Put together the words "Facebook" and "teacher" and generally what most people expect to see is a news report about an educator being fired or put on probation for something or the other. As a result, quite a negative stigma has emerged regarding education and social networking sites. Despite this attitude, I am a strong proponent for utilizing social networking - specifically Twitter and Facebook - in the classroom. I've compiled a list of rules and reasons that accompany my opinion.
1. Rule: Keep Your Private Life Private and Your Professional Life Professional I have two facebook accounts and two twitter accounts. In both cases one is public and one is private. The public accounts are my "professional" accounts. It is where I communicate with students, network, etc. The private accounts are my personal accounts. That is where I talk to my friends, make plans for the weekend, and post pictures of my New Years Eve celebration. There should be a very distinct line between your public and private lives, and you should never allow them to blur.
2. Reason: Everyone is on FacebookThis is not a "jump on the bandwagon" plea so much as it is an "appeal to the masses" reasoning. I could (and have) build a class website on a server that is made for educators. Your best students will check the website frequently and participate. But what about those students who are not among the most motivated? Odds are that they will not go to the webpage and eventually will forget that it even exists. Facebook, though? They're going to go to Facebook. They have to catch up with their friends, post their status, and take a bunch of menial quizzes! So when they are checking their News Feed they can't HELP but notice that Professor H. posted a homework reminder.
3. Rule: Utilize Your Page EffectivelyDon't turn you professional page into a place to post what you're eating for dinner, or how excited you are for the trip to Vegas you're planning. Save that for your private, personal page. Instead, post homework reminders, questionnaires, contests, quotes, book reviews, etc. Keep it relevant to the subject you teach and the students you teach.
4. Reason: Technology is RelevantThank God the old ways of teaching are on their way out the door. No longer is a classroom about the teacher reading off a bunch of irrelevent information while the students write it down verbatim. We live in a world where you can post your homework assignment online. Where students EXPECT their curriculum to utilize technology, because they use it constantly. Just as an example, I had at least ten students last year in my Advanced Placement classes who took their notes by typing them onto their cell phones instead of hand writing them.
I'm not talking about peeping Tom-type stalking (although you shouldn't do that either). What I'm talking about is when you check your News Feed and see that your prize student has posted a photo album entitled "Spring Break 2009 - CRUNK!". A word of caution to all of you: DO NOT CLICK ON THE ALBUM. When you go through the album and stumble upon the inevitable picture of said prize student doing something they shouldn't be you take on a moral and legal responsibility to alert someone. Don't get sucked into finding out everything you can about your students lives. It's just a bad road to go down; trust me when I say that you'd rather not know.
These are just a few general guidelines and reasons behind using Facebook. Really, it's up to teachers to maintain professionalism when in contact with their students, whether it is in school or out of school or online. So please, use your best discretion, but be open-minded! Technology is not all bad!
Thank God the old ways of teaching are on their way out the door. No longer is a classroom about the teacher reading off a bunch of irrelevent information while the students write it down verbatim. We live in a world where you can post your homework assignment online. Where students EXPECT their curriculum to utilize technology, because they use it constantly. Just as an example, I had at least ten students last year in my Advanced Placement classes who took their notes by typing them onto their cell phones instead of hand writing them.
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Comments (11)
yeah.. keep two accounts, i'm an ECE, once I start teaching.. I wouldn't want my kids having my facebook account, and definitely wouldnt' want them to see my tagged photos lol.
As a former teacher I think you are spot on with everything you've said. Right now I keep up with some of my former students on FB, "kids" I taught in 8th grade who have grown up and have kids of their own now! It's so great to be able to keep those relationships up.
great post! i'm a former pre-k teacher and now stay-at-home mom. having friended my former coworkers, i'm not sure it would be a great idea for them to friend parents...some of their status updates are about kids that they're not particularly fond of...of course no names, but as a parent you'd like to think that the teacher care for the students equally...but teachers do need to vent to their friends sometimes, so having 2 accts is a good idea...as well as some things you probably don't want your boss to see...
This is really good advice - for everyone who has a job really.
I haven't been a teacher for about 2 1/2 years now, and I would never have thought about this (though some of my former students have found me on facebook). I think when I go back to teaching (once both my kids are in school, in about a year), I will be creating a second facebook account for professional stuff. :)
this is so true. i totally agree with this.
I wouldn't add my teachers on Facebook. I treat my teachers as teachers. That's it. After the class, I don't talk to them anymore unless I have to or until the next time I go to class again.
Makes sense :) Although for #2, I don't agree with it wholly. It's the student's own problem if they can't remember the url/website or that there's even a test online. I'm a student and I don't believe it's the teacher's job to remind students "hey check the website, homework is due tomorrow" every week. It's my responsibility to pay attention in class and take note of when the assignment is due.
However, I think it's great as an up-to-date tool and going paperless. For one of my class, we meet on location (landscape painting) and twitter helps keep us posted whether the time changed or class is canceled due to rain or whatever.
Wow, notes on the phone! Those are fast fingers!!
I'm a student in college and I keep a Twitter and Facebook. I have teachers from high school that I was close with on my Facebook friends, and I don't mind what they see because they are my past teachers and they knew me way back when. I mostly keep up with them on there so I can guest speak at club meetings and such when they want me to and it's nice to stay in touch. I know that they don't post anything negative on their sites, so nothing negative can be done to them.
My Twitter on the other hand is a different story. I have a current professor on there, but the way my classes are, we get very close to our professors and we'll go out and party with them. The professor I do have is a younger guy who goes on video shoots with us a lot of times (I'm a video production major) and it's a good way to communicate with him about upcoming events and such. I also text with teachers, and that's just entertaining...
@Joanna_said_SO@xanga - haha, yeah, I know the feeling. Sometimes there are things certain people just should not see. :)
@bubbelcat@xanga - Thanks for the comment! I agree entirely. It's great to keep in contact with some of my former students who have gone off to college - something that may not be possible without social networking.
@mamajoyjoy - I too have seen teachers post about their frustrations at school, which I think is kind of unprofessional. Even if it is on my personal account, I try not to make any comments about specific kids. Sometimes I may make generalized statements, like 'these kids are killing me this week', but I never single any students out. I'm sure their parents wouldn't be too happy with me if I did!
@LiberalArmyWife@xanga - Thanks for the comment! :)
@Morningstarrising@xanga - Glad I gave you an idea. Hope it works out for you!
@causewehavealovesostrong@xanga - I have a lot of students like this, and that's totally cool. Some students don't really feel a need to talk to their teacher's outside of school. Other students are a bit...how do I put this nicely?...obsessive when it comes to their grades. I teach Advanced Placement kids, and quite a few of my assignments are difficult. I like having the sites available in case the students need any clarification on projects or whatnot...stuff that they didn't think to ask in class.
@thegreenlinda@xanga - You are completely correct. It is the student's responsibility. Unfortunately, quite a few students don't realize that...and that's when you have to get creative. :)
@liebedavinci@xanga - There's definitely a difference between high school teachers and college professor's and your relationship with them. It's great that you have solid relationships with them, and social networking is a great way to help!
@Joanna_said_SO@xanga - i'm an ece major also and i've worked with kids of all ages the last 3 years from babies to teenagers... i don't tell them i have an account period but somehow these kids find my page anyways! you know what i do?! keep it private and block underage kids from seeing my page or adding me.. simple! no need for 2 accounts...
and the whole technology thing defeats the whole purpose of being a teacher... it's the face to face interactions and having your students socialize with each other face toface that is the point... using technology to communicate defeats that purpose... personally i think social networking sites are useless... no one ever goes out to meet people anymore it's all about twitter and facebook... i don't have facebook nor twitter cuz myspace took over my life when a friend signed up for me pre facebook and pre twitter... and technology is making us all lazy!