Although many of us continue thinking that Facebook and many other technologies can be considered to be effective technological tools for the classroom, we hardly ever think about why and how to use these tools to promote effective learning. Through doing some research on Facebook, I came upon several articles that explained how to use Facebook in the classroom. However, one particular story that caught my attention was that of a student, whose teacher had created a classroom Facebook account, where the students had to post responses to the readings.
Something that particularly struck my attention was the way in which this student defended the real usefulness of Facebook in the classroom. She understood that these things like posting responses online could certainly be done in Moodle or Blackboard; however, she saw Facebook as being more effective because of the obvious familiarity that students already have with it. This first-hand account from a student on how Facebook can be used in the classroom really made me change my perspective on the many different ways in which I can use it in my own classroom. Of course, I understand that to make this tool safe for my students, their accounts and private information need to be hidden from the other followers. Yet, once this minor obstacle is resolved, the teacher and students have the opportunity to disembark on a journey that will guide the students towards learning.
Anais,
ReplyDeleteLast semester one of my boyfriend's online management classes was actually based on Facebook. The instructor for the course created a page and invited all of this students. He would then post weekly readings and students were required to comment his posts, create their own posts(using text, pictures, videos, etc), and then comment on classmate posts. I believe that this is a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom because the majority of college students are extremely familiar with Facebook and therefore are equipped to thoroughly express themselves on it using pictures, videos, songs, etc. The only criticism I have with this is that students should have been required to make separate accounts for the class. I fear that sometimes intertwining school with personal lives can cause a conflict of interest and the student may end up hurting themselves in the end. However, I do agree with Facebook in the classroom as an overall concept.
Anais, It is a fantastic idea to incorporate facebook into the classroom especially if we want to promote posting responses. It allows the students to cooperate as a community and facebook is something that they are familiar with and will probably use in the future. Why set up an account on Blackboard where they will never use the skills after college. Facebook allows for conversations between peers--and it is easier for some who usually don't orally speak their mind to participate in a conversation.
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