Facebook is one of those tools that many educators cringe at
using in the classroom. As a social media network, the idea of incorporating
students private lives and friendships into the sometimes stale classroom can
be worrisome. Professors may feel that by asking students to connect and use
Facebook is an invitation to have them enter (and I quote Bill here) “the
professors creepy tree house”. But once getting over these initial fears,
professors and students can find several affordances of incorporating Facebook
into the classroom. While no doubt some disaffordances exist and some
professors may opt to use a different online system such as piazza.com or
voki.com, the vast literacy students (and most professors) have with Facebook
makes it an arguable tool to use over other sites.
But before I get on my soapbox proclaiming the wonders of
Facebook, let’s take a look at some of its disaffordances. (For I too was once
a teacher who looked at the inclusion of Facebook in my course with skeptical
eyes.)
Disaffordances (And
Then A Critique of the Disaffordances)
“The Creep Professor Syndrome”- As I briefly mentioned above,
asking students to join a Facebook group can feel at times like the professor
is asking students to join a secret group. More importantly, since it is the
professor asking them to join the group students may feel pressured to join and
feel as if their private world of Facebook is being put under-siege by an
academic outsider who ultimately controls their grade.
While I recognize this concern, a way to avoid feeling like
a “creepy” professor is by asking students if they would like a Facebook page.
Doing so, places the tool as an option and not as a mandatory site. From my
experience, nearly every student finds using Facebook in the classroom is a
great idea. Now, I recognize this reaction may be due to my age and gender, but
with the frequency students visit Facebook I would put money that most students
no matter what the age or gender of the professor would most likely respond
positively to using Facebook.
Privacy Issues- This goes slightly hand-in-hand with the
“Creepy Professor Syndrome” but no doubt is an issue. Facebook changes
frequently and as such so does their privacy settings. This can often times
release information that is intended to be private into a very very public
world. Thus, there are legitimate concerns about privacy settings with
Facebook. Additionally, some fear that Facebook may violate FERPA, which
protects student’s privacy and rights in educational settings.
While these are legitimate concerns, there are solutions to
working around privacy issues. Yes, Facebook changes quickly and so does the
privacy settings. But so does all technology. My argument is that if you plan
on incorporating technology into the classroom then you are also signing up to
continually educate yourself and keep on speed with the technology that you are
using. Yes, that takes more time and, at points, can be very frustrating. But
it is a reality that is hard to escape.
Additionally, Facebook can be used in a way that does not
require the student and the teacher become “friends”. Instead, you can create a
class group where you as well as the students can post information, documents,
updates, and create events. This group can be protected either as a “secret”
group where no one can see the group or a “closed” group where all members must
be approved to join. This avoids non-students or pesky members to join the
group and create external class distractions. Creating a group then avoids
teachers feeling the need to “friend” their students or students needing to
“friend” their teachers. Instead, the group becomes an external meeting space
for teachers and students to use for classroom purposes.
Finally, the issue of FERPA is a serious one. However, make
the Facebook group and use optional. Doing so should release teachers any
penalties of violating FERPA laws. Additionally, it places less pressure on the
students and teachers – avoiding feelings of joining an unwanted group or site.
Access- This disaffordance is an issue though I would like to
argue one that is subsiding. Yes, access is always an issue especially with the
digital divide. However, teaching in higher education settings I believe minimizes
issues of access. Once students enter college-level courses, most (if not all) universities
expect students to have access to the Internet in some form or another. For
example, MSU as an institution mandates that freshman have a laptop once they
begin courses. But this is talking about technology in general. Let’s get back
to Facebook and access. If you are thinking about incorporating Facebook into
your class, I encourage you to take a quick poll in your class to see how many
of your students use Facebook. From my experience teaching at MSU, the numbers
are near 99% if not 100%. These college-level students have Facebook and use it
often (even during your lecture in class). Now there may be some students who
simply don’t have it or don’t want to use it, and this is a legitimate access
issue. However, by making the Facebook tool optional and not mandatory avoids
issues of access. Instead, it simply becomes an extra tool to use. In my own
class, I make it policy that whatever I post to the Facebook page I will also
send out in an email to the whole class. This then ensures that students will
always have access to class information.
Distractions- This relates a little to access as well. Many
students, especially college students, are using Facebook in class, on their
phones, at work. It is everywhere. As such, some professors may argue that by
incorporating Facebook into the classroom then encourages more distractions as
they are teaching. However, my counterargument to that is these students would
be using Facebook no matter what during class. Therefore, why not create a
Facebook space for these students to use during (and outside) of class time? We
live in a digital world where distractions can no longer be fought against. It
is simply part of our everyday nature, simply look at the number of tabs you
have open on your computer screen right now. (I have 13 open right now and it
is only 9:30am!) Therefore, instead of wasting time in class trying to fight
against the distractions of online worlds, we should attempt to try and incorporate
them into our classroom spaces. Doing so may allow students to continue to feel
a weird comfort level of being distracted but being connected to the class at
the same time. Instead of looking at photos of their friends at a party over
the weekend on Facebook, they can be looking at a new class prompt or
discussion question posted to the Facebook page as lecture is going on. In a
world filled with distractions, it is something to legitimately think about.
This now brings me to a set of affordances. Yes, I have
tried to counter all of the claims that are disaffordances to Facebook and now
will attempt to convince of the multitude of affordances.
Affordances:
Ditch Angel/D2L/Blackboard – Many professors and students find
it hard to actually want to use a non-customizable system like Angel, D2L or
Blackboard. The mobility of the sites are stiff, unfriendly, and out-of-date.
To paraphrase Neal, it is very much like having an old kitchen where no one
wants nor is inspired to cook. This is why Facebook as a tool is unique as it
allows students and teachers to pretty much ditch the system! On Facebook,
course updates can be posted (like emails), documents such as readings and
worksheets can be uploaded, student discussions can occur, class chats too, as
well as editing of documents. Further, unlike other systems, all class activity
on the page is recorded and becomes a class log to an extent for teachers and
students to reference throughout the course. In a way, the page contains “live
notes” that constantly live, change and stored for reference.
As a teacher using Facebook, this is the largest affordance.
No longer do I need to login to Angel, direct myself to the email tab, select
students I want to email, compose the email, and then send the email. Instead
with Facebook, all that is needed is the ability to login to the site, post an
update and I’m done!
Updates- A great feature of Facebook is that it automatically
updates all members of the group. When a student posts material or a question
on the page, immediately I am sent an email and am directed to that post. The
same works if the teacher posts anything. Students will receive an email and be
directed to the teacher’s post. Personally, I find this feature to be quite
beneficial because it ensures that I am constantly connected to the actions of
the page. This then minimizes inappropriate use of the site as well as offers
an immediate connection. This I find important especially for an online course
where it can be easy for teachers and students to check out. With updates
linked to email and available on the Facebook page, checking out simply is not
an option.
Limit Email – The affordance of updates works to limit the
amount of email the teacher must respond to. Now, you probably ask yourself,
how is this possible if I am getting email updates from the page? Well, the
reason is that often times while you receive those updates you do not need to
respond to them. Here is an example of
how students use the Facebook page and how the site helps to “decenter the
classroom”. Jerry asks, “Can anyone tell
me how to post stuff to the blog?” Samantha responds, “Go to our pages
dashboard then find ‘posts’ and then ‘new post’”. She adds later on in the
night “message me if you are still confused”. Here the teacher received email
updates of such activity occurring on the page. However, since the activity
took place at 9:30pm when the teacher was no longer checking student emails,
the students themselves where able to provide correct information and appropriately
direct the student to the correct page. As such, in the morning, the teacher
only needed to login to Facebook, see the post and the response in order to
ensure proper direction was given. In this instance, Samantha not only
correctly directed the student but also extended herself to act as the teacher
in this instance. Such an affordance is unique to Facebook as a tool and one of
the primary reasons why I use it in my courses. (Please note, student names
were changed in order to ensure privacy.)
Mobile – A final affordance is that Facebook can and often is
used on mobile devices. This allows teachers to post updates directly from
their phone instead of hauling out a laptop or logging into Angel to find email
addresses. Instead, class updates are available at teacher and student
fingertips. Again, this limits the amount of time students and teachers need to
spend to simply ask a question or post a response. And for writing teachers
especially who need to grade numerous papers and of which the time to do so is
incredibly tedious, using Facebook as a tool to minimize basic class management
is something very appealing.
