Editorial: Make It a Two-Way connection: A Response to “Connecting Informal and Formal Learning Experiences in the Age of

points out that social media exemplified in Web sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Wikipedia are built on the “cognitive surplus ” and social networking of participants. Unfortunately, as the authors point out, formal educational environments pose barriers to their use. The hallmarks of the new technology—active creation of personalized online content and fluid communication networks—don’t fit well with authoritative control of learning objectives, lack of time, limited access to technology, and the general low level of effective use of technology in schools. Gen-Y students are already producing content and using graphically rich social media in their lives outside of school, but their Boomer teachers are for the most part unaware of and not tapping into or using this activity to advance learning. To address this gap, the editorial calls for teacher educators and a new generation of teachers to work together to study and develop new knowledge and methods using participatory media and informal learning approaches in schools. The editorial is thus calling for a new branch of research and development in TPACK (the integration of technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge in teaching) that would brin