I agree with Doug, this really isn't a clear cut issue. I respect
individual choice to use social network sites or not, as long as any
contact with students is professional. Many adults think too little
about their digital footprint.
When it comes to social networking sites such as Facebook, I wonder how
students are going to learn responsible use, without engaged adults
providing feedback and advice. I think about the research done by Dr.
Meg Moreno at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, regarding students at
risk. She contacted teens with explicit content on their myspace sites
with messages such as: "You seemed to be quite open about sexual issues
or other behaviors such as drinking or smoking. Are you sure that's a
good idea? ... You might consider revising your page to better protect
your privacy. -Dr. Meg". 3 months later, a significant number of teens
contacted had revised their privacy settings or removed personal content
from their sites. More here on her research:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/06/tech/main4700966.shtml.
If we block access to Facebook and Myspace during the school day, and
create policies
(http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6639197.html) and
legislate limits about who can contact students (proposed legislation in
Missouri), how on earth can we expect kids to learn responsible use?
Who do we think will teach them? Too many of our students have parents
who are unaware of the risks. Schools, by federal law, are responsible
for teaching internet safety. Can this really be done effectively from
a walled garden?
Here's another take on teachers using social networking from CNN
Technology: "Online student teacher friendships can be tricky"
available at: http://is.gd/1qmR. I like how the teacher interviewed,
Randy Turner, addresses how the tool is used, "Facebook and MySpace
aren't the evils that regulators should be after... Instead the focus
[should] remain on vetting the teachers being put in charge of the
nation's youth." Teachers must be responsible for behaving
professionally when interacting with students, wherever and however.
As a teacher librarian, I do think it's important to demonstrate ethical
and appropriate use of tools. I work in an elementary school- and
wouldn't consider friending my students, but I would consider friending
parents/guardians with a professional FB page if I thought this would be
an effective way to get the message out about new books, and school
events. I run a Twitter feed for parent communication at school, too;
only a few parents use it, but it's another way of getting the word out
about what we do. I keep this separate from my twitter account for my
PLN.
Unfortunately, complying with Terms of Service does limit which tools
are available to me in my elementary library classroom. (Okay, let's
not talk about downloading YouTube videos for classroom use...). To
simulate popular social networking, and give students an opportunity to
practice the safe internet use we're trying to teach, I originally built
nings for book discussion groups; Ning TOS indicate clearly that the
platform is for age 13+, so I moved the discussion groups to Moodle:
much more clunky to navigate, much less cool to use. (Hey, Steve
Hargadon: how about an ed ning for kids?) Is this frustrating, when I
don't believe that federal legislation (COPPA: http://is.gd/PHL)
prevents students at risk from engaging in risky behavior online? Yes.
But I comply and model acceptable use for my students. Thank goodness
for tools like Voicethread Ed accounts, where I can explicitly teach
students the use of personalized, but non-personally-identifying avatars
and screen names, with use of a powerful teaching tool that gets
students engaged.
We need smarter legislation and policies, that actually protect kids.
We need to teach about the power of educational networking- our kids,
our administrators, and our legislators need to know. All this talk
about 21st Century education... it's ourI hope my own children will have teachers
who are willing to use all the
tools available to guide their learning-professionally and responsibly.
And I'll be asking to join their groups, too.
Best,
Shannon
Shannon Walters
Library Media Specialist
C.P. Smith School
Burlington, Vermont 05401
swalters@bsdvt.org
(802) 864-2228
>>> Doug Johnson <doug0077@GMAIL.COM> 03/15/09 9:15 AM >>>
Hi folks,
There is an interesting discussion about ³friending² students on
Facebook on
my blog. Not as clear cut an issue as I had originally thought.
<http://tinyurl.com/bxsq2f>
Whenever I encounter new situations online, I always try to draw an
analogy
to the physical world. Even if kids and I both spent social time at the
same
coffee shop or bowling alley, I don¹t believe it would be professional
if I
³friended² students there. And I personally wouldn¹t do this even if I
were
a college professor and my students were all adults! We are to be
trusted-adults, not friends, to our students. Any other relationship
would
be unfair to the student.
Just as I would report underage students hanging out in a physical space
that required a minimum age for admission to their parents, I would also
report underage students hanging out in an online age-restricted space.
Just something to think about,
Doug
Doug Johnson
Director of Media and Technology
Mankato Area Public Schools
Box 8713, 1351 S Riverfront Dr.
Mankato MN 56001-8714
Phone: 507-387-7698 x 473
E-mail: doug0077@gmail.com
Web: www.doug-johnson.com
Blue Skunk Blog: http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/
The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the
one
that sings. - Wendell Berry
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