I’ve ruled out one piece of social technology as an in-class educational tool: Facebook. Apart from having students occasionally design a mock Facebook or MySpace profile for a character in a story – giving them practice at understanding different perspectives – I am convinced that I will not use Facebook in the classroom.
I’ve read about students using Facebook to support learning, and agree that it’s great if students will use the site for homework as well as for socializing. They can continue to do that on their own time.
Siege Curmudgeon‘s musings about Facebook‘s increasing irrelevance and possible privacy issues have clinched it for me. It’s become a tool that frankly doesn’t feel worth the hassle any more.
Thanks for the linkback, Brad. I’m glad to be part of a larger discussion around Facebook’s role in daily life — including life in the classroom.
Your comment, in my opinion, sums up the Facebook discussion, albeit ominously: it “doesn’t feel worth the hassle any more.”
I’ve looked at this too, and I know a teacher who’s doing some cool stuff with Facebook, and I wouldn’t want to discourage him from doing something that’s really working for his class and his kids, but it’s not something I really feel would work for me. I agree with you that it doesn’t seem worth the hassle.
So… what about a Ning?