Educators who engage with today’s students appreciate the impact digital media has on the lives of our younger generations. Learners of today consume, create, and publish multimedia content continuously, using a variety of devices such as cell phones, tablets, and computers. They generate original and innovative products through programs, apps, and the Internet as a means of communicating and representing their lives, ideas, and feelings. Unfortunately, not all students understand how to apply media literacy or media safety, and many lack knowledge of how to truly analyze media content for its value in society. Today’s educators must learn to harness the enthusiasm students have for digital media (content that uses a combination of text, images, audio, animation, and video) into daily lessons in order to enhance student interest, engagement, motivation, and achievement in classroom environments. This book addresses these vital considerations, thereby empowering teachers and students to benefit from the application of digital media in their classrooms, both as a compelling assessment tool and as an engaging teaching strategy.

Today’s educators are confronted on a daily basis with the challenges of navigating digital resources, tools and technologies with their students. They are often unprepared for the complexities of these challenges or might not be sure how to engage their students safely and responsibly. This book serves as a comprehensive guide for educators looking to make informed decisions and navigate digital spaces with their students. The author sets the stage for educators who may not be familiar with the digital world that their students live in, including the complexities of online identities, digital communities and the world of social media. With deep dives into how companies track us, how the Internet works, privacy and legal concerns tied to today’s digital technologies, strategies for analyzing images and other online sources, readers will gain knowledge about how their actions and choices can affect students’ privacy as well as their own. Each chapter is paired with detailed lessons for elementary, middle and high school students to help guide educators in implementing what they have learned into the classroom.

‘A book for every teacher’s bookshelf. This book gives a comprehensive overview of the tools and apps that can be used to help turn a mediocre teaching session into an outstanding one.’ - Cheryl Hine, Leeds City College ‘Megan Poore’s updated text is needed more than ever, as social media becomes increasingly integrated in many aspects of education. I would recommend it to all practising teachers and trainee teachers, whatever their subject.’ - Sue Howarth, University of Worcester This is an essential guide to using social media to enhance teaching and learning in schools. It combines practical information on using all forms of social media for educational purposes and provides indispensable advice on how to tackle issues arising from social media use in the classroom. Key topics include: using blogs, wikis, social media networks and podcasting, digital literacy and new modes of learning, digital participation, cyberbullying and understanding risk online. This second edition includes: · Reflective tasks in each chapter inviting you to critically consider important aspects of using social media in education. · Expanded coverage of game-based learning and mobile learning. · New examples tailored for use in primary and secondary schools. · A website including additional resources and handouts c. This is essential reading for anyone training to teach in schools, and experienced teachers seeking to improve their understanding of using social media for teaching in informed and appropriate ways.

Social Media in the Classroom provides a comprehensive resource for teaching social media in advertising, public relations, and journalism at the undergraduate and graduate levels. With twelve chapters by contributors from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, this volume provides original scholarly work which encompasses a wide range of methodologies, theories, and sample assignments for implementing social media. This book is an excellent resource for preparing students to transform their personal skills in social media into professional skills for success in the job market.

Written for middle and high school teachers, this resource expands educators' understanding of the relationship between their students and digital media and shows how to design learning opportunities that make the most of that relationship. Based on the findings of a three-year study on youth and their use of digital media for informal learning, this book gives teachers a deeper awareness of the characteristics of "iGeneration culture" and the dynamic potential for student learning through digital media, such as fostering collaboration, creativity, feedback, and critiques. Presented in a teacher-friendly format, each of the chapters include: A description of each digital medium A vignette about a young person using the medium Advice about navigating digital media for both novice and expert teachers, plus activities and sidebars A section addressing myths related to each medium A section on pedagogical implications and practices, including activities Teaching Tech Savvy Kids provides examples of how to integrate digital media into Grade 5-12 classrooms, explains how key characteristics of digital media can help to revitalize pedagogical practices, and increases teachers' options for offering more engaged, student-centered learning opportunities.

Leading authority on media literacy education shows secondary teachers how to incorporate media literacy into the curriculum, teach 21st-century skills, and select meaningful texts.

How are widely popular social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram transforming how teachers teach, how kids learn, and the very foundations of education? What controversies surround the integration of social media in students' lives? The past decade has brought increased access to new media, and with this, new opportunities and challenges for education. In this book, leading scholars from education, law, communications, sociology, and cultural studies explore the digital transformation now taking place in a variety of educational contexts. The contributors examine such topics as social media usage in schools, online youth communities, and distance learning in developing countries; the disruption of existing educational models of how knowledge is created and shared; privacy; accreditation; and the tension between the new ease of sharing and copyright laws. Case studies examine teaching media in K-12 schools and at universities; tuition-free, open education powered by social media, as practiced by University of the People; new financial models for higher education; the benefits and challenges of MOOCS (Massive Open Online Courses); social media and teacher education; and the civic and individual advantages of teens' participatory play.