Social Media in the Lecture Theatre

I'm in search of your thoughts on social media in the classroom.

I've been asked to deliver a workshop this Summer regarding the use of social media in teaching at higher education (and in particular, in the sciences). It's very general and aimed at beginners to social media.

Of course there is lots I could talk about from my own experience and elsewhere. However, I really want to get at the diverse methods people are employing with social media in the classroom, lecture theatre, laboratory and field course.

From twitter to facebook, youtube to blogger. How are you employing social media in your classroom? Have you heard of people doing innovative things with social media for teaching?

I'll use a snapshot of the examples during the workshop and will pull everything together in a blog post later in the Summer.

There are a few ways you can contribute:

• Tweet me your ideas, links and thoughts at @blogscience using the hashtag #scisocialmedia. If it fits into a tweet- great. Shows the power of microblogging. If not, 
• Email me here with your thoughts and views.
• Leave a comment at the end of this post.

The Dose Makes The Poison

In light of recent controversies, including discussions regarding fluoridation of Irish drinking water, this new infographic, by Compound Interest for Sense About Science sums up my views better than a lengthy blog post. It's part of their efforts to make sense of the chemistry-related stories we read about in the media. Their free guide on the subject is a must read for those with views on water fluoridation.

(click on the image for a larger version)