Blog Post #7: Social Networking Sites (EDES 501)

Reflection on the Process of Learning About the Tool

Facebook was really the only Social Networking Site I was familiar with and apart of at the beginning of this course. I became a member of Facebook roughly 3 years ago at the gentle prompting of a few of my high school friends. "It's like having a high school reunion online," one of the proclaimed. And it really was. For the first few months it was amazing catching up with people I hadn't seen or talked to since we graduated in 1989. The opportunity to find out where classmates were located and view photos of them and their families was quite exciting. Where is the first place most people go when you first visit someone's profile? I always check out the "View Photos of . . ." the person initially before I explore their profile further.

Reflecting on the process of learning about Facebook, I remember feeling pretty excited about the fact I could reconnect with my old friends and also stay in touch with family members across Canada. The actual Facebook application was very user-friendly to sign up for and create my profile page. It was simple to download and share photos and albums and share and talk about your favorite music and books. I do remember going back to my personal information page and removing some of the information I had initially added. After adding some family photos and albums of my kids I realized that perhaps I shouldn't have revealed quite so much about us and where we lived.

There were moments of frustration sifting through the myriad of Facebook applications that were constantly recommended by Facebook and other friends. I think we all have that one friend that forwards everything from hugs to quizzes to I Think You're Hot (so inappropriate!). That is the one aspect of Facebook that still drives me a little crazy - I thought of removing the one high school friend that continues to send me all this stuff, but I think that would probably be considered a big NO-NO on the Electric Friendship Generator's list of do not's. Steve Abram's YouTube video, "Facebook Manners and You" listed five DONT'S of Facebook etiquette in a fabulous, funny way. This would be an excellent resource to use with Middle and High School students to remind them to: not change relationship status before talking to boy/girl friend; not post embarassing photos; be discreet when posting messages on your wall; not steal other peoples' friends; and, not start hate groups. Interestingly, when I showed this video to some senior high school students in the library the other day, one of the girls stated, "Oh my god, I have done all of those things!" Another girl suggested that I show this to the leadership students and perhaps they could use it in some way to create awareness of Facebook manners with the entire student body through some sort of activity or something. I really do think it would be an effective way to show students what could happen if they were to use Facebook as a form of bullying or space to try and hurt somebody. Also, teachers will enjoy it for the humour and the old-fashioned way in which it was produced.

When I began the process of applying for Graduate studies in this department last summer, I came across a Ning created by Jennifer Branch for Canadian 21st Century Teacher Librarian's. I decided to join this Ning as I thought it would probably be an excellent resource and place to ask questions or find information pertaining to this and future courses. If I am being honest I haven't visited this Ning as often as I visit Facebook - I am not even on Facebook as often as I should be. Most likely because I have been devoting most of my time each week to the specific topics we are covering in our course.

If I take a look at where I am now compared to where I was three years ago when I first joined Facebook, I consider myself to have gained quite a bit more confidence and knowledge regarding Social Network Sites. I didn't even know what a SNS was until I joined Jennifer's Ning, because I didn't know what a Ning was! Checking out the Ning website I finally started making some connections and realized that Facebook, Twitter, and Nings were all sort of the same thing. For all the flack these online spaces take, usually from older generations, they are fairly amazing places to reconnect, collaborate, plan, and share photos, videos and other multimedia projects.

Discussion of the Tool in Terms of Personal Learning

From the view of being part of a social group, without the Facebook application "Class Creator," my 20 year high school reunion would have been extremely harder to organize. I would say that Facebook itself allowed us to locate more than half of the grads by accessing friends of friends. There were three of us that were the main organizers and created the actual "Summerland Secondary Class of '89" site through Class Creator. Not only were we able to locate grads using this application, we could regularly update details regarding the dates, times and places of all the events and also set up links for registration, payment, and accomodation. One of my admin jobs was to collect the money and arrange for the caterer. I had an existing PayPal account that I easily switched over to a business account to allow people to pay their fees online. I received only a handful of cheques, the majority choosing to submit payment via the PayPal link.

Ironically, at the same time my Dad was on the committee to organize his 45th high school reunion. They combined three years of graduates (1963-1965) and organized the entire event through word of mouth, telephone, advertisements in local newspapers and some email. I offered to help him set up some sort of online communication site, which he politely declined! I can't imagine how much more work it would have been to organize our reunion without the use of a Social Networking Site and online payment system. This is a prime example of the generational digital divide that I have read about numerous times in various articles. My Dad could not believe that I trusted the PayPay website with my personal banking information, "Identify theft is real," he reminded me.

The social implications of Facebook for myself and my family have been positive as well. Through the Family Link Application I have been able to stay in touch with my immediate and extended family. It's pretty amazing to have that opportunity to connect and communicate with family one doesn't get the chance to see regularly. It's an easy way to share photos, videos, and now for me, things like VoiceThread, Wordle, and Animoto creations with family members. Try as I might, I still cannot convince mine or my husband's parents to join us on Facebook.

Is there any negative social implications regarding Facebook? Personally I can think of only one. When I first joined the Facebook network I really wasn't aware of what it entailed. I received many friend requests from family, friends, AND students. At that time I did not have enough foresight or knowledge about this space to ignore the friend requests from students. Not that I post inappropriate photos or information about myself or family, but now I wish I had never opened up that avenue. I do not accept any further friend requests from students and I do get some flack for it when I am at the high school. "How come you're friends with her, but not with me?" Even now I'm not sure how to handle this - do I remove all students from my Friend's list with a generic 'Sorry'? Is that good Facebook etiquette? Theoretically Facebook does not allow people under the age of 14 to join and do try and remove children if they are "underage." The first student that requested me as a friend 3 years ago is presently only in grade 8 - she would have been 10 years old at that time! Her both know she was and remains on Facebook to this day. Stephen Abram discusses a new important literacy, "Online Social Literacy" in his Pipeline Column, Scaffolding the New Social Literacies (Jan 2007). I know it is expected of educators to promote online ethics and safety awareness, but it cannot fall solely to the teachers. Parents MUST take a proactive role in supporting their child's online social literacy at home. Abram notes, "For all intents and purposes they (SNS) are only as safe as the user has the awareness and skills to make good judgements." I really do not believe a 10 year old has the ability to judge what he/she should be saying or posting in an online environment.

Abram mentions Webkinz in his column, as a social networking site for children, "playground pushers of social networking crack." GUILTY! My daughter loved Webkinz, she looked from them everywhere anytime we were out shopping. She does not go on the website anymore, but she used to love going on creating rooms, playing games, and, yes, sending messages to her friends who were also on Webkinz. It does make me feel a bit better that her and her little brother continue to play with the actual stuffed animals we purchased. Abram makes a very interesting, relevant point and asks, "By creating safe places where you need letters from your teacher or parents to get online, or protect kids by narrowing the rules, can kids ever develop the critical thinking about their identity and privacy that will be essential for success in their future?" He believes we need to begin teaching kids at earlier ages how to handle privacy and personal information issues. His idea: When we are teaching kids in grades K-8 about themselves, community, and the world then, "at each stage we define what level of awareness they need to have online for each of these stages." What a smart idea - if somehow we could get it written into the curriculum. I really do believe we are falsely protecting our students by not allowing them online at school, they will as Abram declares, "just take it underground." He concludes, "Smart schools will offer more balanced view points and information. Our society expects it." I think we as educators could learn a lot from what Stephen Abram has to offer with regards to promoting self-awareness of privacy and safety issues with our students when they are online.

Discussion of the Tool in Terms of Professional Learning

The number one action I would take if I had all-controlling power over the three schools in Chase would be to remove the ban on student access to Facebook (and YouTube). The amount of time and energy teachers spend disciplining students for being on these sites, I think, instead, what are some of the educational ways we could be using SNS with them? It doesn't matter how often we bust them during the school day, they will continue to access these sites somewhere, somehow. They know how to open multiple tabs and keep them hidden from unsuspecting teachers. As soon as the teacher begins rotating around between students, they quickly switch to the appropriate screen. Honestly, when I am called in to cover library blocks at the high school (as they have no qualified librarian anymore) I allow kids to be on Facebook or YouTube for the first or last ten minutes of the block, as it prevents me from policing them the entire time. Obviously they know if I catch them on or doing anything inappropriate they do lose their privileges and so far I have only had to suspend one student from using these websites. I wonder how often teachers check their personal emails throughout the day - and during class time? Well, social networking sites are now how students "check their mail." Kids really do not email anymore, they text, chat on Facebook and MySpace. I find I have fewer problems with students sneaking on and if they do access something appropriate I can block their online access for that day.

I found an article online, "The Facebook Classroom: 25 Facebook Apps That Are Perfect for Online Education (May 2008). There are tools for students, teachers, administrators and everyone from sharing books to math formulas to getting help with homework and creating videos for students. I printed this and posted it in the staff room at the high school. It will be interesting to hear what kind of feedback I get from teachers.

Michael Blanding's article, "Social Networking: Thanks for the Add. Now Help Me With My Homework" from our Trailfire focussed on a study by Christine Greehow that social networking sites like Facebook may, "have more educational potential than you might think." Her questions, "Can we harness this interest and passion in their online lives for education purposes?" led me to further investigate an article by Greenhow and Robelia (August 2009), "Old Communication, New Literacies: SNS as Social Learning Resources." It is quite long (31 pages) but a very good resource examining the role of MySpace in the lives of 11 high school students. In their paper they argue, "that adult-driven discourses ought to consider not just 'academic' literacies but also young people's 'non-academic' communicative literacies typically practiced outside of school as part of their overall development of new literacies." They do believe that students do need background knowledge and understanding of print material, what was termed '21st century skills', but they they also require exposure to online literacies as well.

Greenhow and Robelia's data regarding the impact of SNS on social learning resulted in 3 important ways that SNS in fact supported student social learning: (1) Validation and appreciation of creative work, (2) Peer alumni support, and (3) School-task related support. The majority of teachers I work with would not entertain the idea that Facebook could provide any educational value. Perhaps presenting the data from this study would be a starting point to initiate that dialogue. The authors do concede that there is much more study needed in this area.

Previously in this post I mentioned that perhaps the best way to ensure students success for the future is providing a good balance of traditional literacies (print material, 3 R's) along with online reading and writing interactions. My previous course, Inquiry Learning, provided insight into the constructivist theory, building new ideas and information from past experiences and existing background knowledge. This should ultimately be the goal for educators today: building upon our students existing knowledge gained through traditional literacies, adding new knowledge and forming social online literacies. Greenhow, in her doctoral thesis, From Blackboard to Browser, "found that the teachers who were most effective in integrating the Internet into the classroom were those who subscribed to constructivism." Blanding's suggestion to use SNS "as supplements to the formal in-class learning, building upon the spontaneous sharing that students are already doing," would be a reasonable way to integrate these networks into the classroom for teachers or teacher-librarians. There are a few applications from the 25 Facebook Apps link mentioned previously, that could also be easily incorporated within the classroom. The Flashcards application allows students to create flash cards to help them study on Facebook and Get Homework Help lets students get connected with tutors and other students than can help with homework and assignments. And those are only 2 of them, there are many more for students and educators.

Greenhow and Robelia's study describes two student-driven social media publications located within Facebook, HotDish and MN Daily. These are sites with social and technical aspects that "encourage, content, creation, sharing, and play." HotDish shares environmental science new, knowledge, ideas and activism, while MN Daily concentrates on college community news and alumni.

Based on this post, one can see that I have focussed almost solely on the benefits of the educational value of Facebook integration in the classroom. Why fight the masses? As Doug Johnson said at the Tech It Up! conference, something like, it's going to be much easier for teachers to adjust how we teach than to have students change they way they learn. Irregardless, there are still going to those educators who only consider Facebook as having a negative impact on student education. I can imagine questions such as, "How do we monitor them?" "What if they are posting inappropriate information, photos or videos?" "What will their parents think?" Perhaps one way to encourage reluctant users and show them the benefits of SNS would be to provide them with reliable resources, studies and practical Professional Development sessions to show them how to use these applications with their students.