? No, But They Text, Snap, and TikTok, offers tips to get adults and teens talking more in a digital world. 

Author Nicole Rice, a high school technology teacher from New York, collected years of insight from teens to conclude that they really do want to have conversations and form stronger relationships with adults. The trick is learning how to have these conversations when battling for their attention. 

Here are 5 tips that parents and teachers can take to better communicate with teens:

1. Text me, Snap me 

Texting may be the best way to communicate with a teen who is attached to their phone as if it’s a new appendage. It may be the only way until you reel them back in. Email isn’t a sure thing, but you have a 100% chance that a teen has opened your text. They may not reply, but they will see it. 

On average, teenagers send more than 100 texts per day and mainly communicate through Snapchat and TikTok. Teens have groups to stay in touch with friends and family, so creating a Snapchat group with your students can be a great way to collaborate on a class project with pictures, messages, and emojis all in one place. 

Lola, age 13 says, “My mom and dad don’t understand technology at all, and it drives me crazy.” Talk to your students on their platforms, and you can have a whole conversation motivating your class and it does not even have to be in complete sentences. A text saying, “DNF your test tomorrow and GL” (“Don’t forget your text tomorrow, and good luck”) just might lead to more time studying than saying it as they walk out your classroom door.

2. "Class, take out your cell phones" 

Cell phones are an integral part of a teen’s life. Jay, 17, says, “When my phone is broken, I can not do anything else until it is fixed.” 

Join students on their turf and encourage them to use their phones for exploration lessons. It is surely better than fighting for their attention while they hear their phone vibrating in their book bag under their seat with every new notification and cannot concentrate on anything else. 

Ninety-four percent of students want to use their phones for school research, so encourage them to learn the proper way to find reliable sources, fact check, and download information, all without ever leaving their spot. Teens and smartphones are an unstoppable force and seeing the adults in their life giving them credit for using their device in productive and fun ways can be a great environment in which teens want to learn. 

3. Get street smart 

Become street smart, such as hallway monitors naturally do. You hear teens talking, and sometimes it can shock you, but monitors learn what students are going through and can provide insight -- boys are not mad at one another all that much, or don’t stay mad at least; girls get offended by the hour, and are best friends this week and enemies next week, and then it’s like nothing ever happened. 

Jamie, 16, says, “I have FOMO (fear of missing out) all day, every day, every minute, wondering if I should be somewhere else.” Give teens a place to go, and allow them to have group meetings in your classroom much like when they have their friends over to their house.  You want to know in person who they are hanging out with and that they are doing good things. When they come, make the environment unique and welcoming, offer snacks, a clean place to sit, technology access, or a fun atmosphere so they don't just end up in their room at home with the door closed.

4. Make a TikTok 

During quarantine together and shelter in place, kids were roping their parents into creating content. 

Sarah, 15, says what she likes to do most for fun is, “Scrolling through TikTok and making TikToks with anyone that will.” Kids spend hours each day engaging in ideas with one another through screens. So teachers can tap into these connections with their students; the same also applies to parents. Encouraging creativity in connecting is the hook in how to communicate better with teens. 

In our digital video classes, you see kids creating TikTok videos that include all the production parts of the intro, supporting content, and a snappy conclusion, all while engaging and sharing their final project with a real audience. You cannot get a more suitable audience to motivate kids to do their best work than their own followers, and future followers they gain from making remarkable content. 

Teens also need to see the purpose or reason they are learning something or you are going to get the “Cuts like a knife" reaction of "Why do we have to know this?" Or worse, "I am never going to use this."

5. Know the code 

The coded language of teens can be good to know. Teens can be creative and quick with social media acronyms. Educating yourself on some of the slang so you can better understand what teenagers are saying and show you too are keeping up can lead to better messages over devices. 

Some acronyms may surprise you as well, such as POS (Parent Over Shoulder) or Salty (upset or mad over something minor). Chris, 16, says, “I scroll through my dad’s phone all the time to see memes he sends the guys, but I don’t want him even glancing at my screen.”

Find more tips on talking to social media-addicted teens, including real hallway stories, real quotes from the teens, and cartoons to help you survive having teenagers in your day in Does Your Teen Talk? No, But They Text, Snap, and TikTok. Order the Amazon Audible version here. 

Email the author at nicole@deruyterlake.com to receive a code for a free audiobook version. 

• How Can TikTok Be Used in the Classroom?
• Best Tools for Teachers

BBC iReporter

Spot real stories, dodge fake news in cheeky media literacy sim

Pros: Gameplay is silly and fun, and it takes critical thinking and media literacy savvy to succeed.

Cons: Students probably won't want to play it more than once, and teachers will have to come up with context-setting and reflection activities on their own.

Bottom Line: A refreshingly modern way for students to explore how to filter and interpret info and media during breaking news events.

[PBS Announces Free Media Literacy Micro-Credentials for PreK-12 Educators]

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

One way to inspire students to be lifelong learners is to teach them how to collect, categorize, curate, and tag resources with a social bookmarking tool or app. I have listed some of my favorites for students and teachers below. Social bookmarking makes research fun, engaging, and collaborative. Social bookmarking helps students visualize and personalize their learning in boards, magazines, or walls!  Get students to create collections for each unit, topic, or project or use any of these tools to share additional resources for a project. With one of the tools below you could easily share with students a collection that includes checklists, rubrics, tutorials and more for a task.

Tools and Apps

• Wakelet is a free curation tool and app where students add videos, photos, quotes, Flipgrid videos, and more collected from the web! This tool also supports struggling students with the Immersive Reader feature.
• Diigo is a web tool, iOS / Android app, and extension to annotate, curate, and bookmark resources found online. Diigo also allows students to annotate pdfs and tag their bookmarks.
• Pearltrees is a web tool, iOS / Android app, and extension to categorize, curate and visualize bookmarks. The bookmarks turn up as thumbnails on a board. Students can move them around and name their boards of thumbnails.
•  Scoop.it is a web tool and extension to annotate, curate, and bookmark resources in a digital board.
• Google Keep is the web tool, extension, and app to annotate, curate and bookmark.
• Symbaloo is a web tool, extension and app which displays your bookmarks as icons.
• Livebinders is a web tool, iOS / Android app, and extension made for educators to place bookmarks as tabs in a digital notebook. Students can also make each tab look like a web page.
• Pinterest is a web tool, iOS / Android app, and extension to annotate, curate, and bookmark resources visually. I use this tool with my college language learners. Check out my students Pinterest boards of their digital portfolios here.
• Cube for Teachers is a new web tool I recently learned about. Teachers create a free profile to share a list of bookmarks with other teachers.
• Flipboard is a web tool, iOS app, and extension to curate bookmarks into a digital magazine.

cross posted at teacherrebootcamp.com

Shelly Terrell is a Technology and Computer teacher, education consultant, and author of books including Hacking Digital Learning Strategies: 10 Ways to Launch EdTech Missions in Your Classroom. Read more at teacherrebootcamp.com.

Modern, minimalist fake news game has players be the bad guys

Pros: Supports multiple languages and the minimalist design makes it very easy to follow.

Cons: The emphasis on how Twitter might not be relatable to students; choices tend to lead to similar outcomes.

Bottom Line: Quick, fun, and to-the-point, this game gets at the social mechanics behind viral falsehoods.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

FreshGrade  announces the launch of FreshGrade Next. Using the same technology as consumer social media, the platform gives administrators, teachers, students and families access to a communication system that simplifies interaction and emphasizes engagement.  FreshGrade Next is a learning network that combines elements of lesson planners, portfolios, communication systems and gradebooks into a unified experience.   

FreshGrade Next integrates four staple FreshGrade resources into one network:  

 ● Lesson Planning
– With lesson planning, teachers craft a shared journey that aligns activities to standards, frameworks and assessments while maintaining flexible control over lessons to meet school and district requirements.
 ● Portfolio
– The digital portfolio brings student work to life through student-driven personalization, a learning journal, and diverse media to demonstrate learning.
 ● Communication System
– The communication system builds community with real-time insights, a conversation toolset and mobile access to make engagement equitable.
 ● Flexible Gradebook
– The gradebook guides students to success, with features including flexible assessment, an evidence-driven gradebook and the ability to group students in any way that supports learning. The gradebook enables standards- or score-based grading.   

Interested teachers can create a free account and setup classes for next year.  See it in action at booth 646 during the ISTE 2019 Conference.  

NewsFeed Defenders

Social media simulation builds news literacy skills  

Pros: Lifelike news and social media feeds offer a safe, controlled environment.

Cons: There's not much in-game feedback on why choices are correct or incorrect.

Bottom Line: This is a great tool to kick off critical discussions about news and social media. 

Read more here.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Haben Girma, the first deaf-blind student to graduate Harvard Law spoke at an Accessibility Expo to a New York City Department of Education audience about the importance of sharing positive disability stories and services available. 

At the Expo attendees saw amazing work happening in schools with students. If you did not have the opportunity to attend, you don't have a way to find out about what's happening. That's because schools, districts, government agencies, and those who use their services, often can do a  better job of sharing. They forget about sharing their QR codes and hashtags and websites. They forget to celebrate on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.

As a result, important stories and services are not widely known. Haben Girma has useful advice for how educators about how they can do a better job of posting positive stories. 

Girma advises the following:
 

Frame

Frame the story in a respectful, positive way.  

Post accessibly

If you're posting a video, make sure the video has captions. 

If you're posting a photo, add an alt text.

You can learn from Girma directly in the video below. You can also find out how she is able to communicate with hearing person communicate. When you visit the video, turn on the captions. You'll see why they are helpful for people with and without disabilities. 

Want to know more? Check out Girma's Brief Guide to Producing Positive Disability Stories.  

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal. 

Social media enables us to produce content for authentic audiences. However, it is also important to ensure this content is inclusive. That means making photos accessible. To do this, the creator of the post must include alternative text (alt text). Unfortunately, it's not baked into most platforms without taking a few extra steps. 

The NYC Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities offers the following guidance. 

Adding Alt Text to Social Media

• Twitter - First, enable alt-text within your account settings under “accessibility.” Then, before tweeting an image you will receive a prompt that says “add description.” 
• Facebook - When posting an image, tap “edit photo” and then “add alt-text.” 
• Instagram - When posting, go to “advanced settings” and then “write alt-text.” 
• Blogger - Click on the photo. Select properties and then "write alt-text."

What makes good alt text? 

Good alt text has a good description. Descriptions are usually one sentence. Below are five questions to ask yourself when creating alt text:

1. Who is in the photo?

           Main person(s)

           Additional people

2. What are they doing?

3. When was the photo taken?

4. Where is the photo being taken?

          Was the photo taken at an event or occasion? 

           If so, what was it?

5. Why is the photo being taken?

These are also questions that can be used to make a good photo caption. 

Classroom Applications

Innovative educators understand that today's students must not only know how to  produce content. Students also must know how to produce accessible content. 

Find some content from student's learning materials or current events. Ask students what alt text they might create using these five questions. Have students share the alt text they've created and discuss which option might be best and why.     

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal. 

Facebook has a mentorship program available to people within select groups with a focus on parenting, professional, or personal development. This means admins can offer this feature to members of their groups. Those who are members of groups using this feature can offer or find support. Members can determine how much time they want to spend together and what goals you want to work towards. 

Here’s how it works 

Group admins create a mentorship program

Admins can choose from a variety of template programs, such as career advancement, skill development, or encouragement and support, and select the one that best fits their community’s needs.

People sign up as a mentor/ mentee

Group members can sign up to be a mentor or a mentee then create a profile indicating what they’re looking for support with, or how they might be able to provide support. All group members can see these answers and start a mentorship conversation with you in Messenger. 

Mentors:

•  Explain what you can help with: Talk about strengths / skills.
• Be yourself: Mention a hobby or interest.
• Share why you want to help: Let people know what inspired you to do this.
• Reaching you: Indicate preferred ways and times to communicate.

Mentees:

• Share what you need help with: Talk about the kind of support you need.
• Be yourself: Mention a hobby or interest. It will help people to get to know you. 
• Describe what kind of mentor you need: Include qualities or specific kinds of experience that will help you.
• Reaching you: List your preferred ways and times to communicate.

Here is what happens each week

Week 1: Get to Know Each Other 

Introduce yourself and share what you hope to get out of this program. Discuss what will make this mentorship more successful like how you prefer to communicate and what your schedule is like. Tell each other about your current jobs. What do you love about it? What do you wish was different?

Week 2 – 7: Continue Getting to Know Each Other

During these weeks topics discussed include:

What was your first job?

What's a good piece of advice someone gave you?

Describe a trip you took that was memorable.

If you had a free day, how would you spend it?

Talk about someone you admire

What's something you've done that you're proud of?

Week 8: Identify Your Strengths

Make a list of your favorite and least inspiring parts of your work. Discuss ways your career can be aligned to interests.

Week 9: Setting Goals

What career goals fit your strengths? What small steps you can take to achieve your career goals.

Week 10: Making a Plan

Work with your mentor to identify what steps you need to take in order to achieve your goal in the ideal amount of time.

Week 11: Measuring Success

Take some time to reflect on your progress so far. Have you reached some of your goals?

Week 12: Celebrating Wins

Review all that you have accomplished together!

Your turn

What do you think? Is this something you would want to be a part of in a group in which you participate? How could you use this in your work? 

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.   

Biblionasium 

Site for reviewing and sharing books makes reading a social adventure

Pros: It's clean, colorful, and really appealing to young readers; all instruction is written in kid-friendly language.

Cons: There isn't much room for kids to write reviews in their own words.

Bottom Line: This safe, simple social network lets kids share their reading success with friends, creating healthy competition and confidence. 

Read more here.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

On the first day of #SXSWedu I went to a panel session around media literacy. The panel consisted of educators and representatives from KQED and PBS. During the course of the discussion, one of the panelists mentioned that the term “media literacy” is really built around new forms of media.

When becoming literate in film, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, social media, etc, it’s about learning new forms of media. The term “literacy” is still centered around reading and writing. Thus, anything listed as “Media” literacy must be new.

I looked up the official definition of “literate” on Merriam-Webster’s website and this was the result:

In this definition, reading and writing is tied to literacy. However, some of the other definitions like “having knowledge or competence” is an interesting angle that is used with media literacy. Adding the word “media” as stated in the definition would mean you would have knowledge or competence of the media.

A different panelist brought up the point that if you have an Alexa or Google Home in your house, that you’ve just included a new form of media (A.I.) to learn and become literate in. That said, many people add these tools without thoughts of learning how to really use or leverage them.  They don’t think about the long-term consequences of a tool capturing your verbal data over time. As I wrote about last year, one of my main parenting fails was buying and Echo Dot for each of my kids, so this really hit home with me.

That said, I think that banning or turning away all new forms of media is also not productive or a good long-term solution.  Becoming literate in a tool, as by the definition above, means you understand the downsides as well as the positives to using such a tool.  That’s what we need to be teaching kids.

I threw out this concept around the term media literacy on Twitter during the event:

 Here were a few of the responses: 

 Patrick’s thought here is where I was leaning originally and would be more in line with the Merriam-Webster definition. Just list items that have tech in them as media items that we need to become literate in, but then list the more traditional (books) as literacy. However, when he mentions digital or analog, it starts to throw me off a bit as digital means technology.  In an attempt to summarize: Not all technology is media, but some could be considered literacy.  Here’s another couple of thoughts: 

All of the above tweets refer to how the term can influence certain thoughts. This is where I really started to have a conundrum. In some ways, the way I was posting and gathering this data on Twitter is considered a form of (social) Media literacy. The idea that reading=consuming media and writing=creating media seems to make the most sense to me.

Using those ideas and removing the term “media” would insinuate that the person that has set up an AI home assistant would know how to “consume” it (have it play you music, give you a joke) as well as “create” with it (have it add to a shopping list or program it to flash your lights when a message comes in).

This new form literacy in the AR/VR world looks fairly weighted at the moment to the consumptive side of literacy. We are interacting and consuming virtual worlds or augmented material, but very few are actually creating in this space. My thinking is, as this becomes much more user-friendly through apps like ARMakr or Panoform, we’ll start to create with these tools and become more literate in their use as a result.

After writing all of this, I’m now beginning to wonder if the definition of literacy or to be literate needs to be reexamined. One of our amazing middle school teachers shared this:

It’s clear in the future, that students (and adults) will need to interact with multiple forms of media. Becoming literate in those forms of media will not hurt them, it can only help to give them an advantage in the future work place. Knowing that, we would be doing a disservice to the future of our students to not show them how to interact with multiple forms of media. Making them literate, thoughtful, empathetic and impactful members of society is one of the most powerful things we can do as an institution.

Creating this literacy doesn’t happen without the right tools, teachers, leaders, and mindsets when it comes to using all of this “media” in our world. 

cross-posted at https://hookedoninnovation.com

Carl Hooker has been a part of a strong educational shift with technology integration since becoming an educator. As Director of Innovation & Digital Learning at Eanes ISD, he has helped spearhead the LEAP program, which put one-to-one iPads in the hands of all K-12 students in his 8000-student district. He is also the founder of “iPadpalooza”- a three-day “learning festival” held in Austin annually. He's also the author of the six-book series titled Mobile Learning Mindset, a guide for teachers, administrators, parents and others to support and embrace mobile learning in our schools. Read more at Hooked on Innovation.  

If you are a member, moderator, or admin of any Facebook group, you may have heard a buzz that they are kicking out members unless they prove they are active. 

Is this true?

Let's look at the buzz.  Some admins are complaining that they're losing thousands of members. Some are saying they weren't informed in advance and there is no way to appeal. To prevent this, some admins are encouraging members to show some activity to stay in the group.  

Here's an example:

 However, this isn't what is actually happening.  

What is happening is that Facebook wants authentic membership rather than falsely inflated groups.  This happens when admins and moderators invite hundreds or thousands of people who never asked to be invited. These people are in the group, even if they never accept the invitation. What happens when unscrupulous admins do this is thatgroups look popular, when they're really not.

What Facebook has done is moved those people who were not active to the "invited" list. It looks like this: 

 If an admin thinks that person may actually want to be in your group, they can send a reminder to accept the invitation.  You can read more details on group invites at Facebook's help center.

There is also something called "unavailable." These are people who have deactivated their account or are no longer members of the group.

It looks like this: 

 You can read more details about unavailable group members at the Facebook help center.

Here is the notification Facebook provided for group admins:  

 The Verdict

This is a move by Facebook to create more authentic groups. This means groups that represent those who are active and care about the topic of the group. The result for members is that they are aware of the people who choose to be in and interact in the group. The result for admins is that they can see who really wants to be in the group as well as those who've deactivated their accounts or removed themselves from the group. 

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.   

Heard 

Parent communication and resource-sharing tool keeps families engaged 

Pros: The familiar interface will help parents get on board quickly, and the site's well-designed for productivity.

Cons: As with any social media tool, keeping up with parent comments can overwhelm, and some users may not respect the guidelines.

Bottom Line: With a mindful onboarding process, Heard has great potential to be a go-to tool for parent involvement and community building. 

Read more here.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

More and more district and school staff are catching on to the advice of superintendents like  Joe Sanfelippo who encourage staff to take every opportunity to say good things about their school. 

Sanfelippo's not alone. Supt Daniel Frazier has put together a list of more than 1500 Tweeting supts. When the person in charge takes seriously the power of telling our own stories staff start to follow suit. 

However, they also need guidance. When educators share and celebrate successes, they serve as role models. It's important to provide some direction on what to keep in mind when posting to social media. 

Guidance On Posting Like A Role Model

Some advice on how to post responsibly and in ways that garner engagement.  

Remember the Golden Rule

Praise and celebrate publicly, advise or criticize privately 

Help others be better

Ask yourself this: After people read our posts, are they better than when they started to read? If so, post freely. If not reconsider. More on this at this post from Cool Cat Teacher Vicki Davis 

Be consistent 

Remember to convey your brand / image 

Tag 

• Tag people (with permission) 
• Places 

Hashtag 

• Know the right hashtags 
• Limit hashtags to one or two for more engagement
• Tweets with more than two hashtags have less engagement 

Use Images 

• Posts with images draw more attention
• They are twice as likely to have engagement
• Use original images

Include Links

• Tweets with links receive a higher retweet rate 
• Lets people know where they can learn more

Post Accessibly 

• Use alt text for images 
• Use plain language 
• Use camel case for hashtags First letter of each word in caps i.e. #EdTech

Your Turn

What do you think? Can you keep this guidance in mind when posting? Is there anything you'd do differently? Anything missing? 

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.   

32%  Say their favorite way to communicate with friends is in person. Down from 49% in 2012.

54% Agree that using social media “often distracts” them when they should be paying attention to the people they’re with. Up from 44% in 2012.

42% Agree that time with social media “has taken away from time I could be spending with friends in person.” Up from 34% in 2012.

72% Believe that tech companies manipulate users to spend more time on their devices.

44% Get frustrated with friends for being on their phones so much when they’re hanging out together.

68%  Agree that “social media has a negative impact on many people my age.”

33% Say they wish their parents would spend less time on their devices. Up from 21% in 2012.

Some teens silence their phones “all” or “most” of the time:

Some teens don’t ever or hardly ever silence their phones:

Social Media, Social Life: Teens Reveal Their Experiences, Common Sense Media, 2018.

https://tinyurl.com/yatbyctf

Assessing Soft Skills: Are We Preparing Students for Successful Futures?

It’s equally important to assess academic knowledge and nonacademic skills, such as teamwork, critical thinking, and creativity:

80%  Of Americans believe that schools’ development of students’ interpersonal skills is very or extremely important to school quality.

40% Of Americans are confident that standardized tests can measure these skills.

10% Of teachers say the formal and informal assessments used by their schools to gauge nonacademic skills measure them “very” well.

52% Of parents believe the quality of education their children are receiving is better than they received.

https://tinyurl.com/yc6ws2ut

[The Real Way to Avoid Hearing from the Same 26 Facebook Friends]

Twitter

Smart classroom tool if used with care; priceless for PLNs

Pros: Its energetic, fast-paced communication appeals to those who like to be "in the know."

Cons: Safety and privacy issues definitely come into play with kid Twitter use.

Bottom Line: Twitter offers something for everyone: information, resources, and an easy way to connect with just about anyone.

Read more here.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

By Common Sense Education

Common Sense today published a new research report, Social Media, Social Life: Teens Reveal Their Experiences.

[GoGuardian Announces Beacon, Self-Harm Prevention Tool for Schools]

Highlights include:

• Teens are on social media for much of the day. Seventy percent of teens use social media multiple times a day (up from 34 percent in 2012) with 16 percent saying they use it "almost constantly" and a total of 38 percent saying they use it multiple times an hour.
• Social media distracts them from some important stuff. Fifty-seven percent agree that social media often distracts them when they should be doing homework, and 54 percent of teens say that using social media "often distracts me when I should be paying attention to the people I'm with."
• Exposure to hate speech is on the rise, while cyberbullying is less common.All told, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of teen social media users in 2018 say they "often" or "sometimes" come across racist, sexist, homophobic, or religious-based hate content in social media. Thirteen percent of teens report "ever" being cyberbullied, and more than one in five teens (23 percent) has tried to help someone who has been cyberbullied.

For a summary of key findings and to download the full report, visit.www.commonsensemedia.org.

[Do you have an innovative edtech product? Nominate it for the Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence Contest! Click here for details]

It’s the most wonderful time of the year on Facebook. In my feed alone, hundreds of freshly scrubbed, smiling kids scroll by, some holding signs of their upcoming grade year. Many of these kids I have never met, but know who they are thanks to my connections to their parents. Creepy? I don’t think so. Of course it’s easy to find the scare stories where “experts” warn about identity theft and worse. I call hogwash. The collective sharing of positive life moments, especially when it comes to next generations, is a good thing IMHO. —Kevin Hogan, Content Director

[The Real Way to Avoid Hearing from the Same 26 Facebook Friends]

Innovative educators are generally good fact checkers and don't fall for chain social posts like the one making its rounds about seeing the same 26 people on Facebook. They know to verify and that even a basic search on The Google will help you find out if what you are reading is fact or fake.

A reason so many people were quick to believe "the same 26 people" story is because Facebook does have an algorithm that limits the posts you see. Fortunately, there are fast, simple, and logical ways to change that.

1) View "Most Recent"

From your home page, change your News Feed from "Top Stories" to "Most Recent."

2) Edit Preferences

Under most recent you'll see an option to "Edit Preferences." Select that.

3) Set priorities

This is most important. You can select what and who you want to see first. Go in and select if you want to see friends only, pages only, or specific people. If you click "People you see first" it will show you a list of your selections.

[Simple Tip for Quality Posting & Consuming on Facebook]

4) Unfollow people and groups

You don't have to unfriend anyone. Just stop following them. Same goes for groups and pages. If you don't want to see updates, just update preferences.

5) Reconnect

If you decide Uncle Joe or that nosy colleague aren't so bad after all, don't worry. You can always reconnect.

6) Discover Pages

Facebook will suggest to you pages you may want to follow. If you're looking to add more to your news feed, just click "Like."

7) See more options

Was there an app that you hid, but you don't want to hide it any more? Don't worry. Go to "See more options" and select "Show."

8) Snooze, Hide, or Unfollow right from your feed.

You don't need to search and know everyone you'd like to stop seeing posts from off the top of your head. If you notice a friend shares particular boring posts, just click on the three dots at the top right of their post and you have the option to unfollow them there. If you're sick of seeing posts about the president, just select "Hide post" and you'll see fewer such posts. If you can't stand how much your brother-in-law posts during football season, but really like following him other times of the year, just "snooze" him for 30 days.

If you really want control over your news feed, no need to beg your friends to leave a comment. Just follow these 8 tips. It's an instant fix. Involves just you. It's customized and it works!

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several books and her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.

While it may be an unfortunate reality that disturbed people will post threatening things online, there may be hope that their actions won’t mean lockdowns or other disturbances to the school day. Three recent incidents in Florida, Wisconsin, and Utah suggest that the best solution may be the most simple—see something, say something. In each case, a student posted a threat, a fellow student immediately reported it, and authorities promptly responded. Occam’s razor for the win! —Kevin Hogan, Content Director

[Need to Know: Cybersecurity]

Voyager Sopris Learning today announced the launch of a social movement. Called “#,” the movement aims to give educators and students a voice, allows them to illustrate what makes them “more,” and to share their untapped potential. As part of the movement’s launch, Voyager Sopris Learning is partnering with WeAreTeachers.

[21 Things Every 21st Century Educator Should Try This Year ]

A component of the movement is a contest that gives educators a chance to win a $1,000 grand prize for their classroom, as well as other prizes. Educators will print posters and distribute them to students who will answer the prompt, “I am more than … ”. Participants are then asked to take a photo or video with their poster and upload it to Instagram or Twitter with #IAmMore, tagging @WeAreTeachers, or they can upload it directly to the contest website. Entrants’ photos will become part of the #IAmMore gallery, from which the winner and 25 runners-up will be chosen.

In addition to the grand prize, the runners-up will receive a bundle of classroom goodies, including an Instax camera and film, art supplies, and more. The contest ends Oct. 31 with winners to be announced by Nov. 9.

To access the contest website, visit www.weareteachers.com/contest/iammore.

Think about some of the recent movie blockbusters like The Avengers, Justice League, and X-Men. Yes, these are fictional characters, but what do they have in common? They are all stories of individuals combining their talents to achieve a common goal. Collaboration produces victory in the world of blockbuster movies and can help you do the same in education.

Unlike professionals who work in the private sector, educators spend most of the day with children in classrooms. How can school leaders find ways for educators to work together when it’s hard for them to find even a few minutes to use the bathroom, let alone collaborate with their peers? Technology has given us new and exciting ways to connect! Whether it is a live virtual meeting, Twitter chat, recorded webinars, or simply a series of emails, technology has given us ways to connect like never before.

Think about what we tell our students to do when they have a question: “Ask three before me” or “Work with a partner.” As leaders, we need to empower and encourage our staff to do the same. Our professional experiences have allowed us to collaborate with a variety of our colleagues, which has transformed both of our own practices. From the Tech and Learning Leadership Summits to MassCUE and other regional and national conferences, presenting at and attending these events has helped us expand our PLNs to include colleagues from around the country.

[TOP 10 FOR PLNS]

With this reach, our PLN is always there for us to connect, learn, ask a question, or just send a funny Gif for a laugh. Forming these professional relationships can encourage more risk taking. You can present together, write articles/blogs/newsletters (case in point with this article), or visit schools to collaborate.

These collaborations are incredibly valuable, but where do you begin? Here are some of the best ways to start growing your PLNs:

• Twitter Chats: Twitter Chats are an amazing way to meet others in your similar role who are outside of your classroom, building, state, or country. Follow a hashtag of interest to you to see past chats and information for future chats that highlight your area of interest. Use tools like TweetDeck to help you launch your own hashtag and get a conversation started.
• Events: Attending conferences gives you an opportunity to broaden your PLN by meeting tons of new people. Attending conferences, EdCamps, or meetups allows you to you find (or expand) your passion and purpose while increasing your opportunity to meet professionals who share that passion.

Be strategic as you channel your purpose and passion during the events to maximize collaboration. Challenge yourself to meet new professionals--you’ll be motivated to share learning as your PLC grows. After the event, keep the learning going by connecting with your new PLN members though emails, tweets, voxer, or in person.

• Organizations: Organizations that include your colleagues can be extremely advantageous in collaboration. Special Interest Groups (SIGs) often meet virtually via Google Hangout, Skype, or videoconferencing services like Zoom. Create and add to Google Docs to keep the ideas and collaboration flowing.

When working together, it’s easy to look at what needs to be “fixed” rather than what is going well. It’s important to recognize and encourage the good work we do collaboratively and build upon it. Tweet it out, shout it out, or put it in a blog or article! As the new school year begins, think of new ways you can collaborate to get outside of your own walls.

Matthew X. Joseph, EdD (@MatthewXJoseph) is the director of digital learning and innovation at Milford (MA) Public Schools. Erin Fisher, MEd (@MrsErinFisher) is the tech integration specialist at East Bridgewater (MA) Public Schools.

When it comes to poor behavior online, most of the time the focus is on “kids these days.” Unfortunately, some adults can’t seem to handle it either. This former North Dakota middle-school teacher apparently asked students to refer to her as “Kim Kardashian” and shared hundreds of sexually explicit videos and photos via Snapchat with two male students. This teacher was arrested after confronting a news reporter regarding his Twitter account, which featured tweets questioning why there is no white history month and criticizing the looks of participants in marches for women's rights. And this educator was charged with creating a false alarm after he posted Facebook comments related to an "unvetted rumor" of gun violence at Williamstown Middle School. Will there ever come a time where people think before they click?
—Kevin Hogan, Content Director

[Bad PD is Sometimes Your Own Fault]

Have you really thought about the nature of social media? Most of us use it. I've even praised it, but lately I have begun to really examine it and its use in my own life. We users of social media often forget that it has specific design characteristics whose purpose is perhaps not what we think.For example, we have been fond of praising the ability of Twitter to allow us to connect with others. But is being "followed" or "following someone" a "connection?" Or, are we connected simply because the medium, in this case Twitter, has declared us connected? Connection, of course is in the words of the definer. We all have our versions of it, but I can't help but wonder if having former president Barack Obama as a follower and on my followed list is truly a connection. In my thinking it's not. He and I have never exchanged a word. For all I know, a publicist is the one who made the decision of who ends up on his followed list. That certainly destroys in my mind any thought of authentic connection. If I really want to connect with someone, we certainly have to have more than a declaration from Twitter or a few brief word exchanges in the form of a Tweet. But is connection really the purpose of Twitter?

[Time for a Little Heretical Thought in the Ed Tech World]

I really think the purpose, whether we Twitter users ever acknowledge it or not, is unabashedly self-promotion. It is one gigantic ego-inflation device where we can be someone and attempt to break out of our meager corners of the world and try to be a celebrity. Twitter's ego-inflation system is used by us to try to stir the world either up or in our direction. After all, in the United States, we currently have a "Tweeter-in-Chief" who knows too well about its ego-inflation abilities. He uses it as a blaring horn that declares for the world who he is and how great he is. Haven't we all felt a bit that same way when something we've posted on Twitter gets "retweeted" and "liked" many times? Our ego becomes a bit more inflated with each of these.

Perhaps we should give up the race for retweets and likes and more followers. After all, just the idea of these is truly more about us than we think. We wear these like medals. Some even like to remind others in their tweets just how many followers and unfollowers they have. If connecting with others were our true goal, it wouldn't be about the numbers of followers we have, nor would it be about how much of our Tweets echo about Twitterverse. It would be about the depth and authenticity of our relationships and discussions between other people in that world. Instead, we are prodded by this ego-inflation device to post in order to declare loudly what we want the world to see as us, but this "us" is simply a shadow in cyberspace.

What should we then do with Twitter? (Or Facebook, Instagram, etc. for that matter) I am not entirely ready to delete my accounts as Jaron Lanier recently argues in his book Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now. That seems draconian to me at this point, but it is worth consideration. Instead, I am going to own up to what Twitter (and social media) is, as I've come to see it. I might even conduct some experiments with it. For example, instead of just playing by Twitter's rules of "retweet" and "likes," I might seek NOT to have my tweets liked and retweeted. It is said that our world does not like to have reality thrown back into its face, so why not use Twitter and other social media as a means to question its created reality? Why not be truly real and post what we really are thinking instead of seeking validation of others through their liking and retweeting of what we have to say? Also, since Twitter seems to be a powerful "self-promotion" device as well as a idea-promotion device, perhaps I can use it authentically in that manner?

Considering the American character, is it really a surprise that social media like Twitter is an American invention? We've long since liked self-promoting ourselves through our own exceptionalist beliefs. We historically throughout our past have had leaders talk about us being a beacon to the rest of the world, a light in a world of darkness. Twitter, no doubt, provides us with a personal mega-horn, or so we think, to shout "What's happening?" in our lives and in our worlds that we think might serve as a beacon for others. But have we really stopped to think, are we really reading all those "tweets" in our timelines? Is anyone reading them? Or if we're reading them, are simply looking for words that also validate our view of the world? Then, because we've chosen whom to follow, these words are like the words of so many cyber-sycophants, only telling us what we want to hear?

cross posted at the21stcenturyprincipal.blogspot.com

J. Robinson has decades of experience as a K12 Principal, Teacher, and Technology Advocate. Read more at The 21st Century Principal.

What does it mean to be literate? What does it mean to be illiterate? I think about the definition and the notion of literacy quite a bit.

I define literacy as the ability to read and write and being able to express and communicate our ideas to others.

Looking back at history, we know that the ability to read and write were in the hands of the clergy (male) and the aristocracy (male) . The common people (and women) were illiterate in the basic notion of being able to read, let alone to communicate in writing. They HAD to rely on the “elite” (and males) to choose (filter) what kind of information they would pass on. By the time they received this information, it had already been manipulated by the literates own agendas, by the literates own perspectives and beliefs, for their advantage and their future plans.

The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440, changed everything. Suddenly print was able to be duplicated and disseminated like never before. Mass printing made books more affordable and more topics were being printed. Information now did not only come from the church or the noble class, it was accessible to many more directly with the ability to read.

I believe we are at a moment in time and history where there is a new gap forming between literate and illiterate. Ask yourself, on which side you consider yourself to be on? Can you read? Can you write? Can you express and communicate your ideas effectively?

Can you read a tweet (1) that mentions a hashtag? Can you follow and continue reading a conversation that is ongoing via that hashtag (2)? Can you continue the thread of the conversation (3) by following the link to a video (4) that mentions a book (5)? Can you research an unknown word from that book (mentioned in the video) that was introduced and is being frequently used in that book?

Can you read non-linear, transmedia and across multiple platforms? Do you have access to a network that will funnel and filter information in the age of information overload? Do you understand the mechanics of fake news campaigns in order to recognize characteristics? Are you trapped in a filter bubble, receiving only information that “can result from personalized searches when a website algorithm selectively guesses what information a user would like to see based on information about the user, such as location, past click-behavior and search history.”?

[Digital Portfolios and Content]

The gap between literate and illiterate in digital spaces started way back, when the Internet and World Wide Web were young. Do you remember AOL? Remember their initial screen when you first logged on? Remember that they tried to make it easy for these new Internet users to find their way and to get to their news. They chose to filter what type of information would be displayed, what topics users could choose from. Instead of learning to read and write, the “common folk” took the easy way to have someone create a portal for them and make these choices for them.

Fast forward 25 years and we can continue to observe how some (many?) can’t read from a digital source/platform. News channels are more and more sharing screenshots of tweets (for example) and are then proceeding to interprete, connect and manipulate them for their own agendas. They pre-chew selected information in order to then present that information in their own light.

When people solely rely on others to choose what to see and read, they relinquish their right to find, filter, interpret, analyze and make up their own mind. When people don’t have the skills and the ability to read, write, communicate and express their ideas, they have become illiterate!

The skills to READ on digital platforms (including social media networks) are just one of the skills that allow you to consider yourself literate in 2018. What about the ability to WRITE in digital spaces? How developed are you skills? Do you know how to write hyperlinked? How fluent are you in reading and writing in digital spaces?

As we shift and extend our notion of what it means to be literate, we have to acknowledge that merely reading and writing in text form and on analog platforms is simply not enough to call yourself literate. The skills and abilities MUST include reading and writing in various media forms and on multiple platforms INCLUDING digital spaces. We can’t continue to differentiate between our analog and digital world. We live in ONE world after all.

cross posted at langwitches.org/blog

Silvia Tolisano is a Curriculum21 faculty member, author of the book Digital Storytelling Tools for Educators and founder of the Around the World with 80 Schools project. Read more at langwitches.org/blog

In some of my past blog posts, I’ve often talked about how social media fostered conversations and connections. I now confess: I’ve been wrong all these years. It does neither. Social media is more about self-promotion, dividing people, and making useless declarations than it is about connecting people.

To see this, just take a moment to examine your Facebook News Feeds and Twitter timelines. Both of these are riddled with posts from others mostly designed to insult and belittle those who are not part of our tribes and who believe different than we do. For more evidence of the true power of social media, just look at our President whose Twitter posts do more to keep America divided than ever. While we are all complicit in this division and disconnection, it is also inherent in the design flaws for social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. This is because these social media sites are constructed not to foster conversations nor connections. Instead, they are designed to foster shallow declarations, division and the celebration of whoever can make the most outrageous contributions.

In his book, Anti-Social Media: How Facebook Disconnects Use and Undermines Democracy, Siva Vaidhyanathan writes:

“Social media, and Facebook in particular, do not foster conversation. They favor declaration. They do not allow for deep deliberation. They spark shallow reaction."

As an avid social media user of over ten years, I’ve come to the same conclusions as Vaidhyanathan: social media isn’t bringing anyone together. It only provides people the opportunity to shout epithets and disparaging statements at each other, or post photos and anti-conservative or anti-liberal placards all in an effort to get a reaction from those of other tribes. Social media is not a place for civil discussions or deliberation about the issues that concern us. They are simply places where we can post statements that take political jabs towards those who are not of our tribe.

[Building a Better Teacher Through VAMs? Not So Fast]

On many occasions I’ve tried to engage others in conversations and deliberations about various issues (just look back over my Twitter timeline), but it's mostly a waste of time. I’ve also been equally guilty of posting content that tries to incite a reaction from those who believe differently from myself.

The reality is that, on social media, no one convinces any one else of anything. When we use social media, we simply keep exchanging divisive nonsense back and forth, which is what both Twitter and Facebook want and need to exist. Both of these social media sites need users who engage with each other in order to survive. With their systems of “likes,” “retweets,” and “laughing faces,” Facebook and Twitter function like “levers in a Skinner box," as Vaidhyanathan puts it. They manipulate us to post more and more on their sites, and the more inflammatory and reactionary, the better for Facebook and Twitter. The more outrageous the better. Unfortunately, none of this "connection" results in the best interests of community.

Social media has become a tool to divide rather than to bring together for substantive discussion. As an educator, I've been wrong about the potential of this 21st century technology. We as educators have an obligation to stop being "evangelists" for social media, and educate others, including our students on what social media has done and continues to do to American society.

cross posted at the21stcenturyprincipal.blogspot.com

J. Robinson has decades of experience as a K12 Principal, Teacher, and Technology Advocate. Read more at The 21st Century Principal.

Join us for our monthly #NYCSchoolsTechChat on Thursday, July 5th at 7 pm EST.

During this month's chat we'll reflect on past #ISTE experiences and prepare for #ISTE19 taking place in NYC's backyard right in Philadelphia, PA.

#NYCSchoolTech teacher Eileen Lennon moderates with me throwing in my two cents.

• What advice do those who’ve attended #ISTE have for #NYCSchoolsTech newbies? #NYCSchoolsTechChat
• Here’s a fun question. #ISTE19 is in Philly. What must we do, see, eat?
• Call for proposals begins in August. What kind of topics might you submit? Share here and maybe you’ll find others who want to collaborate. https://conference.iste.org/2019
• If you could only attend one day or two days which are most important? Why?
• #ISTE takes place during the school year for #NYCSchoolsTech staff. How can you convince your supervisor to release you? #NYCSchoolsTechChat
• #ISTE is expensive. Best ideas for funding? Also, who wants to share transportation and housing? Shuttle bus? Air B&B? What are your best suggestions? #NYCSchoolsTechChat
• Check out what others said they may want to propose. Any interest in collaborating? Connect. Share what interests you! #NYCSchoolsTechChat

Chat details are below:
Date: Thursday, July 5
Time: 7:00 pm
Topic: #NYCSchoolsTech Summit
Your Host: @eileen_lennon (@NYCSchools)
Co-Host: @InnovativeEdu (@NYCSchools)

[Apple, Google, & Microsoft... Oh My! Which is Best for Your School?]

Remember to respond using the hashtag #NYCSchoolsTechChat and include the number of the question you are answering in your response i.e. A1 and your answer.We hope you can view the chat live, but if you are unable, please visit our archive at https://www.participate.com/chats/nycschoolstechchat. You can also participate in the chat at that link or if you have an iPhone download the app at https://www.participate.com/apps.

Lisa Nielsen writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about learning innovatively and is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on “Passion (not data) Driven Learning,” "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning, and using the power of social media to provide a voice to educators and students. Ms. Nielsen has worked for more than a decade in various capacities to support learning in real and innovative ways that will prepare students for success. In addition to her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator, Ms. Nielsen’s writing is featured in places such as Huffington Post, Tech & Learning, ISTE Connects, ASCD Wholechild, MindShift, Leading & Learning, The Unplugged Mom, and is the author the book Teaching Generation Text.

Have you ever noticed a post on Facebook where rather than seeing responses to the post, instead the thread is cluttered with folks indicating "following" or "f." Stop doing that.

Instead, just turn on notifications.

This way the content stays rich and clean and you get straight to the information you were trying to learn.

Here's how.

So, if you don't want to come off as the bad guy, just share this post in a group where this is an issue and help all those passionate group members get to the heart of the matter.

[The Key to Differentiated Learning - Develop Student Experts]

Lisa Nielsen writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about learning innovatively and is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on “Passion (not data) Driven Learning,” "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning, and using the power of social media to provide a voice to educators and students. Ms. Nielsen has worked for more than a decade in various capacities to support learning in real and innovative ways that will prepare students for success. In addition to her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator, Ms. Nielsen’s writing is featured in places such as Huffington Post, Tech & Learning, ISTE Connects, ASCD Wholechild, MindShift, Leading & Learning, The Unplugged Mom, and is the author the book Teaching Generation Text.