Authentic use of Social Media in the Classroom

Every year, on the first day of school I always do the same art lesson. As a way to establish the routines of our art periods with a non-threatening project, I always read "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds and then get the kids to create their very own dots.  It's simple, everyone is successful, and it has worked in every grade that I have taught- which has been a lot of grades! This year, after we were finished, we tweeted out some pictures of our artwork and tagged the author, Peter Reynolds, in the Tweet. I believe that it is fundamentally important that we teach our students not only to be digitally literate, but also how to be responsible digital citizens, which is why I try to integrate the authentic use of social media into my classroom. However, my experience today reminded me that I also do this for another reason; to provide students with authentic audiences for their work, and to move their learning beyond the physical space of our classroom. So anyway,  the coolest thing happened after we sent out our tweet. Peter Reynolds tweeted us back! While this might not seem like a big deal, I think it is a great experience for my students to see that their work matters to other people, and that it is significant. Social media and other web tools can open so many doors in the classroom if you find ways to meaningfully use them.