The World is No Longer Flat
And neither is education similarly one dimensional
While we can all agree that this is no longer how we need to operate
It is time to start letting go of approaches from a more recent past
We all know engaging students is the name of the game
Thanks to Bloom's taxonomy and Differentiated instruction, we know that students learn at a different pace.  And in different ways.
But we need to realize that reaching today's students means something different than it used to mean.
But technology need not be the enemy
But how do we do this when our classes look like this?
Gifted
ADHD
Impoverished
Extended Time
Overcrowded
The days of pedagogy need to be re-examined.
Teachers exhausted.  Students disengaged.  Something needs to change.  We just can't keeping saying "I will work harder."
Pedagogy = the function or work of a teacher.
It is derived from Greek, meaning "Lead the child".  But is that what we are aiming for in preparation for graduation?
We want self-directed, self-motivated critical problem solvers.
What we want is Andragogy -  a term usually reserved for teaching adults.
And doesn't this...
Learners need to know the reason for learning something (Need to Know)
Experience (including error) provides the basis for learning activities (Foundation).
Learners need to be responsible for their decisions on education; involvement in the planning and evaluation of their instruction (Self-concept).
Learners are most interested in learning subjects having immediate relevance to their work and/or personal lives (Readiness).
Learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented (Orientation).
Learners respond better to internal versus external motivators (Motivation).
Sound like this:
So how do we get there?
By reaching students in places they already are.
We know today's student looks like.
Which is good, because it isn't going away.
So why not harnass the power of the most popular vehicle for communication currently on the planet?
Consider the work of Baird and Fisher (2006):

"Raised in the 'always on' world of interactive media, the Internet, and digital messaging technologies, today’s student has different expectations and learning styles than previous generations. This net-centric generation values their ability to use the Web to create a self-paced, customized, on-demand learning path that includes multiple forms of interactive, social, and self-publishing media tools"
Could it be the personal road blocks?
Time
Difficulty of use
Students are better at it
And fear...
But burying our heads in the sand doesn't mean that social media isn't out there anyway. And it doesn't mean we aren't already a part of it, even if we don't participate ourselves.
Our students are paying the price for not understanding basic communication protocols:
Cyberbullying
sexting
posting inappropriate pictures
Commenting like it is not the WORLD WIDE WEB
These are some of the same skills they would learn in every class that is taught without any technology
If they were paying attention.
Through harnessing technology like social media, we can use a vehcile that Burnt Hills students are accessing daily to teach content AND skills.
We can open a dialogue to prevent mistakes before they happen
We can address cyberbullying before it is a problem.
We teach students to avoid the mistakes some of our colleagues worldwide have not learned to avoid
And we can do this while meeting the National Educational Technology Standards for students
And for ourselves
A June 2011 survey of Burnt Hills High School Students found:
If we ignore teaching communication protocols like netiquette, how can we be outraged by their lack of skill at communicating?
If they are there already, why not use it?
Why not:
Extend the reach of your classroom
encourage students to think outside of school
contribute to the academic climate
encourage students to be self-reliable and personally accountable
But on a social network?
Yes:
According to Vygotsky (1994): 

"optimum cognitive development is contingent on the full social interaction of the learner. Moreover, instruction is most efficient when students engage in activities within a supportive (social) learning environment and when they receive appropriate guidance that is mediated by tools. The result of situating learning in a collaborative and social learning environment is an increased range of skill, versus what can be attained alone."
Murray (2010) states that, "From age 14 onwards, 70 per cent or more of teenagers are engaged in some form of web authorship.  Among 16–17 year olds, two-thirds have an online profile …and one in six have their own blog."  But if these students are not taught proper netiquette, what is the quality of content and social atmosphere that exists on the web for their classmates to access?
This is where education must step in to teach students the nuances of communication, writing, syntax, and safety, along with the perils of poorly embracing the online code of behavior.
So Why not move from
to
If education is to evolve to meet the diversified needs of the next generations, it must embrace the flexibility of educational delivery that is tailored to the learning styles and needs of the individual student.
Research shows that there is a desire that schools teach netiquette so that students can understand how appropriate interactions should be conducted on the web.  According to Ring (2008), upwards of 90% of poll respondents to an Edutopia poll indicated: "Yes. It is essential to students' success that we teach them to communicate effectively online."
It is fair to say that good teachers are streched thin.  But if use of social networking and other elements of Web 2.0 can help improve student achievement, meet 21st Century Skills, and relax the burdern of teacher centered instruction, how can we afford to ignore it?
We can't.
Baird, D. E., & Fisher, M. (2005-06). Neomillennial User Experience Design Strategies: Utilizing Social Networking Media to Support "Always On" Learning Styles.  Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 34 (1). Retrieved July 9, 2011 fromhttp://baywood.metapress.com/index/6WMW47L0M81Q12G1.pdf.

Mody, P.A.  (2011, June). Poll. Retrieved July 14, 2011 from https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/gform?key=0AkmzvVzXYCUjdGlEU2huOWVER1VUSlZyQ0M1MFUxcFE&hl=en_US&gridId=0#chart

Murray, C. (2008). Schools and social networking: Fear or education. Synergy  (1448-5176) 6 (1); p.8-12

Ring, S. (2008). Should schools teach students netiquette? The Edutopia Poll.  Retrieved July 7,
2011 from http://www.edutopia.org/poll-netiquette?page=1.

Vygotsky, L. (1994). Theory in Practice. Social Development Theory. Retrieved July 9, 2011 from http://tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androgyny

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pedagogy
References
Crossing The Digital Divide: Seeing Social Networking as a tool to enage and not as the enemy of productive education.
Faculty Meeting Presentation
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School
Social networking is such a vehicle that can provide a sound learning environment that has been evidenced as necessary for increases aptitude in learning, social development, communication skills, and all of it done on a medium that students naturally gravitate towards.
It also provides an opportunity to teach the type of ethical conundrums that students are likely to face
According to the students, the National Educational Technology Standards, business leaders, and research, it is simple: