Social media is a reality
Although the mystique of social media is foreign to some older generations, it is now mainstream frontier for many tweens, teens, and adults. Social media is web based technology that solicits online relationships and communities. “There are even social networking sites that attract kids as young as 5 years old. [It is not uncommon that] students even as young as kindergarten have heard of Facebook and Twitter” (Ramig, 2009, p.1). According to Ramig, a director of technology at Seven Hills School in Walnut Creek, California, the world of social media is the reality of the world we live in. Christopher Harris, author of A Souped-up Picture Book, “assumes that [his] daughter and her generation will be naturally bilingual when it comes to print and digital reading; what is exciting is that digital is almost guaranteed to be her primary language, thanks to new devices like the Apple iPad” (Harris, 2010, p.14). When a culture is so dependent upon social media and technology, even to the point where elementary aged children are just as technologically literate as adults, there needs to be a way to incorporate social media and technology education into schools. Today’s student population has been referred to as digital natives, “who think and process information fundamentally different from their predecessors and have been influenced dramatically by the technology shifts that have occurred within contemporary society” (Dale & Pymm, 2009, p. 84). Schools need to recognize this shift in our technologically literate society and begin to restructure curriculum around that reality. The need for social media in education
The always-on culture has created a new form of social media where students have the power to locate knowledge instantaneously, anytime and anyplace. This new culture places increased demands on educators to meet the unconstrained expectations of students. “Educational experiences need to be constructed in a way that provides opportunities for participants and facilitators to organize and manage their activities in technologically rich contexts” (Valjataga & Fiedler, 2009, p. 58). Due to the modern technology and social media, educators and parents need to help students and children learn the social skills needed to understand what is really means to live and participate in a global community. Ramig (2009) stresses the need to incorporate this into schools and classrooms “while keeping ourselves and our students safe” (p. 1).
Social media in the classroom
A popular activity in elementary school was writing back and forth to a pen pal. It was a thrill receiving a hand-written letter from someone across the country or even the globe. Today, the same activity takes place, just through a new medium. When working with younger students, grades K-3, teachers can use new online social networking tools with the entire class. “Pair up with another school. Together as a class, post online messages that students in the other schools can respond to” (Ramig, 2009, p.1). Social media and technology have modernized the pen pal. What used to be a pen and ink letter has morphed into an email, blog post, or a recorded message (for younger students) using VoiceThread. “By sixth grade, about 40% of the students will already have experience using social networking tools at home or at a friend’s house” (Ramig, 2009, p. 2). As a result of students’ familiarity, the use of social networks can make great tools to begin and extend classroom discussion. As the trend continues, “by high school, about 90% of kids will have used social networks. Since the kids are all 13 or older, there are many more options” (Ramig, 2009, p.2). Students can post questions related to their homework or projects on a blog or wiki where the teacher or other students can respond.
One example of social media in the educational environment was a Master’s level course at Tallinn University in Estonia which was designed to create challenging situations for participants to advance their learning experience with the support of social media tools and services. While the majority of the students were unfamiliar with the services and tools presented to them throughout the course, the students’ testimonies proved the valuable nature of social media. One student remarked that, “social media gave me an opportunity to carry out my tasks despite of the location and nature of the tasks.” Another student commented that “social media applications are very effective, not only for the execution of self-directing intentional learning projects, but also useful in very different context and conditions” (Valjataga & Fiedler, 2009, p. 67). The ability to gain access to, and choose tools according to one’s personal needs is essential to modern day education. 
