FACEBOOK FOR EDUCATORS
If you are one of those out there that believe that Facebook has no place in the classroom, then, well maybe this post isn’t for you. But please first take a look at just a few reasons why you should reconsider:
The fact is, the majority of your students and their parents are probably already on Facebook
Even when schools have a policy against being “friends” online, there are tools you can use that won’t violate policy
Despite what you may hear, there are strong privacy options that you can set up so only those that you want can access your information
We have an obligation as educators to model appropriate online behavior and learn right along our students
Where do we begin?
Just today, Facebook released their own sponsored Facebook For Educators guide, but we found that there really wasn’t enough “how-to” in this guide to make it worth it.
However, it is a good document to read through to get the philosophical stuff down and get familiar with some of the unique facebook vocabulary such as profile, page, groups, etc.
The rest of this posts seeks to lay out all of the options you have for using facebook in the classroom and connecting with your students, parents, and community.
Should we be “friends” with students?
This is certainly a hotly debated question.
Your school might have a policy that doesn’t allow you to friend your students on Facebook. We definitely don’t want you to go against any policy! But, we feel that done responsibly, you should absolutely friend your current students! Why?
Get to know them in a whole different light
Students share their likes, hobbies, and more. Really getting to know your students transfers into a better experience in the classroom and a better ability to reach every student.Create an open and supportive environment
If you are open to it, students could even send you a quick chat message if they are stuck on a homework question in the evening.Keep up with students years later
There is no doubt you are one of your students’ favorite teachers ever. Keep in touch and communicate years after they leave your classroom.Just one personal example from a former student that just posted to my wall last month:
How to safely “friend” students on facebook
Option 1: Use Lists to keep some things private
To set up a list of all of your students you will want to take the following steps:
1. Click on Friends in the left sidebar after logging in to Facebook
2. Click on Edit Friends at the top right
3. Click on +Create a List which will appear in the same location as the button from step 2
4. Add all of your students to the list you just created by clicking on “Edit List” next to their names
5. Click on Account > Privacy Settings in upper right corner
6. Click on Customize settings in bottom left
7. Use the drop down menu to limit your students from seeing what you don’t want them to by clicking on Customize and then type in the name of your list in the Hide these from these people: text box.
I limit everything under the “Things others share” category, as well as my posts, photos, location, and contact information. Really, when they visit my profile, all they can see is my profile image, school and work info, and that’s about it.
Option 2: Set-up a second account just for your students (and parents)
Many schools and experts are recommending that teachers create a whole new facebook account just to use in their professional lives.
This may work for you, but in reality, you are less likely to be able to keep up with more than one account and it kind of defeats the whole purpose anyway.
That being said, it may be a good option for you. Just create an account using your school email address and only let students and parents friend you there.
Why every educator, school, and organization needs a facebook “fan” page
Even better than friending students online is setting up a fan page.
Fan pages allow you to distribute announcements, blog posts, events, assignments, and more right into the “live streams” of those that “fan” your page.
This is better than using your personal profile because there is no need for parents or students to be your friends to get the updates, and it can really be used to develop an online community around your class or school.
An example of using a teacher page
However, many parents will have to be coached into seeing the benefits of a facebook page and there might be resistance. It is important to only post things such as names and photos if permission is granted, and announcements will want to be more generic in nature.
http://www.theedublogger.com/2011/05/11/the-why-and-how-of-using-facebook-for-educators-no-need-to-be-friends-at-all/
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar