Teachers, Students, and Facebook

I’m finding it harder and harder to believe that a teacher/student connection on Facebook is that bad of a thing. I’ve read several articles/blogs recently promoting one position or another, such as THIS ONE or THIS ONE, and I’m still wondering if, overall, connections are a GOOD thing.

I spend a lot of time talking with teachers about making professional connections and inevitably, talk of Facebook and befriending students comes up. It’s no secret to anyone in my network that a good fraction of my “friends” are students I’ve taught in the past. I’ve even “friended” some of their parents.

I’m more of a constructivist and like to see what unfolds when things are allowed to happen. I understand the concerns that other teachers and administrators have with networking through sites like Facebook, but I also understand that ignoring that network is ignoring a mountain of possibilities for professional development and teaching about appropriate internet usage.

Does befriending students mean that I am their “friend” in the normal sense of the word?

No.

I can still be a professional while understanding that this connection is a preservation of communities I've built over the years—I get to continue conversations and have opportunities that extend beyond the classroom interaction. For instance, because I’m networking with previous students, I have the opportunity to continue to teach them when they post things like phone numbers, addresses, pictures of their cars w/ a license plate, etc. It gives me a chance to remind them that EVERYONE can see what they are posting and they may want to reconsider what they’ve got on their pages, especially if they are looking for a job or trying to get into a particular college. Additionally, the chat feature has often times given me the opportunity to do homework or research help.

(As an aside…how many of our students have actually been TAUGHT about appropriate internet usage and are of the “anything goes” mindset? Or perhaps they are of the “anonymous internet” mindset and believe that what they do online is somehow a secret…)

My Facebook network is comprised of Family, Friends, previous students, colleagues, acquaintances from High School and College, and professional contacts. I don’t post anything that I wouldn’t mind ending up being on the front page of the newspaper. In fact, in all of my online activities, I try to maintain a professional tone, or at least try to refrain from references that could be misconstrued. I like being able to network with this group of people—not only to find out what is going on with them, but also to build a Professional Learning Network of users that have similar interests to mine.

The times really are a-changing. We can’t expect that what was considered right or wrong in the past is still considered the same way. This is what being a global community means. If we, as teachers, administrators, staff developers, etc. are really interested in best practices, shouldn’t we be interested in embracing the tools that we know students are using?

It’s okay to set boundaries for usage, or make decisions about whether or not you “befriend” anyone, but I don’t think it’s okay for folks to just put a blanket kibosh on something that has a lot of potential for changing the way people, not just kids, are educated.

Engagement in Professional Development

This post is in response to a comment from Drew on Clif Mim's blog earlier this week. He writes:

"Great info. Thanks for sharing. In your PD what strategies have you found most effective at getting teachers to embrace this “fearless curiosity” and try to integrate technology without being an expert?"

First of all, thanks for the comment, Drew. I like the term "fearless curiosity" and wish it were the M.O. of most educators. The problem is that, as digital immigrants, there is much fear and not much curiosity. In workshops, I'm building bridges between the past and present, and asking teachers to navigate a new path.

What I don't want to do is show the entire landscape of opportunities, but show only a couple of destinations (as part of a menu of options) and let them decide what would be the most helpful. In addition, I like to leave a good chunk of time to practice in situ so that questions and issues can be addressed and frustrations averted before they leave the workshop. That's why I concentrate on finding one thing that they can use, and emphasize that expert level is not necessary.

I talk a lot about what kids can do and how nuances of technology can be fleshed out when the teacher embraces the idea of learning together rather than learning first and transferring knowledge that may have limitations or parameters that inhibit student engagement.

As an example of what I'm talking about, my Web 2.0 workshop materials are located at The Living Web Wiki. In the beginning of the workshop, I get an idea of what the teachers' backgrounds are, and what they may be most interested in learning. After I show them the wiki, and underscore that it is just a place to come and play, I start targeting specific applications related to individual teachers. I want them to leave with a working knowledge of something, not an overwhelming attitude of "never gonna happen." I want them to know that as they gain confidence with one tool, that they have a place to come back to when they want to discover something else. In that sense, the workshop is never ending, and the information is availabe 24/7.

So, in summary, to answer you question in just a sentence or two: Tech PD needs to be specific to the user, with much time to practice and with the understanding that expert level is not required to implement something new. There is much to be gained from trying things out with kids and being open to being a learner AND a teacher.

I hope this is along the lines of what you were looking for. Please feel free to leave comments or email to continue the discussion!

2009: The Year of CHANGE!

Just a brief message to say Happy New Year and voice my hopes for the year to come!

I believe in teachers and what they can do to change the lives of children. I believe that any effort to invite students into learning is a step in the right direction. I believe that every teacher can make a difference, a positive difference, in the life of a child. But how do they do it?

They do it by:

-being personal.
-being understanding--even if 179 days have passed with misbehaviors--but believing that the 180th day will bring a change.
-being invigorating--by trying out new things "just to see if they work."
-being interesting and teaching beyond the middle.
-being human, and knowing that everything they do will have an impact, and to try for more positive impacts than negative ones.
-being technological. There's no way around it now. Get your students involved with technology and learn with them. It will make your job that much more fun!

Happy 2009--let it be your year to shine!