Facebook in the Classroom?! OMG!

“Tiana, why are you wasting time on Facebook? Aren’t you supposed to be doing your work?

“I am doing my work, Mr. O.! Just 'cus I’m on Facebook don’t mean I ain’t working! Look, I just finished creating a survey dealing with the National Constitution Center and its relevance to our students. I uploaded it to Surveymonkey.com and now I’m posting my survey on my Facebook profile so all my friends can respond. When that’s done, I’ll take the data, summarize it in a concise paragraph, and include it in my article: The National Constitution Center Is Out of Touch. So you see, I’m not wasting time, I’m working!”

Um… Oh. Ok. Carry on…

Many students, aside from the traditional meet and greet, and bells and whistles that initially hooked them in, are starting to realize the educational potential of online social networking sites. Unfortunately, teachers, schools and even entire school districts have lagged behind in grasping the wealth of educational opportunities available to their students via the use of these sites.

During a recent studentbody presidential election at a local Philadelphia high school, a student by the name of Todd L. conducted the majority of his campaign via his Facebook account. After his landslide victory the principal was asked by his school newspaper to comment of the candidate’s ability to blanket the voters with his agenda via the use of Facebook. It turned out that the principal was unaware that Facebook had played such a dominant role, and the only concern he voiced was that he hoped nothing inappropriate had occurred.

And this principal has a right to be concerned. We are all familiar with the frightening stories that have surfaced surrounding social networking sites. Many teachers fear that sites such as Facebook.com and Myspace.com are fraught with dangers. They worry that issues such as cyber bullying, sexual harassment, and identity theft present a quagmire not worth trudging into. But should the fear of utilizing social networking sites in school preclude us from teaching our students the appropriate and effective use of these sites?

Currently, the policies and protocols of the School District of Philadelphia regarding internet usage read like a laundry list of mostly don’ts. For example:

USERS MAY NOT:

2. Post personal information on the Internet about themselves or other people. Personal contact information includes address, telephone, school address, work address, pictures or video bites, clips, etc.

In addition:

FILTERING:

As required by law and in recognition of the need to establish a safe and appropriate computing environment, the District will use filtering technology to prohibit access, to the degree possible, to objectionable or unsuitable content that might otherwise be accessible via the Internet.

Needless to say, these guidelines far from encourage educators to venture into the realm of social network sites, and when they do, they do so at their own peril. Teachers that I spoke to who dare traverse the tight rope asked to remain anonymous. I will reference them only by with their initials, grade and subject.

There are several manageable social networking sites that some teachers have utilized with limited repercussions and with measurable success. Mr. B. R., a local high school Spanish teacher, often turns to Livemocha.com to assist him with his objectives. According to the site, “Livemocha is the world's largest language learning community with over 4 million members! Designed for all language goals and skill levels. Livemocha offers free learning options that actually work – and make learning languages social and fun.”

B. R. agrees with this claim. He recalls a recent principal's observation conducted while the students were online at Livemocha. He received high marks for the differentiated instructions witnessed during the lesson. When asked if the principal had been aware that the kids were utilizing social networking sites, he said, “It never came up…”

A. O., a high school English teacher, has relied on the social networking site called Goodreads.com. Goodreads.com launched in December 2006 and claims to be the largest social network for readers in the world. Latest figures attest to more than 2,600,000 members who have added more than 63,000,000 books to their shelves. This site is “a place for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike.”

Goodreads.com members can recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they've read and would like to read, and form book clubs. This particular teacher has students post on-line the reviews of short stories and novels studied in class. He claims, “It’s a whole lot easier than lugging home folders and notebooks and it makes my grading quicker and allows for immediate feedback to the student.”

Chris Lehman, principal of the Philadelphia Science Leadership Academy developed in partnership with The Franklin Institute and its commitment to inquiry-based science, has a unique view on the subject. He states, “Nothing is ever going to go backwards. Innovation can’t be blocked. It is the role of education to think out of the box and instruct our students how to live in their world, and how to do it right. I want kids to experience an innovative environment.” Because of the unique nature of his academy, students at SLA have access to sites otherwise blocked throughout the school district.

Mr. Clifford Stanton, World History teacher at Philadelphia's Constitution High School, partnered with the National Constitution Center has never utilized social networking sites in his classroom. Steeped in knowledge of academic research, he seems more concerned with the proper annotations that would be required in order to include research conducted on social networking sites. He mentioned issues such as scholarly sources, audience size, marketing research, influence response and honesty issues.

He responded to my blank stare by stating, “That’s precisely the point. If I had access to these sites in the classroom we could address these concepts in a manner and in a medium that the students find interesting and can relate to with ease.

As I write this article the web is abuzz with the latest Facebook scandals. It seems that Katie CouricKatie Couric has nice legs and can shake her booty. Also, if you’re receiving medical benefits for depression, don’t try to go to the beach to relieve your stress. And if you do, don’t post the images on Facebook. Your insurance company may locate them and cancel your coverage.

News articles like these abound. The views voiced by many of the teachers indicate that it’s time to change the discussion. It’s time to turn our attention to all the benefits that these sites offer in the realm of education and how best educators can capture the lighting in a bottle and package it for positive consumption. It’s the students whom we help shape today who will someday determine the state of these sites and the laws that will govern them. Shouldn’t we start educating them on the topic sooner rather than later.

As for Tiana, the student we met earlier, Mr. O. eventually had to ask her to get off Facebook. You see, Tiana had managed to access her Facebook account by circumventing district filters via the use of a proxy server. (She’s quite tech. savvy) And according to the policies and protocols of the School District of Philadelphia regarding internet usage:

USERS MAY NOT:

11. Directly or indirectly make connections that create “backdoors” to the District, other organizations, community groups, etc. that allow unauthorized access to the District’s network.

Too bad, Tiana was really on to something!