Teacher to Teacher Social Networking Communities - even interact with experts!

After having a facebook account for over a year, I have come to realize that it is truly a great tool to use to keep in touch with people that you may not do so otherwise. For example, I am currently planning my 10 year high school reunion and found 48 of the 66 people I graduated with on facebook and got in touch with another 11 of my fellow graduates through siblings or friends on facebook who they are in touch with. Of the 66 of us who graduated together, only 7 of them are out of my "reach" on facebook. That is amazing to me.

As a teacher, this is also a little frightening. I am using my facebook account to be in touch with friends, family and other acquaintances who can write comments on my wall, send me messages, tag me in videos or photos they have loaded on to their facebook pages. This being said...I do NOT want my students being able to access that information. I do not think I have anything to hide but do not think it is professional for students to be a part of my personal life in such as way. Luckily, facebook allows you to set up your own privacy settings so that I can restrict who sees my wall, my photos, my comments, my messages...my anything on facebook. I know there are some teachers who have students as their friends on facebook but I personally believe, when facebook is being used to conduct personal social networking, students should not be included in this forum. I believe it is a breach of professional conduct on the part of the teacher.

One way I do see facebook being used in the educational setting is forming groups with other teachers on a topic of interest to support and learn from each other. A group can be set up by anyone who has a facebook account and can be private (invite only) or public (all welcome) to facebook users. The group has its own space where the administrator (person who set up the group) has the option to include a discussion space, a wall to post comments on, a photo sharing space, website sharing space and other collaborative features.

I am currently a part of a group called Librarians and Web 2.0 that was created and is administrated by a Graduate of the same Masters program I am in - Karen Lindsay. There are 191 people in this public group who interact on a discussion board and through wall comments as well as sharing YouTube and Teacher Tube Videos and other resources that are of interest to group members. My favourite feature provided by facebook on group pages is the links to "related groups". This gives you information about other groups with common interests that you can join as well.

It has been a positive experience to be a part of this group and through this experience see how groups can be created on any topic as a professional collaborative tool. I can see that in my teaching, I would explore creating a group as a means to collaborative with other teachers who are already on facebook. If I was working on a unit or specified project or initiative with teachers who had facebook accounts, I could see a closed group (or private group) would give us a space to share and support each other when time permits.

In his interview with PC Magazine, Chris Anderson discusses the type of community that facebook provides. "As history has shown, a new network will always come along and supersede an existing one: Friendster begets MySpace begets Facebook begets whatever comes next. We don't need another giant social-network site. The world needs an infinite number of micro social networks about specific issues." I believe this can be accomplished in the group function of facebook. Anderson goes on to discuss true communities. "Social-networking tools are appealing and certainly addictive to some, but true communities have a purpose, a passion." When you join a facebook group, you do so because you are motivated by passion and a common purpose. In this way facebook can be a valuable tool, setting up professional communities.

The most fantastic potential of facebook is for teachers to get in touch with experts and learn from them! They may not be registered as our "friends" on facebook, but if experts are on facebook, they most likely are a part of groups or administrate groups that hold their personal passion where they share their knowledge.

Meredith Farkas notes this potential in her article What Friends are for. "When I first started using Twitter and Facebook, I didn't see their potential as professional development tools. One day, though, I examined my list of friends on Facebook, and realized I was looking at an online Rolodex full of experts. I saw experts on podcasting, library catalogs, engineering resources, web design, and much more. Here was this network of smart people who were likely ready and willing to share their knowledge. All I had to do is message them in Facebook".

Even with my reservations with using facebook in the field of education with students, I do think it is a tool that has great potential for teachers and educational colleagues to share and support in common goals and interests in education.

I think I am heading off to hunt for some experts! I will let you know if I find any!

References:
The Micro Threat to Facebook :Social-networking tools are appealing and certainly addictive to some, but true communities have a purpose, a passion. (2008) PC Magazine, 27(11), p.1-2. Retrieved November 7, 2008, from ProQuest Education Journals database. (Document ID: 1554705091).

Farkas, M. (2008). What Friends Are For. American Libraries, 39(1/2), 36. Retrieved November 7, 2008, from ProQuest Education Journals database. (Document ID: 1408972291).