bavafacebook
June 7th, 2007
Once again, we have a great post and discussion happening over on bavatuesdays – this time the topic is Facebook.
Social software like Facebook allows us to create communities that generally revolve around non-academic interests. But the real eye-opener here can be the communities that we might be able to form around a student’s academic interests.
Facebook can be a platform to engage that community much more broadly than just the instructor and other students in a particular class – but we need to figure out the right way to do it. After all, students don’t consider Facebook an academic space – it is their social space. When we go there, we are crossing a line of sorts, at least in the minds of the students.
One interesting thing I learned today at a poster session at the NMC conference – a professor was teaching a poetry class, and created a Facebook group that he required students to come in to on the nights of class. One thing he said was that during the week, the group would have only 2 or 3 members, but just before the class, the numbers went up to 23 or so – the number of students in the course. Right after the course was over for the evening, the group membership would go back to 2 or 3. The instructor said it was because the students didn’t care to have the poetry group listed as part of their Facebook profile.
Very interesting in lots of ways.
June 7th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Yeah, this is fascinating. Alternatively, I noticed in my mini-feed today that a student I was friends with in FB, on her own initiative, was starting a Virginia Woolf reading group using a Facebook group, So, I decided to join it to see what would happen. I have been made a group officer of tech support & honorary faculty ! Which is kind of exciting for me, I can’t wait to help them create a distributed book club -I was built for this! So, I think you’re right, let the students frame their own experiences on Facebook, but at the same time don’t be too afraid to join in and have fun with them.
June 8th, 2007 at 6:29 am
Jim – I have no doubt you will give us some good strategies to use in this area! It is great to see students creating their own grassroots learning community – it almost feels like the possibilities there are unlimited.
June 10th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Thanks for the anecdote on student identity and profiles. I find myself getting invited to things I don’t want any part of, but from people I like… it’s an uncomfortable dynamic. Educators need to tread carefully.
June 11th, 2007 at 6:54 am
Brain – I know what you mean about getting invited to groups or events. On occasion Facebook groups get created by students, and I get an invitation to join. I’ve had some where I agreed with the stance of the group in spirit, or found the sentiment very funny, but it would not be a productive stance for me to take in public. Issues are often not as clearly black and white as they sometimes seem to students.