Facebook in the classroom. Should we, could we use it?
I have been thinking about our conversation in class, last Tuesday about using Facebook with our students. I have some resources for you, if you think you might be interested in trying it or using "Fake" facebook tools.
I found some creative ideas for using facebook in your classrooms at a blog called, Web 2.0 Edu.
"Science:
- Students can pretend they are a famous scientist and explain a particular finding or experiment from that persons perspective.
- Students can be a certain chemical in a compound and explain, from the chemical’s viewpoint, what happens when mixed with other chemicals. This one will really stretch the mind of the students and probably the teacher.
- Have a student write from the perspective of an earthquake, a tornado, or a tsunami. This may sound silly, but it will show the teacher whether or not the student understands a concept.
- Have students be a number in a math problem and tell what happens to them through wall posts. Their friends can be the other parts of the problem.
- Students could be a geometric shape and explain what functions that shape serves.
- Students could act as historical figures. This activity has great potential. Students could be a civil war general, a ruler in ancient China, or slave on a ship crossing the Atlantic ocean.
- Students could be a country and explain what the people within the country are doing.
- This one will test the student mind for sure. Have them be a rock on a hill overlooking a valley. Explain what is happening there as it is settled by the people. Maybe a rock along the Oregon trail, or on the coast near Cape Horn.
- Students can write from the perspective of characters in a story.
- The RAFT concept can be used here to have great potential in the English classroom. Instead of being a character in a story, maybe the students can write from the perspective of a fly on the wall, or a chair in the room, or the family cat.
- Students could be a comma and show how it is used in the comma’s own words. Again, this is a mind bender."
Edmodo - a safe website for teachers to simulate Facebook activities.
http://www.edmodo.com/
Facebook Template in Microsoft Word
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/facebook-template-word-TC102239159.aspx?AxInstalled=1&c=0
Facebook Template in PowerPoint 2010
http://noshhinghere.blogspot.com/2012/02/updated-facebook-template.html
"Flakebook" Template in Google Docs
https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=0AcupvssS0h45ZGhyajJ4cnpfNTBnODhtZm5meg
If you are thinking about using Facebook with your kids or students, here are some safety resources...
http://www.facebook.com/safety/
http://www.connectsafely.org/Safety-Advice-Articles/facebook-for-parents.html
While this response could be sectioned into individual chapters, I'll try to keep it short and sweet.
ReplyDeleteFacebook has morphed and transformed our global landscape. Connectedness has never been more accessible and Facebook has both spawned and generated a new breed of learner.
Edmodo (thank you Kate) seems to provide an intuitive method to connecting and using Facebook in the classroom. However, because of the lack of control, I am, surprising to say, against teachers or students interacting on Facebook. I would be interested in interactions with parents on Facebook, for the sake of exposing them to the accessibility and ease their students use the site with.
Without divulging too much of my political agenda, I do believe that Facebook does provide an opportunity to teach and re-teach our students the importance of empathy and positive relationships. Too often the braver face appears via a computer screen or text than a personal conversation.
-MCC
MCC - May I also add that you can interact with parents through Edmodo. Parents are given a code where they can set up their own log-in info. They are able to view what the students are doing, assignements, and send messages. It is a great tool to use to organize and connect students and parents. You can also link to other teachers in your school system that are using Edmodo and share badges, assignments, quizzes and other things. It is a great interactive tool. There are also other networks you can join and connect to within those communities. I am involved with those interested in iste and there are great information and conversations. These are just some of the perks of Edmodo, there are things I want it to do but it does not but that is were other tools can work.
DeleteKate, it sounds like you have successfully integrated Edmodo into your classroom! Do you use this in conjunction with a website, or do you find that the tools provided through Edmodo are sufficient? Do you find it simple to use?
DeleteI also like the idea of using Edmodo as springboard for literacy or history based activities, whereby students take on the role of a particular character. Given that the majority of students are well-versed on FB, using similar templates should be both intuitive and engaging.
Andrea - right now I am using it in conjunction with my website. I eventually would like to have a link in edmodo to my blog but have not figured it out yet. It is a great tool. I can help you with it or show you if you would like.
DeleteI love that parents can see what their kids are doing. I think this will show parents that have adverse or negative feelings towards technology in the classroom how it's being used and how their children are benefitting from it.
DeleteFacebook is a plateform that could be walking a fine line, especially if you the teahcer does not use it in a professional manner. It is very easy to cross over the line. That being said, who then is to teach students how to behave on-Line? Parents, yes, but educators also. With our access as teachers to on-line communications, Facebook seems like a great way to show students by examples how to behave through assignements. There could be pages set up just for classroom conversations and updates. Although a teacher can not monitor all comments immediately, it can lead to learning moments.
ReplyDeleteBecause FaceBook in the classroom is so controvery, I choose to stay away from it and use other plateforms that are very similar to the interface of FaceBook, which in turn can still teach students how to respond, reply, and behave on-line; My Fake Page, Edmodo, Schoology all use similar facebook interface. Students are familiar with it and may, or hopefully will connect their learning from the ones used in class to the real FaceBook.
And like I say, if you are not comfortable with using it in the classroom then don't, no one will benefit. There are way too many tools out there for you to learn and feel comfortable with.
Best advice - If the teacher isn't comfortable using FB, then the students won't benefit. So true! I also seem to get the feeling that most administrators do not condone teacher-student interactions through FB, given the limited amount of control that teachers have.
DeleteI agree with you in being hesitant in utilizing Facebook with students. Because Facebook has such a public and social platform, it can definitely be difficult to define that line.
Delete-Chelsea
The concept of facebook in the classroom is great, although I would much rather use an "educational" platform instead. This way I don't have to worry about some of the things such as advertisements that might pop up using facebook. As an educator, it's important to determine the overall goal, and if a platform other than facebook can help achieve this goal. Will facebook allow you to do something that one of the other platforms will not? Do the benefits outweigh the potential risks?
DeleteI wonder if there is so much talk about facebook in with students becasue facebook came out as a social newtwork and not as an educational one. What I mean is there are programs now that mimic facebook that you can use for educational purposes, so whats the difference. To me is the people involved in the project. For one of my classes we communicated through schology which looks excatly like face book, and you can do pretty much the same things facebook does.
DeleteBunker
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before, but I'll say it again -- I am a teacher 365 days of the year, 24 hours a day. My responsibilities as an educator do not expire once the afternoon bell rings. With that being said, I do believe that there needs to be clear guidelines for when and how those responsibilities are fulfilled. In the past, I have provided parents and students with my home phone number, along with caveats for appropriate usage. Very rarely was this privileged abused, but I would save this form of communication for an older audience (i.e. middle or high school students), if they need clarification on an assignment or someone to confide in. Class websites or LiveBinders that house worksheets, syllabi, or daily reminders help to keep materials organized in a central location. As a kindergarten teacher, I encourage parents to contact me via email, knowing that I respond frequently throughout the day and evening. Now, having been introduced to Edmodo along with other FB-esque templates, I see a new world of "digital connectedness" that allows for continuity and accessibility inside and outside of the classroom. Using these forums as a way to teach and model digital citizenship, will set the tone for how students should conduct themselves on FB, Twitter, etc.
ReplyDeleteGiven all of the educational forums that teachers can access, I would not invite my students to connect with me via Facebook. While I admire the lengths that the FB team has gone to, to protect the privacy of its users (separate friend lists, notifications, heightened privacy settings), this particular form of social media was never intended for an educational audience. At this point in my life, I use FB for personal purposes, having already removed my last name so that any previous students (many of which are now 13 year-old) cannot locate my profile. As a teacher, holding a role of authority and serving as an example for others, I need to create a boundary between my personal and professional life. While Facebook has created an impressive social community, I can only see the potential problems that might arise given our students' curiosity
While I do think that Facebook is a bit too public and insecure to use as a classroom tool, at least with students, I do really like the idea of using Facebook-like templates to create profiles for scientific, historical, or literary figures. I used the PowerPoint template for my lesson on literary heroes, and I found it quite easy to modify depending on the given content. Furthermore, these can be printed out and/or enlarged to be used in a hardcopy for those students who do not have computer access or who prefer more hands-on learning.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I think that tools such as Edmodo are great alternatives to Facebook that allow students and educators to communicate within a secure network.
-Chelsea
Agreed!
DeleteFor one of my classes I use schology which is like facebook and I enjoy it. It actually feels like facebook but with collegues..
DeleteBunker
Chelsea I like how you discussed FB and Edmodo. I agree with the points you made.
DeleteLearning about different ways to use technology is very exciting and is providing me with many ideas. Currently, the students I work with do not all have access to computers at home. The students I work with also require a lot of repetition to learn material, as well as having the material presented to the them in a variety of ways. Tools like Edmodo or Wikis would really be a cool present info in a new manner, yet they would only be able to access it at school (I think - working for a hospital many sites are blocked) and this does not support the need for them to also review new content at home in a fun manner.
Anna
I don't think I would ever use the actual Facebook in my classroom. Although, as I was reading the posts about all the things you could do with a Facebook layout I fell in love with the idea of having a project where they use a Facebook layout to learn about specific people. I think this would work best for the social studies part. In elementary and middle school there are always a lot of projects about specific people, this would be fun for students to learn facts but show it in a fun way. Many students love the idea of Facebook so this would be easy for them. They would know exactly where to put the information and the project most likely wouldn’t take very long.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I would use the real Facebook in my classroom because there are way too many distractions. I end up on Facebook sometimes and completely lose track of time. Also, the ads they put on the sides of pages are not always appropriate. I also think that there are way too many games on Facebook that could distract the students. I want my students to be engaged but not distracted. I am sure students would love the fact that their classroom teachers were using Facebook for learning, but I think way too many of them wouldn’t see the real purpose of that particular lesson. This is why I love the idea of the fake Facebook.
Melissa R.
Melissa, I completely agree. I wouldn't use the real Facebook with my own students either. At least not at first. It's too risky. There are too many personal connections and possible distractions. That's why I love the idea of Edmodo. It looks like facebook, but doesn't have the personal information that facebook does.
DeleteI definitely agree with you on this. I love the idea of using the format for profiling history and literature with the Facebook template, though similarly, I like the idea of using a template versus the possible risks one takes with using the real Facebook in the classroom.
Delete-Chelsea
I think what's great about using a tool that mirrors the image of Facebook is that it greatly attracts the interest of the students. The teacher I work with read "The Hunger Games" with her high school students. She followed a unit that was designed by another teacher that incorporated a facebook-like profile. The facebook sheets weren't digital but just printed copies, yet the students had to update the status of certain characters using the facebook format. Students in other classes saw the "facebook" assignments on the board and were intrigued. One girl said she wished she was in that class because she wanted to do the assignment.
ReplyDeleteThis assignment is similar to the ideas we talked about in class for ways to use facebook. I REALLY like the idea of having students create accounts on Edmodo for characters in a book or historical figures. It's a great way to keep students engaged and using 21st century skills to learn about history or fictional characters.
Diana,
DeleteI also really enjoyed hearing about the Edmodo idea and think it would be a neat way of engaging students!
I agree with what everyone is saying above about their opinions of Facebook and not incorporating it in the classroom. However, I really like the idea of the websites that are fake and safe. I love the Social Studies and Language Arts activities that were posted above. I feel that when students put themselves in a different perspective it makes learning more meaningful and engaging.
ReplyDeleteFacebook is a tricky topic and when I became an educator, I came off of it because students were finding me and it was getting really annoying and invasive. I feel that finding tools that connect to it are better and really help students connect in a positive way.
I have to agree as well. Not only is Facebook not private, but even if you were somehow to become selective as to who you "friend" on facebook, you have no control over who they "friend". The nonsese I see on our personal wall is in many cases, not appropriate for students. I love this site. It can keep students separate from anything personal that shows up in facebook.
DeleteOn a personal note, I was very proud as a Greek that they used Greece as the example in the demo including photos from a Greek Festival.
Mike H
My Fake Wall is a great way for students to put themselves in the shoes of a character or person they are studying in the classroom. Kids know the ins and outs of FB...probably not the safety precautions, but the idea to them would be to post about your day, your thoughts, your feelings, etc. Why not act like Martin Luther King Jr. for a day and post thoughts, feelings and opinions that MLK may have had on an ordinary day. I'm all for it!
ReplyDeleteHowever, using the "real" FB to interact with students is a little tricky as Melissa says. People in general post inappropriate things, you may come across something inappropriate. I feel like FB is very open in the sense that there aren't as many privacy features as Edmodo or My Fake Wall may have. Then again, FB wasn't designed with kids in mind....the target group was adults.
What would be super cool is if facebook had an educational setting. One similar to youtube.com/edu that strictly pulls up "education" accounts and prohibits racy advertisements. I'm saying this because one of the HUGE benefits of facebook is that it is so well know. Instead of skyping with classrooms around the world, it would be awesome to be able to "friend" different classrooms around the world. You could throw out questions on a regular basis- or polls- and receive responses from ALL OVER. Mark Zuckerberg?
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, I started a facebook page using my Allstate Insurance email. I thought I could generate some business from "friends." Yeah right. All I saw was nonsense. Who was at the beach, who just got out of the shower, or where people were going on vacation, etc. Nothing about, "Hey Mike, give me a quote!" So, I stopped looking at it.
ReplyDeleteI found several "friends" using facebook like Twitter.
I am not sure how practical that could be for school. However, Edmodo, could be more atractive in this case.
Mike H
I think the fake and safe websites may be okay to use the classroom. But I highly disagree with using Facebook in the classroom. I feel there are just too many risks that come along with facebook. That is why I agree with the fake ones (if they work properly). I know facebook is one of the biggest social networks if not the biggest and I think that is what it's puporse is intended to be SOCIAL not educational. Why try to change something that wasn't intended for education at all, we have so many other good resources to use, forget facebook!
ReplyDelete-Danielle
I think that face book came out to be used as a social media for poeple and should be kept that way. There are so many other tools that can be used in the classroom to promote learning that there is no need for facebook. They have the fakewalls or schology that can mimic facebook and gives the feel of facebook but with security.
ReplyDeleteBunker
Did you post it anywhere online?
ReplyDeleteYES -> It's not private!
NO -> Private!