Facebook in the classroom. Well after reading up in this issue, I have realized that I am not supposed to use this tool in the elementary grades, where I teach. I knew that children were using Facebook, but I actually didn’t recognize the fact that they were lying about their age and therefore weren’t aloud to be using this social media until they turned 13. How naive I am! I guess I should get my head out of the sand as Tami Lewis Brown says in her blog! http://throughthetollbooth.com/2011/01/21/kids-books-and-facebook-taking-our-heads-out-of-the-sand/ Apparently, millions of children under 13 are using it every day. Why don’t we simply let those children join, since they are doing it anyway? I know that the age thing is there to protect children from the dangers of society, but sometime they have to learn about this. They are on the internet for hours every day with no supervision. Would being on Facebook be any different?
I spotted an excellent book from the public library that is a useful guide for parents and educators; A Smart Kid’s Guide to Social Networking Online (2010) by David J. Jakubiak published by PowerKids Press, New York. This resource is worth having in a school library. It deals with games, rules, bullies online, predators, leaving a Network and gives safety tips. The safety tips could be discussed with students and linked to the school’s website. Here are some of the safety tips that should be shared with parents:
· Personal facts do not belong in profiles or blogs. Keep that off the internet
· Keep your time online to 2 hours or fewer a day
· Have an adult use security software to block out bad words and sites that are not meant for kids
· Keep your passwords to yourself. If someone finds out a password, change it.
· If someone puts your personal facts online, have an adult contact the site right sway to get them taken down
· Spend some time checking out a site before you sign up. Make sure it is right for you
· Always have a parent or guardian read over the site’s rules with you when you sign up for a social-networking site.
Obviously I digress from my topic! Back to Facebook in the classroom. In Richardson’s book he mentioned talking to the administration before you begin a project and also get the parents approval. Richardson talked about another teacher’s project where they created a private group. Here the students could exchange information on each others walls, answer questions and create shared space or materials for the course. This must have been with high school students.
For another teacher’s project Richardson described the buzz and excitement from students with the idea of using Facebook. The teacher first had a couple of lessons on the Internet and appropriate use of technology in the classroom. Next, the teacher posted a question or topic that students had to respond to by a certain length of time. They posted photos and videos and built a class community. He said that the quiet kids actually spoke up online and when someone was sick they used Facebook to keep her up to date. I think that this would be a great idea for older students who are mature enough to know how to behave online and can work independently! I had to wonder if this was anything different than doing a class blog?? Can’t you do the same things with blogs or even wikis?
The Unquiet Library looks like a great Facebook portal for students, teachers and librarians to share and give feedback. I just don’t know why the TL didn’t use a blog, wiki or website software. http://www.tinyurl.com/1956sc
Here are a couple of sites that I found interesting related to Facebook in the classroom:
Educational value:http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/jun/25/schools.uk2
A final quote from Anthea Lipsett’t article in guardian.co.uk; Stephen Crowne, Becta's chief executive, said: "As technology increasingly becomes a key ingredient in classroom learning, broadening our knowledge of the technology used in school can really bring benefits, whether you are a parent, carer, governor or teacher."
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