Texting & Social Media

Resources for Families and Teachers

Emojis are a Language

• Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language. Gretchen McCulloch. Riverhead Books, 2019.
  • The author distinguishes between "edited English" of published writing and "unedited English" of daily communications
• Text Me, Ishamael: Reading Moby Dick in Emoji, Smithsonian (March 2014)
  • In the book, Emoji Dick, each and every sentence of Melville’s classic is paired with its pictogram equivalent
• EmojiTranslate
• Text Message Dictionary
• Wintertime Emoji Rebus Stories

Micro-Writing with Technology

Emails and Texts

• Turning Texts and Emails into Lessons on Formal Writing, Edutopia (June 24, 2020)
• An Academic Use for Social Media, Edutopia (August 31, 2017)
• Exposure to "Textisms" Does Not Lower Spelling Scores for Elementary School Aged Children, Current Research in Psychology (2014)

Twitter

• Twihaiku, MicroPoetry: The Rise of Twitter Poetry
• What is a Tweet on Twitter? Lifewire (March 23, 2017)
• Ten Kid-Friendly Rules for Texting with Respect and Dignity, Psychology Today (November 17, 2014)
• 33 Education Twitter Accounts You Should Be Following, Rasmussen College
• Safe Twitter Feeds for Kids to Follow. GeekDad

Teaching with Twitter

• "You're Doing What?" Using Twitter in the Kindergarten Classroom. Marygrove College MAT Program Blog (May 11, 2013)
• Teach Students to Use Social Media (The Right Way) and the Possibilities are Endless, NPREd (January 26, 2018)
• From Tweeting to Teaching: How You Can Use Twitter as a Powerful Resource in Your Classroom

Children and Social Media: Recommendations and Strategies

• Media and Young Minds, American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement (October 2016) dealing with infants, toddlers and preschool children
• Media Use in School-Aged Children and Adolescents, Academy Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement (October 2016) dealing with children and adolescents ages 5 to 18
• Children and Adolescents and Digital Media, Academy Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement (October 2016)
• Enough with the Screen Time Scare! How To Be Sensible about Children's Device Use, EdSurge, January 31, 2018
• Kids Are Not Hurt by Screen Time. Scientific American Podcast (September 16, 2019)
  • A study finds no deleterious effects on mental health when kids spend their leisure time texting and engaging in other online activities
• School Phone Ban is Moral Panic Based on No Evidence. Sydney Morning Herald (September 4, 2019)

More "Writing with Family and Friends" pages: Letter and Postcard Writing | Notes, Menus, & Lists