When Addictions and Academics Add Eachother as 'Friends'

I have been looking forward to this blogpost for a while! As a self-professed Facebook addict (not unlike most of my friends!), I never thought I would have the opportunity to reflect on this social networking tool as a part of my grad studies. Through Facebook I have re-connected with good friends from high school, learned more about my colleagues and their personal interests and reunited with friends from twenty years ago to meet for dinner. I’ve also had a ‘Friend Request’ from a parent of one of my students, and it gave me pause to consider who I invite into my ‘Friends’ group. I declined their request, in the interest of being over-protective of my personal time and revealing status updates (do parents need to know that I’m sick of report cards?!). I am always aware of my role as a teacher and consider it in all aspects of my life, so this was not new for me. But my attempt to delineate personal and professional life online was challenged this week by my consideration for Facebook and education.

Demonstration of New Knowledge
My first challenge this week was to demonstrate new knowledge and understandings about Facebook. I participated in two Facebook projects to accomplish this:
One of my relatives works at the university as a Faculty Development Officer. It is their job to keep in touch with industry, alumni and small-business owners in order to further the success of the Faculty (scholarships, bursaries, public relations, etc). This week I helped him to extend his network of contacts by using Facebook as a networking tool. He will now be able to keep in touch with large groups of alumni or other related groups in an instant and public fashion. In a world where contact information and mailing addresses change frequently or are unlisted, Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with fellow students or to allow access to important information about Faculty events and opportunities. Facebook reaches this audience in a way which they are already familiar with and are choosing to use to expand their networks.
2. My second quest for new knowledge involved my own contacts/Friends list. On my status this week, I posed the question "...."Is there any way you'd use Facebook with your students?" Send me a message!" I received more replies to this Facebook status than any others I have posted.
Here are some of the responses I received:
CDH: Jill some people have told me that they make a special "teacher" address on facebook so you can add your students to that one. I am not sure what I would do.
JPS: No, no, no. Your admin would say absolutely not!
KC: If they were graduated from hgih school, yes, but ummm no.
CF: Can you create a "group" without allowing students to have access to your profile? Otherwise, I'd steer clear of this can o' worms!!!!!
JP: I'm not sure how I would use Facebook with students! You would have to have parental permission first, for sure, right? I'll think about it!
SG: Hi Jill, good question. We have discussed that at the faculty and for now have determined that it crosses professional boundaries. I'm sure it is different in many cases but thought I'd weigh in on the discussion. I know my students gather all the time and I heard a psych prof who said she uses facebook so I'm sure there are lots of opinions out there. Sue
CR: Hey! Just a thought, re. your status. You might be able to use facebook for data collection and survey purposes. Or, at an upper elementary level to talk about freedom of thought/speech and forums.

While it is important to acknowledge the casual and expressive tone of Facebook, I find the level of emotion and conviction in some of these posts very interesting. Several people were almost panicked that I would even consider using Facebook with my students. I also found it interesting that teachers were concerned about their own privacy, much as I was. If they could keep their personal information (photos, posts, etc) private, then they might consider the tool. This is discussed in an article entitled "Schools grapple with teachers’ Facebook use" on E-School News.

Using Facebook as an Instructional Tool
On the website Edumorphology, Inigral Inc. has posted a great video for teachers entitled "An Instructional Guide to Facebook for Teachers." (I have added the video at the bottom of this blog as well). The website offers great food for thought about how educators might use Facebook. While the ideas are likely most applicable for high school, or particularly for university students and professors, they suggest a number of important benefits of using Facebook with students. I have included some of their ideas in my list below.
Top Ten Reasons to Use Facebook with Students

10. To build relationships between peers and with instructors.
9. To create connections between school and students’ real life
8. To build a network of others with the same interest or course selection
7. To sustain conversations from class
6. To see professor as a real person with real interests
5. To make use of a familiar technology for students to exchange files, photos, videos and ideas
4. To help students appreciate what is happening in their professor’s life, and to be aware of what could possibly be more important than marking my paper!). I know I have benefited from that this semester!
3. To link course sections, or classes from different regions or countries who are discussing our exploring the same topics. (would still work best if each member had their own account, not one account for each class. This would stifle the wall posts)
2. To network with teachers with the same or similar teaching assignments, challenges, goals or initiatives. I certainly gained some ideas from other teachers this week in response to my status update asking about Facebook.
1. To gain perspectives or ideas from different groups who may have differing ideas (teachers in different regions, students in other countries, debate of best practices, etc).

The distinction between students in the younger grades and those in university is important. In university, students are generally adults who can be responsible for their decisions and choices online. These students still deserve, and likely require, guidance from instructors about using Facebook and other Internet applications wisely, but they are hold enough to be held accountable for their online posts. As well, at university age, many students are already using Facebook or other social networking sites such as MySpace. Professors would be not be encouraging students to create accounts, nor would I expect/wish them to require students to create a profile for a course. We must be aware of and allow for individual opinions and comfort levels about the technology. However, for a majority of university/college-aged students, use of a social networking site such as Facebook is simply meeting students where they are at, and making use of a valuable tool and networking engine.

Implications when Considering Facebook as an Instructional Tool
Naturally, a number of implications must be considered when using Facebook with students.
Some important factors for both teachers and students are:
-understanding how and why to select different accessibility for different ‘Friends’ on Facebook. You may not want everyone to be able to see all of your photos, posts, updates, etc.

-as mentioned previously, some students or colleagues may not wish to create a profile on Facebook. Our sense of privacy and personal space can be very different and we must make allowances for these differences. We can not demand the same from all.

-others can upload photos of you. Just a note to be aware of, especially with cell phones in classrooms taking pictures of bad hair days!

-it is reasonable to consider how much of our time we make available to students outside of class time. We need to be mindful of what we can offer students, and to follow through as a mediator or focal point online if we encourage students to collaborate there.

-some school Districts have blocked access to Facebook on school computers, as a result of policy and decisions. Other Districts/employers have called for teachers to refrain from maintaining a Facebook profile. It is important to know and understand the policies under which you operate before moving in a new direction. Will Richardson writes about this on his blog under the post "Filter Fun"

So What Now?...
Educate yourself! The most important piece of advice I could give educators is to educate yourself about the technology available to you and your students. Spend time using the technology yourself and reading research and opinions before forming your own opinion, or diving in with your students. Several good resources to consider are:
-Social Networks in Education wiki
-Study Groups Facebook Application
-Sakaw School Newsletter: Information on Facebook for Parents (An Edmonton Elementary School)
-A case of controversy involving Facebook, collaboration and academics.

Ultimately, as with all new Web 2.0 applications, I believe that we owe it to our students to investigate the technology, consider how it might make our teaching better, and, at the very least, consider how we might help students make wise and informed decisions about how they use the technology. As we become more knowledgeable, we are obligated to address the issues and concerns with our students, in order to keep them safe. As Will Richardson reminds us in "Filter Fun," they will, at the end of the day, step off the bus into an unfiltered world. It is our responsibility to prepare them for that world, and to meet them online after class if it will engage them more fully as learners!