It's fall semester, so our blogging assignments are starting back up! One of our options was to blog about something related to technology in the classroom. I decided to write about Facebook and Fakebook, because two classmates and I will be giving a 75 minute presentation on the subject in a couple weeks.
I don't know about you, but I had never heard of Fakebook until I was assigned this presentation topic. And, to be honest, I'm still not really sure about it's usefulness, even after having done a lot of research on it. Basically, Fakebook looks similar to the Facebook layout we are all familiar with, but you don't actually create it about yourself. It's intended for students to create "Facebooks" for historical, fictional, or any other character or person. You can upload a profile picture, give them fake friends that they might have been friends with in their story or when they were alive, create statuses for them, etc. You can really do most of what Facebook does, but it's all fake. It seems strange, but I suppose it could be an interesting way for students to do a non-traditional book report or person-study on a character/person they've come across in class.
However, aside from elementary uses such as a book report, I wouldn't use Fakebook in my secondary classroom. I would, however, use Facebook in my class. The most important feature, I believe, that would be useful in a classroom is the "groups." In fact, the MAC program uses a group on Facebook to communicate, and it is a great way for us to stay connected and help each other out! In the group feature, you can add certain members and make it "closed" so no one can join without permission, which is what you would want for a classroom group. Then, group members can post in the group and add pictures. We usually post questions about homework assignments, places where we are studying so we can meet up with each other, etc. I think this would be extremely beneficial for high school students, because it would give them a place to discuss and collaborate about the different topics we have been covering in class.
However, there are also many scams and otherwise dangerous aspects so using an online social media platform in a classroom. This is going to be a big part of my group's presentation, so I won't go into it much right now, but I will make a blog after we present so that people can keep those hazards in mind if they decide to use Facebook in their schools.
Morgan!
ReplyDeleteI'm so interested in hearing your group's presentation. I have a lot of mixed feelings about using Facebook in the classroom.
First of all, before the MAC program began, I was getting ready to get rid of my Facebook. I found it was becoming a huge time suck. I would sign in to look at a message or some photos, and an hour later, I'd be looking at some friend of a friends' photo album of their recent vacation to Gettysburg. What?!
The point being, I didn't want it anymore. But luckily, before I deleted my account, our program started and as you point out in your blog entry, we use our Facebook group so amazingly and productively. I've relied on it for help on clarifying assignments, for advice on what resources to use, and for an easy way to communicate with you all.
My question is, do I, as a teacher, want to be the one to facilitate my students' use of Facebook, or do I just want to suggest it as a possibility...something they could organize themselves if they're interested.
I know how dangerously distracting Facebook can be and I don't know that I want to push students into getting on when they might not otherwise.
I'm interested in how a teacher can tap into the useful parts of Facebook without necessarily promoting all of the other stuff that goes with it...
Thanks for bringing this up. I'm sure we'll talk more once you present :)
-Rachel
Hey Rachel and Morgan,
DeleteI'm also in this group with Morgan and we share a lot of similar ideas, but we haven't talked about this one.
Rachel, your thoughts about how distracting facebook can be is not something I had considered before, but you're so right! I figure though, that students who are supplied with technology (at my school they all have their own iPads) and they are already wrapped up in the technology world, constantly facebooking and texting in their free time (some of my students told me they send hundreds of texts a day!) we might as well be channeling that energy into something productive and intellectually stimulating for them! I'm still a little unsure about all of the potential repercussions of using this particular piece of technology, but I do see that it could be an opportunity to implement a tool that students are already using, allowing them to feel comfortable in that space and be more inclined to participate.
Claire
Hi, Morgan,
ReplyDeleteI also question the usefulness of Fakebook. While we were using it during your group's presentation, I really didn't see how I could use it in a class. I see how some people could think it would be fun to make a "profile" for some person they are studying in a class, but I think this may be a case of using technology for the sake of using technology. In my classroom this fall, we have had a couple assignments where students would create posters (anywhere from 1/2 page big to poster board size) about some topic. In my 6th grade Earth science class, for our unit on great scientists, we had the students make a poster depicting one of the great scientists we studied doing something that made them famous, like George Washington Carver planting peanuts. The students also needed to put a caption on their poster to explain what the great scientist was doing. This reminds me a lot of making a Fakebook "profile" for someone, except that it allows the students to be a lot more creative, and it leave them with a physical finished product to be proud of.