Introduction Middle level educators have a deep awareness of their students' tremendously social nature. Young adolescents yearn to be connected with their peers, whether sharing excitedly during lunch, on...

The phrase "Teachers work in isolation," has long been used to describe the working conditions of educational professionals, including most middle level teachers. Educators have found ways to solve this problem by...

Seventh grade teacher Elizabeth Delmatoff piloted a social media program in her Portland, Oregon classroom. By the end of the year, 20% of students school-wide were completing additional assignments for no credit,...

Social media use in the classroom helps us meet students where they are and connect with them in a meaningful way. Social media technology can motivate students while teaching them crucial 21st century skills and...

We can never underestimate the power of belonging and relationships. As middle level educators, we know the correlation between establishing relationships and student achievement, but have we considered the need to...

When I talk to colleagues about being a “connected” educator, the first response is often “I don’t have time!” followed by “Why? What’s in it for me?” I can relate....

In her Click Here column, Brenda Dyck does a beautiful job of helping us incorporate and navigate technology, but I want to add my voice to hers in support of a particularly powerful tool: Twitter. To be honest,...