One of the criticisms of Facebook and other social networking tools is that they promote sloppy, non-standard English. Selwyn found little academic advantage for the use of Facebook. However, students need to learn how to use social networking since learning has a social context. Teachers need to support students in communicating and working collaboratively. In learning how to use Facebook and other social networking sites in a variety of applications, students are demonstrating standards for 21st century learners.
In 2007, the AASL’s Standards for the 21st Century Learner were published. One of their common belief statements is that learning has a social context. One of four standards is that students will share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society. Both of these standards can be applied to the use of social networking in schools.
Students will use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
Students will exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
Students will understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
Selwyn looked only at Facebook wall applications. However, there are other ways to use Facebook which would allow students to be effective and productive in their educational work. For example, students could meet with teachers in virtual Facebook office hours. It always comes down to using the appropriate tool for the job.
Students will select and use applications effectively and productively.
Teaching Digital Natives
We must be cognizant that Facebook is in fact the realm of the digital native, and students may view any unilateral outreach by faculty or staff as encroachment on their turf and instigate a ‘creepy treehouse’ effect.
What do digital natives think of educationalists’ appropriation of Facebook to serve educational proposes?
They don’t think much of it.
Digital Natives, raised on Facebook, still see it as their social playground. Selwyn (2009) found that only 4% of all students’ Facebook wall comments were about university life. The literature recommends that faculty not use Facebook as a strategy for increasing academic advantage or even student satisfaction ( Mendez et al., 2009, under Implications Section).
The Mendez et al (2009) survey of university students reveals that their first choice for faculty contact is via email, then face to face during office hours. Lagging far behind were Facebook and voice mail. Digital natives did not support it as an outreach strategy and viewed being friended by a professor as an unwelcomed presence in the student realm.
Implications for Teaching and Learning
dana boyd reminds us that we should not assume all digital natives use the same tool in the same way. So if we as educators do use Facebook as a connecting tool for a class project for example, we have to be aware of differences not only in access, although that is still an issue for many students, but of the context of their use. Here the Digital Divide rears its ugly head as “technology reinforces inequality, and how our habit of assuming that everyone uses social media just like we do reinforces social divisions that we prefer to ignore”.
In our class discussion posts we confirmed that the digital native’s love of Facebook is driven by a deep need to connect with their friends in a place that is their own. Could we educators not consider how to extend that need for connection to a classroom, a school program or a class project for example? Here is an example of a classroom strategy for engaging digital natives at their playground, but not in their personal sandbox. In an English Language Arts lesson, students could create a profile for a character in a novel or play, listing interests, activities, and events, and even post wall comments as the character’s friend.
So while Facebook now offers a plethora of apps that are appropriate for the classroom, (see additional resources) we would do well to remember that it is primarily considered by students to be a social hangout. That means we invite, rather than intrude.
Filtering became a hot topic in our class discussions as we discovered how much we truly did not understand the implications of intellectual freedom and censorship. One of our excellent resources was Ribble ((2009)who defined elements of digital citizenship that set "the stage for how we work with each other in a global, digital society" (p. 15). We will use his standards for filtering and later for digital citizenship and for privacy to test Selwyn's research results.
What would Selwyn have to say about filtering students’ use of Facebook in the educational setting?
Ribble says:Full electronic participation in society. Can all users participate in a digital world at acceptable levels if they choose? Selwyn might say: As Facebooking plays an important role in students’ offline identity creation, he would be ticked that there are still school divisions that filter Facebook.
What are the implications for our practice?
One pressing issue in high school is the censorship of social networking sites. Students see this as oppressive and that as long as they aren’t harming someone or it's legal, then this is an unfair restriction. Actually, schools have already lost this filtering battle as students simply detour around school barriers with their smart phones. A high school teacher responds “Since Facebook is blocked, but other very similar sites like Twitter are not, it offers a massively false sense of security [for the school]. It’s really a double standard: if one social networking site is censored, then logically the others should be too. [The administrators] shouldn’t just pick-and-choose which sites to block within the category of social networking.”
The final word should go to Mark, who led our discussion on filtering: “Right now the battle looks like kids and staff trying to find their way around the filters or just choosing to ignore technology” Harwood, (February 2, 2010, 23:55).
References
Ribble, M. (2008-09). Passport to digital citizenship. Learning & Leading with Technology, December/January 2008–09, 15. Retrieved from
www.iste.org/Content/.../DigitalCitizenship/36414r.pdf
Ribble says:Electronic exchange of information. Is there an understanding of the digital communication methods and when they are appropriate? Selwyn might say: He sees students using Facebook as a social rather than an educational tool. It is used for connecting with already tight friends, for complaining, commiserating, posturing and sounding off in what they consider to be a private/public environment. In this regard then yes, Facebook is used totally appropriately.
Ribble says:The legal rights and restrictions governing technology use. Are users aware of laws (rules, policies) that govern the use of digital technologies? Selwyn might say: He would shake his head and note that it likely doesn’t enter the heads of most students while they are writing or reading posts and file sharing.
Digital citizenship involves the exercise of rights and responsibilities, enjoying freedoms but with limits. Students interacting on social networking sites need to learn to be good citizens. The digital golden rule is to treat others as you would like others to treat you.Cyberbullying can take place in social networking situations. Students need to learn how to react and counteract negative words and actions.
Illuminate Cyberbullying video
Privacy
Ribble says:The precautions that all technology users must take to guarantee their personal safety and the security of their networks. Do users take the time to protect their information while creating precautions to protect others’ data as well?
Selwyn might say: In his study, out of 694 students on Facebook, 612 students had publicly accessible profiles and walls. Selwyn created an account on Facebook and lurked undetected for four and a half months. He read 68,169 wall postings. He gleaned information about students’ personal lives, jobs, and families. He even found out which profs were considered hot and that Dr. White drinks Stella at the pub! Although Selwyn drew no conclusions related to privacy, if all 612 profiles had been private, he could not have carried out this research.
danah boyd says that Facebook is "public by default and private through effort" (boyd, 2010). Students need to think through the issues related to privacy on the internet. Teachers could walk them through some of the privacy options on Facebook.
Clay Shirky video
Clay talks about Facebook and issues of privacy (8:34)
"Privacy used to be enforced by inconvenience."
"Between private and public, there used to be personal."
Standards
One of the criticisms of Facebook and other social networking tools is that they promote sloppy, non-standard English. Selwyn found little academic advantage for the use of Facebook. However, students need to learn how to use social networking since learning has a social context. Teachers need to support students in communicating and working collaboratively. In learning how to use Facebook and other social networking sites in a variety of applications, students are demonstrating standards for 21st century learners.
In 2007, the AASL’s Standards for the 21st Century Learner were published. One of their common belief statements is that learning has a social context. One of four standards is that students will share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society. Both of these standards can be applied to the use of social networking in schools.
In 2007, NETS-S Standards (National Educational Technology Standards for Students) were published by ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). The following standards relate to social networking:
Selwyn looked only at Facebook wall applications. However, there are other ways to use Facebook which would allow students to be effective and productive in their educational work. For example, students could meet with teachers in virtual Facebook office hours. It always comes down to using the appropriate tool for the job.
Teaching Digital Natives
We must be cognizant that Facebook is in fact the realm of the digital native, and students may view any unilateral outreach by faculty or staff as encroachment on their turf and instigate a ‘creepy treehouse’ effect.
What do digital natives think of educationalists’ appropriation of Facebook to serve educational proposes?
They don’t think much of it.Digital Natives, raised on Facebook, still see it as their social playground. Selwyn (2009) found that only 4% of all students’ Facebook wall comments were about university life. The literature recommends that faculty not use Facebook as a strategy for increasing academic advantage or even student satisfaction ( Mendez et al., 2009, under Implications Section).
The Mendez et al (2009) survey of university students reveals that their first choice for faculty contact is via email, then face to face during office hours. Lagging far behind were Facebook and voice mail. Digital natives did not support it as an outreach strategy and viewed being friended by a professor as an unwelcomed presence in the student realm.
Implications for Teaching and Learning
dana boyd reminds us that we should not assume all digital natives use the same tool in the same way. So if we as educators do use Facebook as a connecting tool for a class project for example, we have to be aware of differences not only in access, although that is still an issue for many students, but of the context of their use. Here the Digital Divide rears its ugly head as “technology reinforces inequality, and how our habit of assuming that everyone uses social media just like we do reinforces social divisions that we prefer to ignore”.In our class discussion posts we confirmed that the digital native’s love of Facebook is driven by a deep need to connect with their friends in a place that is their own. Could we educators not consider how to extend that need for connection to a classroom, a school program or a class project for example? Here is an example of a classroom strategy for engaging digital natives at their playground, but not in their personal sandbox. In an English Language Arts lesson, students could create a profile for a character in a novel or play, listing interests, activities, and events, and even post wall comments as the character’s friend.
So while Facebook now offers a plethora of apps that are appropriate for the classroom, (see additional resources) we would do well to remember that it is primarily considered by students to be a social hangout. That means we invite, rather than intrude.
References
Mendez, J.P., Curry, J., Mwavita, M., Kennedy, K., Weinland,K., & Bainbridge, K. (2009). To friend or not to friend: Academic interaction on Facebook. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 6(9). Retrieved from http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:5c2p2llevSIJ:itdl.org/Journal/Sep_09/article03.htm+Madge+C,+Meek+J,+Wellens+J+and+Hooley+T+(2009)&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca
http://flexknowlogy.learningfield.org/2008/05/01/why-do-teachers-build-creepy-treehouses/
http://www.teachmag.com/teach_archives/09/TEACH_spring_09.pdfhttp://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2009/12
Filtering
Filtering became a hot topic in our class discussions as we discovered how much we truly did not understand the implications of intellectual freedom and censorship. One of our excellent resources was Ribble ((2009)who defined elements of digital citizenship that set "the stage for how we work with each other in a global, digital society" (p. 15). We will use his standards for filtering and later for digital citizenship and for privacy to test Selwyn's research results.
What would Selwyn have to say about filtering students’ use of Facebook in the educational setting?
Ribble says: Full electronic participation in society. Can all users participate in a digital world at acceptable levels if they choose?
Selwyn might say: As Facebooking plays an important role in students’ offline identity creation, he would be ticked that there are still school divisions that filter Facebook.
What are the implications for our practice?
One pressing issue in high school is the censorship of social networking sites. Students see this as oppressive and that as long as they aren’t harming someone or it's legal, then this is an unfair restriction. Actually, schools have already lost this filtering battle as students simply detour around school barriers with their smart phones. A high school teacher responds
“Since Facebook is blocked, but other very similar sites like Twitter are not, it offers a massively false sense of security [for the school]. It’s really a double standard: if one social networking site is censored, then logically the others should be too. [The administrators] shouldn’t just pick-and-choose which sites to block within the category of social networking.”
The final word should go to Mark, who led our discussion on filtering:
“Right now the battle looks like kids and staff trying to find their way around the filters or just choosing to ignore technology” Harwood, (February 2, 2010, 23:55).
References
Ribble, M. (2008-09). Passport to digital citizenship. Learning & Leading with Technology, December/January 2008–09, 15. Retrieved from
www.iste.org/Content/.../DigitalCitizenship/36414r.pdf
http://www.inklingsnews.com/archives/4766
Digital Citizenship
Ribble says: Electronic exchange of information. Is there an understanding of the digital communication methods and when they are appropriate?
Selwyn might say: He sees students using Facebook as a social rather than an educational tool. It is used for connecting with already tight friends, for complaining, commiserating, posturing and sounding off in what they consider to be a private/public environment. In this regard then yes, Facebook is used totally appropriately.
Ribble says: The legal rights and restrictions governing technology use. Are users aware of laws (rules, policies) that govern the use of digital technologies?
Selwyn might say: He would shake his head and note that it likely doesn’t enter the heads of most students while they are writing or reading posts and file sharing.
Digital citizenship involves the exercise of rights and responsibilities, enjoying freedoms but with limits. Students interacting on social networking sites need to learn to be good citizens. The digital golden rule is to treat others as you would like others to treat you.Cyberbullying can take place in social networking situations. Students need to learn how to react and counteract negative words and actions.
Illuminate Cyberbullying video
Privacy
Ribble says: The precautions that all technology users must take to guarantee their personal safety and the security of their networks. Do users take the time to protect their information while creating precautions to protect others’ data as well?
Selwyn might say: In his study, out of 694 students on Facebook, 612 students had publicly accessible profiles and walls. Selwyn created an account on Facebook and lurked undetected for four and a half months. He read 68,169 wall postings. He gleaned information about students’ personal lives, jobs, and families. He even found out which profs were considered hot and that Dr. White drinks Stella at the pub! Although Selwyn drew no conclusions related to privacy, if all 612 profiles had been private, he could not have carried out this research.
Social Networking Comes with a Price (article from the Globe and Mail)
Tips for Teachers re privacy on Facebook http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=137948147130
Safety poster for parents to discuss with students http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/tech/lict/resources/posters/ict_5.pdf
Clay Shirky video
Clay talks about Facebook and issues of privacy (8:34)
"Privacy used to be enforced by inconvenience."
"Between private and public, there used to be personal."
References:
boyd, danah. (2010, February 24). Millenials, Media and Information. Pew Research Center Publications. Retrieved from http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1516/millennials-panel-two-millennials-medi