Facebook is a social networking site that allows members to create profiles, form connections with others, and engage in discussion and information exchange. Much of the educational interest in Facebook is driven by the overwhelming rate of adoption by younger members of society. With over 64 million users, and 250,000 new users added daily (source), Facebook is being actively explored for academic use.
Educational Uses of Facebook:
Educators are afflicted with a desire to use what's popular within society. This is largely rational - after all, if students are comfortable with computers, mobile phones, or certain web applications, why not leverage their existing skills with technology for teaching and learning? In some cases, however, different tools are used for dramatically different purposes. For most people, Facebook is a social space, used for informal conversations, building and maintaining relationships, and the voyeuristic tendency of profile surfing. The value of Facebook for formal teaching and learning is unclear. While learners will likely useFacebook to create small networks, study groups, or use its communication tools for arranging study times or clarify assignment requirements, formal use in college-level instruction may be too much of a stretch for learners.
Some colleges, while not focusing on in class integration, are using SNS as notification and marketing purposes. Some examples:
Notifications - some institutions are using Facebook for notifications of emergencies on campus
Best practices for educators using **facebook** - links to a .pdf file with examples of how educators can use groups/profiles, privacy settings, sharing videos/resources, and the Courses application.
**Facebook** to teach: "Smith created a group on facebook.com that includes him, his teaching assistant, and students enrolled in the class, which meets in person each week. Members of the group are able to post assignments and announcements on the board. The group is visible to all facebook.com members, however only members of the group are able to view class discussions."
**Facebook** for recruiting: "It's recruiting season on the campuses of Canadian colleges and universities and this fall more than ever institutions were using popular sites such as Facebook to get their message out. Recent rule changes on the popular social-networking site have also helped to accelerate that trend, opening the door to a range of new uses and giving schools a fresh method for reaching teens and young adults."
MySpace, **Facebook**, Bebo: Social Networking Students: "Most of this year’s new students are likely to be users of MySpace, Facebook, Bebo or some other social networking software. Studies in the U.S. which suggest that university students will use this software to communicate mainly with their university friends chatting, joking and organising their offline meetings and group work will resonate in the UK – and in other sectors. Students will probably social network whilst they are at their computer studying rather than at separate times (Golder et al, 2007). Although most of this activity is hidden to educators, it is relevant because it is interlaced with studying."
Privacy Concerns
The rapid growth of Facebook and the highly personal nature of data provided by users has raised concerns about privacy and security of data. The recent launch of Beacon - Facebook's marketing program that shares data with advertisers and displays purchases and decisions made by users on the activity feed - served as an awakening for many users.
A few reactions to Beacon and the "over reaching" of Facebook:
How Sticky is Membership? "Some users have discovered that it is nearly impossible to remove themselves entirely from Facebook, setting off a fresh round of concern over the popular social network’s use of personal data."
RIP **Facebook**?: "It works as well as it ever has, and many of the people who use it (my kids for instance) are unaware of the worsening situation about its privacy-invading Beacon social ads scheme that tracks people’s web-surfing habits even when they’re not on the site."
**Facebook** Beacon: A Cautionary Tale About New Media Monopolies: "Facebook Beacon, currently in the process of going down in flames, is a classic case of overreaching. So much has been written about what’s wrong with Beacon — blatant privacy violation, lack of blanket opt-out, failure to make it opt-in, gathering data from non-Facebook users — but I haven’t seen much about WHY they got it so wrong...The reason why Facebook got it so wrong with Beacon is actually much more interesting and important to the evolution of media, advertising, and technology than the reason why Beacon is imploding. Facebook overreached because it’s acting like a traditional media company with monopoly control of its channel."
How Your Creepy Ex-Co-Workers Will Kill **Facebook**: "If there was any doubt about Facebook's lack of qualification to displace the Internet with a benevolent dictatorship/walled garden, it was removed when Facebook unveiled its new advertising campaign. Now, Facebook will allow its advertisers use the profile pictures of Facebook users to advertise their products, without permission or compensation. Even if you're the kind of person who likes the sound of a benevolent dictatorship this clearly isn't one."
The Canadian Privacy Commissioner details how SNS work in exposing data and privacy of users.
"Ralph Rogers, director of marketing and communications at Stanford Graduate School of Business, admits that engaging with social media is a work in constant progress. "It's not clear exactly what the best uses for all these social media tools are," he says. "But we feel it's really important to get a toe in the water and prototype, experiment and obtain data."
"However, for most business schools, the rise of Facebook and its more corporate-minded cousin, LinkedIn, also presents a dilemma. Many have already invested in an internal network for keeping in touch with students and sharing course notes securely. But college IT budgets can't match the resources available to a company dedicated to building such sites and clunky software means many students prefer Facebook to the official intranet."
6. ConnectYard integrates Facebook, Twitter, text messaging and email into a single communication thread within popular learning management systems, including Blackboard, Desire2Learn, Moodle, Sakai and others. ConnectYard leverages popular social networking sites to better connect students and instructors, build a feeling of community and provide enhanced academic support - all of which positively affect a student's persistence through graduation.
7. Social networking is not just cool for students. Because of its easy interface, Facebook is a good introduction to social networking for teachers. Other networks include The Schools United a worldwide educational community and Classroom 2.0Twitter is used by teachers to build a Personal Learning Network of like-minded people from around the world.
8. The Canadian E ducation Association: Updated Canadian research (all topics) http://www.cea-ace.ca/res.cfm
9. Good Practical Examples of "HOW TO" use basic FB in classroom; also Third Party Apps: http://org.elon.edu/catl/conference/documents/FacebookEducation.pdf
1. Facebook Information (from LTC Wiki, University of Manitoba)
What is Facebook?
Facebook is a social networking site that allows members to create profiles, form connections with others, and engage in discussion and information exchange. Much of the educational interest in Facebook is driven by the overwhelming rate of adoption by younger members of society. With over 64 million users, and 250,000 new users added daily (source), Facebook is being actively explored for academic use.Educational Uses of Facebook:
Educators are afflicted with a desire to use what's popular within society. This is largely rational - after all, if students are comfortable with computers, mobile phones, or certain web applications, why not leverage their existing skills with technology for teaching and learning? In some cases, however, different tools are used for dramatically different purposes. For most people, Facebook is a social space, used for informal conversations, building and maintaining relationships, and the voyeuristic tendency of profile surfing. The value of Facebook for formal teaching and learning is unclear. While learners will likely use Facebook to create small networks, study groups, or use its communication tools for arranging study times or clarify assignment requirements, formal use in college-level instruction may be too much of a stretch for learners.Some colleges, while not focusing on in class integration, are using SNS as notification and marketing purposes. Some examples:
Privacy Concerns
The rapid growth of Facebook and the highly personal nature of data provided by users has raised concerns about privacy and security of data. The recent launch of Beacon - Facebook's marketing program that shares data with advertisers and displays purchases and decisions made by users on the activity feed - served as an awakening for many users.A few reactions to Beacon and the "over reaching" of Facebook:
- How Sticky is Membership? "Some users have discovered that it is nearly impossible to remove themselves entirely from Facebook, setting off a fresh round of concern over the popular social network’s use of personal data."
- RIP **Facebook**?: "It works as well as it ever has, and many of the people who use it (my kids for instance) are unaware of the worsening situation about its privacy-invading Beacon social ads scheme that tracks people’s web-surfing habits even when they’re not on the site."
- **Facebook** Beacon: A Cautionary Tale About New Media Monopolies: "Facebook Beacon, currently in the process of going down in flames, is a classic case of overreaching. So much has been written about what’s wrong with Beacon — blatant privacy violation, lack of blanket opt-out, failure to make it opt-in, gathering data from non-Facebook users — but I haven’t seen much about WHY they got it so wrong...The reason why Facebook got it so wrong with Beacon is actually much more interesting and important to the evolution of media, advertising, and technology than the reason why Beacon is imploding. Facebook overreached because it’s acting like a traditional media company with monopoly control of its channel."
- How Your Creepy Ex-Co-Workers Will Kill **Facebook**: "If there was any doubt about Facebook's lack of qualification to displace the Internet with a benevolent dictatorship/walled garden, it was removed when Facebook unveiled its new advertising campaign. Now, Facebook will allow its advertisers use the profile pictures of Facebook users to advertise their products, without permission or compensation. Even if you're the kind of person who likes the sound of a benevolent dictatorship this clearly isn't one."
The Canadian Privacy Commissioner details how SNS work in exposing data and privacy of users.Resources
danah boyd interview (danah boyd is one of the most frequently referenced researchers on social software)7 Things you Should Know About **Facebook** (.pdf)
Wikipedia **Facebook** entry
Wikipedia Social networking services entry
**Facebook**:Places to Go
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:7aFxpXevOXgJ:ltc.umanitoba.ca/wiki/index.php%3Ftitle%3DFacebook+educational+use+of+facebook&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca
2. Schools struggle to balance openness with control
Bradshaw, Tim. (2010, March 15). Schools struggle to balance openness with control. Financial Times. London (UK). p. 6. ProQuest Journals.
Post-secondary schools develop their own social networking systems. However they are moving towards using Facebook in a limited way with their incoming students, current students, and alumni.
"Ralph Rogers, director of marketing and communications at Stanford Graduate School of Business, admits that engaging with social media is a work in constant progress. "It's not clear exactly what the best uses for all these social media tools are," he says. "But we feel it's really important to get a toe in the water and prototype, experiment and obtain data."
"However, for most business schools, the rise of Facebook and its more corporate-minded cousin, LinkedIn, also presents a dilemma. Many have already invested in an internal network for keeping in touch with students and sharing course notes securely. But college IT budgets can't match the resources available to a company dedicated to building such sites and clunky software means many students prefer Facebook to the official intranet."
3. Frequently Asked Questions (Facebook in Education) FAQ Facebook in Education
4. Facebook reading campaign launches March 15 (Bookstash aimed at teens) http://www.digitalspy.com/digitaltv/news/a205471/c4-to-launch-facebook-reading-campaign.html#l
5. Blog post: Dawson, Christopher. (2009, April 20). Yes, social networking can be kid-friendly. http://education.zdnet.com/?p=2436
6. ConnectYard integrates Facebook, Twitter, text messaging and email into a single communication thread within popular learning management systems, including Blackboard, Desire2Learn, Moodle, Sakai and others. ConnectYard leverages popular social networking sites to better connect students and instructors, build a feeling of community and provide enhanced academic support - all of which positively affect a student's persistence through graduation.
http://www.connectyard.com/
7. Social networking is not just cool for students. Because of its easy interface, Facebook is a good introduction to social networking for teachers. Other networks include The Schools United a worldwide educational community and Classroom 2.0Twitter is used by teachers to build a Personal Learning Network of like-minded people from around the world.
8. The Canadian E ducation Association: Updated Canadian research (all topics) http://www.cea-ace.ca/res.cfm
9. Good Practical Examples of "HOW TO" use basic FB in classroom; also Third Party Apps: http://org.elon.edu/catl/conference/documents/FacebookEducation.pdf
10. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canton-GA/The-Unquiet-Library-Creekview-High-School-Media-Center/31676317923