Welcome to our new blog series, Tips and Tricks, where we provide practical classroom advice. You’ll find our Tips and Tricks every other Tuesday on the ATPE Blog, so check back regularly! This week’s post is on social media in the classroom.

Social media is a valuable tool, but incorporating it into your lessons can be a daunting task. Here are six quick tips for using social media in your classroom:

• Use social media as a class. You can work together to update a class Facebook page with projects or other posts, or to create a class channel on YouTube or a classroom podcast.
• Use social media to reinforce class requirements and deadlines. Social media is a good tool for posting homework assignments, upcoming test dates, and project deadlines.
• Create a class blog. Requiring your students to post to a class blog will help them improve their writing skills and encourage them to reflect on their assignments. Students should also read and comment on each other’s posts. This will spark conversation and debate among students within and outside of the classroom.
• Bring outside experts into the classroom. Skype and other video chat services can help you connect your students with outside experts that you otherwise wouldn’t have access to.
• Set classroom guidelines. Students should always be respectful when communicating via social media. Set guidelines early, and monitor student posts.
• Know your district policy. Policies vary from campus to campus. Some schools encourage teachers to be highly active on Facebook and Twitter, while others prohibit any use of social media sites. If your school doesn’t have a policy, talk to your administrator about creating one.

What Tips and Tricks would you like to see on the ATPE Blog? Email comm@atpe.org with suggestions.