Social networks today are our photo albums and address books, our cocktail parties and newspapers. Recently, one of my social networks took on a new function: a virtual classroom.

From apps that help your students read to apps that help you organize your teaching day, these five educational apps from Facing History Senior Program Associate Pam Donaldson will help you engage students and inspire your own teaching practice. Read on and let us know, what’s your favorite app to use in the classroom?

This post, by educator Michael Grover, appeared originally on our sister blog, Facing Canada.

I believe “truth” is a very noble goal.

Speaking to realities, acknowledging someone’s experience, debunking myths – I believe that being truthful, and seeking the truth, are defining parts of my identity.

This week a colleague of mine, Mary Hendra, shared with me an interesting article from FacultyFocus.com. In it, author Joan Flaherty discusses the gap she perceives between herself, a non-digital “native,” and her students, members of the so-called “millennial generation,” a group that has grown up with digital technology.

Just over a week ago, my wife gave birth to our second child – a healthy, adorable, little boy. For my wife and me, having a second child was a much different experience than when we had our first: we were no longer afraid that we were going to break the baby. We didn’t feel like the hospital should be sued for negligence for allowing us to take the child home. And, perhaps most importantly for this blog, my wife and I now both had smart phones. While one would think the first two items would be worth discussing with soon-to-be repeat parents, I found myself more fascinated by the latter – the presence of this Swiss Army Knife of a phone in my hand. As with our first child’s birth, I took pictures, I made phone calls (Hi, it’s a ___!), and I crafted the email I would send to my friends and family. This time, however, I had the power to hit send within only seconds of my son entering the world. And thus rose my first dilemma as a second-time father – to post, or not to post, that newborn picture?

The office is closed today as winter storm Nemo bears down on New England. I am sitting at my parents’ house with my dog at my feet watching reporters on all the different news channels get dangerously close to the ocean surf to demonstrate for viewers just how dangerous it is to get that close to the surf. Twitter and Facebook are in overdrive with friends posting photos of their backyards, front yards, and buried cars. Someone posted a link to a news spot from last night featuring her father and as I’m watching that on my computer the same spot is replayed on the television. To say that I live in a tech saturation world would seem like an understatement at this point. But I love it. I love how easy it is to remain connected to friends from around the country and how quickly I can meet new folks to engage with in conversation and debate…the only problem is finding the proper online venue to do so. Between spamming and vulgar tirades, online discussion boards are hit or miss at best. Fortunately though, there are online spaces that welcome and encourage intelligent discussion and through my involvement with Facing History’s online learning department I am constantly amazed by the individuals that come together to learn and challenge each other in our programs.