Like it or not, today's students are not just citizens. They are "digital" citizens. This means that educators need to spend time with students on ensuring they know how to be responsible online.  In NYC schools we have social media guidelines created by students and teachers to guide this work. You can see them at schools.nyc.gov/socialmedia. We also support educators and parents with professional development. The professional development includes a fun back-to-school activity called, "It's #SoMe." (Note: #SoMe is the hashtag for social media.)Here's how the activity works.  I want more »

A fantastic way for educators, students, or companies to get attention to ideas or product is to contribute a post to a popular blog in your area of interest. However if you do, make sure you do your homework by keeping these tips in mind.1) Comment on the blogDon't just make a request out of nowhere. Be a participant in the blog's communIty. Add valuable and interesting comments to posts that interest you. The blog author should already be familiar with who you are because you are an active contributor who has smart ideas to share. If your ideas are strong enough, you won't even have to ask to submit a guest post. The blog author may reach out to you.I want more »

A new school year is a great time to remember the importance of building and strengthening relationships with students. I recently had the opportunity to join Paula Denton who is an educator and author of the book, "The First Six Weeks of School" and author and inner city high school teacher Larry Ferlazzo in a conversation with Rae Pica, host of Teacher’s Aid on Bam Radio. We discussed some ways to build relationships with students. Below are some ideas I shared as well as some I didn’t get to in the interview. I want more »

Fiverr is a hot new resource that is catching on like wildfire with innovative educators. But it shouldn’t end there. Back-to-school is a great time to think about what this could mean for your students! If you don’t know, Fiverr is known as, "The place for people to offer services starting at $5." The services (called Gigs) are generally provided by freelancers who love what they do and want to share and spread their passion. On Fiverr you can buy and sell Gigs in areas such as illustrating, writing, creating logos, designing business cards, and recording voiceovers. But it’s not just for grown-ups. Starting at just five bucks, Fiverr is also an innovative resource for students.   Here are five ways Fiverr can help your students: Get A Leg Up On LanguageGet Help:Have students struggling in a language course? Maybe they are finding Chinese challenging? Perhaps they need a little extra assistance studying for that French exam? No more paying for expensive tutors or participating in a ho-hum after-school program. Students can take their linguistic talents up a notch by getting help from a native-language speaker with Fiverr.  Give Help:Maybe you or one of your students is bilingual. Think about what services they might offer to other students, their teachers, or even parents! I want more »

As innovative educators settle into the new school year, it's not just new students they see. There's also a new crop of devices, apps, and games about which students are excited. That excitement shouldn't end in the classroom.  PBS LearningMedia, offers tens of thousands of free resources like videos, images, lesson plans, and professional development tools. And they’ve released some fun new ones just in time for the school year, in a collection they’re calling "Get Your Tech On." Here are just 3 ways "Get Your Tech On" can help as you prepare for a tech-filled school year.1) Get Social Overwhelmed by social media? Find free info and how-to tutorials for teachers and students on using digital tools, including how to create use Tumblr, design infographics, build a Prezi, record a Vine, and more.I want more »

If you're still talking about the digital divide, you haven't heard about Google Chromebooks. Chromebooks are not only affordable, they actually save schools, districts, and families money. Chromebooks are only about $225 and last for about three years. That's $75 a year. The devices cost less than your back to school list for the next three years and yet provide so much more.Let's take a look. Check out the basic list below. With the exception of your child's clothing, the back-to-school list is history. Pencils, paper, sticky notes, calendar, crayons, erasers, notebooks, even trading cards are a thing of the past with Chromebooks. Say "Goodbye back to school list" and "Hello Google Draw, Docs, Sheets, Calculator, and more."I want more »

Guest post by student, Keaton WadzinskiIt started with just a few students and allies connecting over Twitter. Then came the weekly #StuVoice Twitter Chats, Facebook conversations, then Google Hangouts, which all led to the first ever Student Voice Live! in April of 2013. What caught on so quickly? The Student Voice movement. Once started, the spark of student voice caught fire, igniting the drive to create Student Voice, the for-students-by-students 501 (c) 3 non-profit dedicated to revolutionizing education through the voices and actions of students. Event detailsInnovative Educators are invited to join in this exceptional work on Saturday, September 20th, at Student Voice Live! 2014 at Shootdigital Studios (23 East Fourth St. New York, NY, 10003). Come to contribute your ideas, support, and passion by registering at http://stuvoice.org/student-voice-live. If you can’t attend, you can watch via livestream here and follow our Twitter stream @Stu_Voice!I want more »

If you know the Common Core Standards you know that "The need to conduct research and to produce and consume media is embedded into every aspect of today’s curriculum. In like fashion, research and media skills and understandings are embedded throughout the Standards rather than treated in a separate section." Common Core Learning Standards for  ELA & Literacy, Key Design ConsiderationsInnovative educators know that when used in the right way, social networks and other online technologies are great tools to conduct such research and gain knowledge. Not only do they leverage resources students already know and love, but they can also encourage learning in a way that is less restrictive and more open and natural.  For example, collaboration in an online group creates relationships "in which people from often widely divergent cultures and who represent diverse experiences and perspectives learn and work together" as called for in the Common Core Standards.  Think of how access to personal learning networks created via places like Twitter, Facebook, and Google Hangout can expose students and teachers to "other perspectives and cultures through reading and listening, and they are able to communicate effectively with people of varied backgrounds." Think about how these groups require members to "evaluate other points of view critically and constructively," as is also called for in the Standards. Unlike when we were in school, our students have access to the internet which has democratized the ability to access, evaluate, organize, and make meaning of what is found. With all this information however, comes a new issue: I want more »

By Chris Casal + Lisa NielsenCross posted at http://thecasalos.blogspot.comInnovative educators know first hand that social media like Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Instagram can be a powerful tool for teaching, learning, leading, and strengthening the home-school connection. In many cases though, others may need to be brought on board. Especially when parents are expressing concerns and unsure of how a platform can be used successfully.It is the job of innovative educators to ensure parents, colleagues, and administrators know how to embrace the power of social media and also how to address their concerns.  Here are suggestions for parents, teachers, and administrators in schools embracing social media.  I want more »

While innovative educators know that empowering students to use their own devices for learning is necessary for student success, the conversation of cyberbullying often comes up as well. Not only are student-owned devices great learning tools, they also are great tools for helping to address cyberbullying if you’re using a tool such as Cel.ly.   Cel.ly is a powerful tool for teaching and learning as shared in my book Teaching Generation Text and on my blog. It is also a tool that can be used to set up an anonymous resource to report bullying.   Here is how schools can setup their own anonymous tip lines. I want more »