How ridiculous! The week I'm completely immersed in facebook, who should join but the Queen of England - my latest 'friend'! She's right up there along with Margaret Atwood, Michael Moore
and Johnny Depp. We can marvel at how small the world has become as we connect with people around the world. While it might be amusing to check out the monarchy page now and then for bits of gossip, it feels a bit like buying 'The National Enquirer' tabloid. The entertainment value of social networking seems obvious. Is there a professional or educational side to social networking and if so, what does it look like? Are parent and administrator fears well-founded? How young is too young to begin connecting? Just what is social networking and why is it so popular?
Social Networking
To begin exploring social networking I watched the Commoncraft video Social Networking in Plain English. It explains the basic features of social networking sites, e.g. sign up, create a profile, connect with friends. You not only connect with your friends but your friends friends.
It also focuses on the advantages to be gained through the hidden connections in these networks, e.g. a new job, relationship, home. de Ramirez (2010) states "social networking on the World Wide Web involves Web sites or programs that help connect people, establish groups of people with common interests, and facilitate communication and sharing of information, (p.101). Wikipedia elaborates by pointing out that "most social network services are web based and provide means for users to interact over the internet, such as e-mail and instant messaging." Being fairly reticent, social networking holds little appeal for me on the surface. Since social networking sites have been "rapidly embraced by large segments of the population" (Bauman & Tatum, 2009, p. 1) I need to find out what the appeal is and how this tool could be leveraged in the school setting.
I joined Facebook in 2005 after a group of graduating student teachers encouraged me to keep in touch with them in this way. Interesting that it was university students as Facebook began as a tool "for students to connect with each other and stay connected" (Bhattacharyya, 2010). It is free to join so I signed up by providing my name and an e-mail address. A confirmation was sent to my e-mail and I was ready to begin. I created a basic profile and set my privacy setting to friends only. Several student teachers kept in touch by letting me know when they had job interviews, contracts and babies. Then in 2007 a friend and colleague headed to Thailand to teach. Facebook was his main method of keeping in touch and still is. I looked at Facebook occasionally and relied instead on personal e-mail, the phone and old-fashioned Canada Post to communicate with family and friends. I must admit that in spite of this early membership it didn't hold my interest. Small-talk has never been my forte and I felt that many messages were either boring e.g. someone's child is constipated, or crossed a moral line, e.g. details of a colleagues sex life. There is an intrusive side to this dialogue that made me feel uncomfortable.
I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one who felt this way. While I might not describe my thoughts as flamboyantly, I related to the profane descriptions in Andy Ostroy's "I hate facebook" rant . In spite of this, for the last three months I've tried to become an active Facebook 'friend'. I try to check-in at least once a day. As well I've played around with various features. Here's how it all began.
- To start I began adding 'friends'. I added family members, neighbors and old high school friends to explore the personal side of facebook. I added colleagues and gurus from educational blogs to help explore the professional side. I have to admit that I get a bit annoyed with the pervasive push to add friends every single time I sign in. Bhattacharyya (2010) explains, "facebook has been programmed to ask you whether you want it to search your email list." It even names my 'friends' who have used various e-mail services to successfully add more 'friends' to their collection. Of course you have the opportunity to refuse a 'friend request', block a person or delete a 'friend' from your list but these choices are not boldly presented each time you sign on.
- Now that I have a group of 'friends' it's time to connect by sending messages, pictures, even videos. I played around with 'poking' friends, writing on their wall, sending direct messages and my sister and I have planned several family events by using the 'chat' feature. The fun doesn't stop here. Facebook "offers many games and add-ons that make the environment fun and entertaining for users" (de Ramirez, 2010, p. 103). Sure enough, friends are constantly sending me '10,000 free bonus coins for friends in Bejeweled Blitz'. I now know what 'color my personality is' and have shared 'faves' including books, movies and restaurants.
- From a professional stance, I began to follow organizations like Mashable, ReadWriteWeb and Ted. What is posted is usually interesting but seems redundant as I also follow them on twitter and follow their blogs. I also found Mashable so prolific that often I cannot view friends messages without going to that specific friends homepage. That said, I must admit to learning so much from Mashable. One of the most recent discussions was based around the question "what age do you think is appropriate for children to have a Facebook profile? Two? Four?" The comments appear to be split. One group sticks with the legal age requirements, 11, 12, 13. The other group feel accounts should be available for newborns.
- Along with communicating with friends, I decided to explore 'groups'. I joined 'Educators using facebook,' 'Librarians & Web 2.0' and to follow a personal interest "Quilting'. I must admit I was disappointed in the professional groups. At any point in time the bulk of the posts are self-promoting, e.g. try this diet, use this real estate firm, make money by..., or check out my website. There are also job postings and links. Many links however are too localized to hold interest, e.g. 'follow the election in Louisiana.' I also have to wonder if these groups have lost some of their momentum? The last topic posted to the 'Librarians & Web 2.0 discussion page was dated January, 2009. The quilting group however has been great fun. Members provide information about patterns, fabrics and upcoming quilt festivals. They seek advice when they encounter problems and they provide inspiration through the many photos of completed projects.
- Hardagon (2010) made me feel better about the entire term 'friend' when he pointed out that, "while "friending" can have a terrible connotation, if you think "colleague", this will quickly fall away," (p. 15). This does help. Inviting people I don't know to be my 'friend' seems a bit odd. The term colleague simply brings it to a professional level. While I've tried to interact with colleagues, the majority use facebook at a personal level and I was frequently teased about, "Is this for your course?" whenever I posted anything that could be considered educational or professional.
- Advice on on-line etiquette abounds so why is it consistently not followed, especially by colleagues, teachers in a moral profession? In the post "50 Crucial Rules - Social Etiquette for students" I discovered some key advice that my colleagues should consider: don't drunk-facebook, don't write private messages on wall posts, edit your photo choices, and be careful who you tag, (Social Guy, 2010).
- Privacy concerns and safety issues abound. According to the facebook site you must be 13 years of age or older to create an account. This immediately eliminates all of my students. Obviously, many families simply lie about the ages of their children. Kist (2010) acknowledges that "after months of looking, there was only one teacher I could find who admitted to using Facebook unfiltered within the school day in a K-12 setting and even this teacher said that it "flew under the radar screen" of his school's administrators" (p. 97). While facebook has the potential to engage students in learning, particularly by setting up classrooms and projects through the group feature, the negative connotations and legal issues associated with it are not something most teachers are willing to deal with.
Librarything.com
Starr (2007) describes Librarything as "special because it offers three very strong features for book lovers: a robust cataloging tool, a social element frequently described as "MySpace for books" or "Facebook for books" (but better), and book recommendations based on the collective intelligence of member and institution collections" (p. 25). Here is a social network I understand. It is truly my favorite. Whether you choose shelfari, library thing or simply participate on amazon.ca you are part of a social networking and cataloguing site. I joined library thing in 2008. Membership is free for the first 200 books and a bargain for a lifetime membership and unlimited book entries, your choice ranging from $19 - $55. I showcased the site in a PD session to staff several years ago pointing out that not only is it a great tool personally but it could replace the old pencil and paper reading record. While our students are too young to have their own memberships a 'look what class 3E has read this year' membership would be a great introduction to the site for students while providing an easy method of tracking books, posting reviews and searching for and reading about what others are reading. My librarything account is linked to my library class site at school for easy sharing with colleagues, parents and students.
To begin, I recommend watching the take the tour presentation. Then like other social networking sites join by providing your name and a current e-mail account. Once you're signed up, log in. You will be taken to your home page. Here's mine!
The toolbar across the top has tabs for home, profile, your books, add books, talk, groups and local. For the first few years the only thing I did was add books. Simply click on the add books tab, type the title, author, ISBN or LC card number into the search box. You may also choose where the search takes place, e.g. Amazon, Library of Congress, etc. From the results click on the book you'd like to add, add tags and a star rating and if you choose write a review. As you build your library you review what you've added by going to the your book tab. You can view your collection in a list form or by looking at front covers.
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| List view |
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| Cover view |
While playing around on this site in the last few months I realized that I've been missing out on a lot. First, your home page contains your picture, the number of books you've catalogued, your account status, the date you joined and a search box. It is also made up of many modules. You can customize your home page (click on customize) by adding and organizing the modules (drag and drop the module within the list). On the left side of my home page I have modules including: recently added, recent recommendations, connection news, local events, talk, your zeitgeist, your top tags, members with your books and tag watch. On the right side I have announcements, recent posts from the librarything blog and thing-ology blog, featured authors, early reviewers, popular this month, hot reviews and on this day.
There is so much here to do. I am able to read reviews of books I'm considering for purchase. I also can search through members who have read the same books or use tags to connect with other readers who have similar reading interests. I've tried writing a few reviews, joined a couple of discussion groups - Librarians who librarything and read YA Lit, and explored the zeitgeist tab, an area that collects statistics like largest libraries, top books, most reviewed books, 50 top tags, etc. I follow both librarything blogs and use the author features to find out more about favorite authors and learn about upcoming titles and events. I've also taken advantage of the book recommendation and library suggestion features that generate recommendations based on my current collection and tags.
Ning: A brief word about ning.
Safety and privacy are at the top of every school discussion about social networking. Many educational writers refer to safe or closed sites, e.g. "private social networks give teachers and students a place to communicate and collaborate around school subjects and projects outside of the classroom in real-time" (Horton, 2010). Along with the private nature of wikis and nings we need to consider acceptable use policies. Crane (2009) provides examples of acceptable use policies (AUP's), e.g. Acceptable Use Policies in School 2.0 Culture, (p. 8).
Personal uses of social network sites
The potential value of sites like facebook became apparent to me a number of years ago when our oldest nephew became very ill and could no longer attend school. The supportive community of friends he developed (many who he never met face-to-face) were invaluable to this typical, social teen isolated by illness and embarassed by what the disease and drugs did to his appearance. Facebook and other social networking sites including the chat element of many on-line games became his lifeline. When he became terminally ill this Spring, in the few days before his death Facebook was the tool his family used to seek support and to share his day-to-day treatment and visit schedule, thoughts and wishes. The outpouring of support communicated through facebook was truly overwhelming. While I will unfriend most of my colleagues at the end of this course I will continue to use facebook to communicate with friends overseas and family members. Librarything, classroom 2.0 and the new OLA ning will continue to be part of my PLC.
I co-chair a fiction review committee for our board. At our next meeting I'm recommending that we consider eliminating our private database and post our reviews on librarything. We could easily form our own group but our information would be readily available to everyone, not just board personnel. It also would push for a link to other teacher-librarians and readers. Here's a chance for us to make connections, to read what others are saying about the books and possibly connect with the authors.
I can also see recommending librarything outside of the work setting. My family members as well as some friends are all voracious readers. A quick demonstration over the Christmas break will likely result in a wave of new members.
Professional considerations - knowing about, using and questioning the role of social networking sites
Richardson (2010) reminds us that "if we are working with kids in schools (or elsewhere) we have a responsibility to know what Facebook is all about", (p.133). I can't agree more. When looking at the amount of time our students are spending on social networking sites we need to understand what they are all about. Of course facebook and many other social networking sites are blocked by our board's filters. There are a few exceptions however in North America. Davis (2010) documents on high school by stating "the school's official Facebook page keeps its 1,100 fans updated on sports events and academic achievements," (p.16). Communicating with the school community is a starting point. Even my school board can now be followed on facebook (a bit ironic since they block it in all schools!). Similarly, in the National School Board's description of technology educators to watch, they describe some of Cheryl Capozzoli's efforts. "She has created Facebook Community pages for teachers, parents and students that keep them informed about school issues and initiatives and provides timely educational technology training and support for school leaders and colleagues."
"Educational Networking is the use of social networking technologies for educational purposes. Because the phrase "social networking" can carry some negative connotations for educators, the phrase "educational networking" may be a way of more objectively discussing the pedagogical value of these tools" (Hargadon, 2010). With this in mind, private blogs and wikis seem to be a more appropriate tool for the under thirteen group while nings may be the tool for highschools. In my role as teacher-librarian in a JK - gr. 5 setting I'll continue to use wikis, model the use of library thing and encourage dialogue about social networking sites.
I was surprised to discover concerns about these sites. I assumed that they were blocked because of the gaming nature of the site. Bauman & Tatum (2009) however suggest that "younger children may not be developmentally ready to understand the dynamics of these kinds of relationships and communication," (p.2). They go on to state that "early access to computers threatens to replace the normal social interactions essential to social development and to promote inappropriate patterns of thinking and relating," (p.2). As I'm reading this I'm thinking that they're considering children who do not have a parent guiding them or this is in regard to a child who is on the computer non-stop. Then they quote Greenfield (2009) who "fears that the brain itself may develop differently in children who have spent a great deal of time on these activities" (p.3). The article goes on to discuss the inappropriate language and sexual themes on Club Penguin and I'm beginning to think I've ruined my child. Of course I'm taking this all in stride and wondering about the validity of these claims. I'm also seeing them in the same light as a banned book - surely this is the place for critical literacy - discussions about how to use the sites, what's reasonable and what to do if you're uncomfortable with the content. I feel it's a shame that these sites are blocked and that we don't have an opportunity to take an educational approach to their use.
Horton (2010) urges us to realize that "knowledge sharing and collaboration is happening beyond the walls of the classroom." Social networking membership grows exponentially on a daily basis. As educators we need to stay informed and open-minded. We need to look for opportunities to use these tools to connect with our students. "These new interactions are shaping the communication habits of young people, who will soon be the future workers of the world. Education 2.0 is starting a communication shift in the classroom, one that is leading to a collaborative and knowledge sharing workforce in the future" (Horton, 2010). I have to agree with Hargadon (2010) - the internet, web 2.0 and in particular social networking is a part of our students lives. Instead of filtering these sites , "these tools allow us to see the start of a radical evolution in education that will bring such dramatic changes that we'll soon be at a point where we won't be able to imagine education without them," (p.10).
References:
Bhattacharyya, M. (2010). How does facebook work? Buzzle.com: intelligent life on the web. Posted: June, 15. Retrieved from: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-does-facebook-work.html, Nov. 10, 2010.
Bauman, S., & Tatum. T. (2009). Web sites for young children" Gateway to online social networking? Professional school counseling. 13 (1), 1-7.
Cashmore, P. (2010). Could Facebook replace you e-mail inbox? Mashable/Social Media. Posted: Friday, Nov. 12, 20:14. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2010/11/12/facebook-email-inbox/, Nov. 13, 2010.
Crane, B. (2009). Using web 2.0 tools in the K-12 classroom. New York, NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers.
Davis, M. (2010). Social networking goes to school. Digital directions. p. 16 - 23.
de Ramirez, L. (2010). Empowering English language learners with tools from the web. Thousand Oakes, CA: Corwin.
Hargadon, S. (2010). Educational networking. Multimedia & internet@schools, 17(2), p. 10 - 16.
Horton, M. (2010). Education 2.0 - Social networking and education. Knowledge is social. Posted: Nov. 2, 2010.Retrieved from: http://blog.socialcast.com/education-2-0-social-networking-and-education/
Kist, W. (2010). The socially networked classroom: teaching in the new media age. Thousand Oakes, CA: Corwin.
National School Boards Association. (2010). NSBA honors "20-to-watch" for education technology leadership. National School Boards Association. Posted: Oct. 12. Retrieved from: http://vocuspr.vocus.com/vocuspr30/Newsroom/Query.aspx?SiteName=NSBANew&Entity=PRAsset&SF_PRAsset_PRAssetID_EQ=116250&XSL=PressRelease&Cache=False
Ostoy, A. (2009). I hate facebook. The Huntington Post. Posted March 25, 7:53 a.m. EST.
Silverman, M. (2010). The Future of social media parenting. Mashable Social Media. Posted: Nov. 13.
Retrieved from: http://mashable.com/2010/11/12/social-media-parenting-comic/
Starr, J. (2007). LibraryThing.com: The holy grail of book recommendation engines. Searcher. July/August. Volume 15, Issue 7, p. 25 - 32.
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