Adults and kids alike love text messaging -- and messaging tools like WhatsApp -- for instant connection. Want to ask a quick question and get a quick answer? Want to share what's going on in the moment? This is the medium you use. That real-time communication can be part of class, too.

Instagram set itself apart by doubling down on images. We love taking photographs. It's easier than ever as smartphone cameras get better and better. Students can use images to explore content and demonstrate what they learn. 

Instagram Stories have gotten popular because they make visual storytelling quick and easy. They string images and quick videos together for a vivid recap of your day. Retelling a science lab, a group project, or a lesson from class through visual storytelling can be fun and powerful.

Twitter is all about brevity. Tweets were once 140 characters. Even at 280 characters, you have to be concise. Unless you create a thread! Threads are a string of tweets (one tweet, reply to that tweet, reply to that tweet, etc.). They can combine text, images, links, etc., to get a bigger idea across.

The TikTok craze is spreading. Lots of the videos may be about fun viral dances. But the concept is bigger. Quick, creative videos in the moment -- and sharing them with others. THAT idea can help students explore, share and demonstrate learning.

Twitch lets gamers (and others) watch each other and interact live and in the moment. If your students love this concept, you can cross live interactions over into the classroom with virtual field trips, virtual guest speakers and live classroom connections.

Reddit is all about the replies. Someone will post a question or an idea. Then Reddit users will reply. The way the replies are organized -- in threads, or nested replies -- is what makes Reddit unique. It looks crazy and overwhelming at first, but the organization of the replies is very tightly organized -- and can lead to great discussion. Nested conversations can be pretty easy to create for the classroom.

Yep. I just went there. "Match. Chat. Date." The underlying hook that makes Tinder unique: swipe right to like, swipe left to dislike. What makes it good? What makes it bad? Justifying those judgments is critical thinking at its core. Use this one at your own discretion! You know your students and if it'd be a good fit or not.

LinkedIn is the place to be in the business world. It's your online resume and a networking hub. LinkedIn thrives on connections. You have first-degree connections (contacts) and extended connections of people you know. Your students may not use LinkedIn yet, but they may in the future. Seeing how people and ideas connect is valuable.

Lesson plans. House plans. Recipes. Costumes. Let's admit it. We have LOTS of reasons to be on Pinterest. It's popular because of the collections. We can collect ideas and keep them organized. The heart of that is curation. A museum curator picks the best alike pieces and shares why they made the collection. Sounds like a great approach for the classroom.

Voxer turns your cell phone into a smart digital walkie talkie. Connect with an individual person or a group. Record and listen to audio messages instantly or on your own time. Audio is great for multitasking -- listening while you're doing something else. Sharing ideas with audio may be the right fit for your class.

The heart of what makes Yelp great is critical thinking. We take in all the information and evidence we have about a location. Then we review it, including the good and the bad, and make a final judgment. Writing a Yelp-style review to share a critical thinking judgment could be a lot of fun.