Facebook Faceoff continued from page 21


To: Nancy DeYoung From: Arnold Parks, High School Science Teacher


Nancy:


I’m irritated (and not in a good way). You are an excellent principal and I have great respect for your leadership. During the past twelve years you have been a friend and a mentor. You have pushed me to keep my focus on student learning and achievement in the classroom. Tat’s why this Facebook decision has me frustrated and confused.


You know VERY well that high school students are not always thinking through everything carefully or clearly. Tese young people are learning how to navigate in an adult world and there is a lot of “drama” that I have to help them learn to deal with. Everything from boyfriend/ girlfriend issues to fights over occasional dumb comments and thoughtless actions. Opening Facebook amplifies those tiny issues into something much bigger. Tink of how many times “our friend” in the English department has made her


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platform. It offers much of the basic structure of a Learning Management System (LMS) while providing a richer social networking framework for the coursework.


Additional ideas


Photographs are easy to take with cell phones, smart phones, tablets and digital cameras. Flickr allows creation of groups and offers solid discussion functionality. Photos are often excellent for students expressing themselves and feeling comfortable with articulating their point of view. Flickr and other sites also offer means of access to photos taken by others, and in the process your students will learn about how to check access rights. This can be a great way to open up discussion of all sorts of topics and gain participation by students who might otherwise hold back.


Pinterest may be used in a manner similar to that just described for Flickr, but instead collecting and commenting on Web sites and specific content from within those sites. Students learn more about search techniques, about how to assess the content


MACULJOURNAL | of a site, and how to organize and categorize.


Google+ hangouts may be used for groups of teachers to discuss and socialize outside of the workday. This may be a useful way to get work of mutual interest done, with the added benefit of smooth integration with Google Docs. Teachers may also find this of value for interactions with parents or combinations of students and parents; the logistics of this may be much more manageable than finding a time to meet at the school.


Tumblr offers a broader “scrapbook” approach to blogging, enriching the “collector” aspects of Pinterest. It is riskier in that the content is often intended for intelligent adults. But as one way of helping your students learn about the world of social networking, you might provide some guidance to their parents and suggest that parent and child create something together, or with each watching what the other creates. This could be a rewarding and fun collaboration for both, and it would put the task of deciding about appropriate content


Winter 2013 |


in the hands of the parent. You might offer some guidance, but this is one way of working with students who will already be exploring social networking outside the school, and giving them a framework in which some healthy learning could take place, both for students and parents.


CODA


As you are reading this, you are probably thinking about what your school needs to do now with social networking. Your own personal social networking can be a crucial next step in this. Talk with your principal and others about your school being even more proactive in grabbing the opportunities and educating about the pitfalls through more open access, deliberate use in classes and with information and guidance for parents.


Greg Marks is the Director of Product Development at Michigan Virtual University. He can be reached at gmarks@mivu.org.


thoughtless comments among the teachers on Facebook and how many hurt feelings have come from those posts - and we are adults!


You know me, Nancy. You know I use Facebook. I share things with you all the time. I use it, but I don’t see that students need to use it. How will this add to the curriculum?


Sorry to dump this on you, but I am not the only teacher who feels this way. Please think about this and get back to me.


Arnie


To: Nancy DeYoung From: Phillip Springs, Senior Class President


Principal DeYoung:


As senior class president, and on behalf of the entire student body, I want to thank you. Your recent announcement concerning student access to Facebook has had an impact on the entire student population. Unblocking Facebook has been the topic of many of my personal conversations with my fellow students.


Our generation needs to connect with others online, and Facebook is our meeting place. Tanks to your announcement we will no longer feel the frustration of being removed from our digital world during the school day.


Again, I thank you for listening to the requests of the student council and responding so positively.


Phil Springs Senior Class President


Tere are four thoughtful perspectives here, all with valid points to consider. Did the district make the right decision? I want to hear what you think. Leave a comment at http://www.mikeypartridge. com


Michael Partridge is the Instructional Technology Specialist for Pinckney Community Schools and an Adjunct Instructor for Michigan State University. He currently serves as the MACUL SIGMM Assistant Director.


twitter @mikeypartridge


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