Participate in this activity for students to explore current issues using social media.

Do Now is a weekly activity for students to engage and respond to current issues using social media tools like Twitter. KQED aims to introduce 21st Century skills and add value to learning through the integration of relevant local content and new media tools and technologies. Do Now gives students a chance to practice civic engagement and digital citizenship skills while they explore ways to connect topics in their classes to the present day.

Here's a breakdown of how Do Now works:

• Do Now activities are posted every Friday evening at kqed.org/donow.
• There's a brief intro to the topic and a media resource that can be played directly on the website.
• At the top of the activity, there's a question for students to respond to after they go through the intro and media resource to deepen the understanding of the topic.
• Students should then respond to the Do Now either in the comments section on the website or they can tweet their response (each student must create a Twitter account).

For best practices on how to set-up your students with Twitter accounts and some troubleshooting tips, click here.

Do Now can help focus students at the start of a class period. Most activities are six to eight minutes in length. They can completed without teacher assistance and can be used to introduce ideas connected to the rest of the lesson.

Follow @KQEDedspace on Twitter to receive the weekly Do Now.

The monthly content schedule is as follows:

1st Friday: Government & Politics
2nd Friday: Science
3rd Friday: Civics
4th Friday: Arts & Popular Culture

Here's a video that explains how to create a twitter account and begin participating in Do Now:

The Do Now discussion can reach beyond the classroom and connect students far and wide. If you have any questions, email Matthew Williams at mwilliams@kqed.org