ASSETT

Traditional electronic communication tools like email and instant messaging have been key drivers in changing the expectations of availability and boundaries between students and professors.  These mediums have contributed to a culture where not only students, but also staff and colleagues assume a near constant level of connection and accessibility.  While these demands are significant, the rise of Facebook is adding additional pressures and complications to this phenomenon according to Professor Harriet Schwartz’s recent review in the Chronicle of Higher Education entitled Facebook: The New Classroom Commons?  While acknowledging the increased demands on time and attention brought about by Facebook and other social networking tools, Professor Schwartz also discusses the potential of Facebook as a new academic commons, a place for diverse community participation and engagement.

The growth of online social spaces like Facebook afford many opportunities for connecting with students and colleagues in meaningful ways outside of the classroom, however these opportunities also raise important questions and considerations.  Professor Schwartz addresses several of these in her assessment:

1. Are students my friends?

If you’re on Facebook, do you have a policy for friending students? For colleagues and others at your institution?

2. Are Facebook posts public or private?

Do you consider your posts to be public? How is your approach to public and private similar and/or different from those of your students?  What is your responsibility to the information you see posted by students in Facebook?

3. Mentoring on Facebook?

Can the simple and short exchanges that take place on Facebook contribute to mentoring relationships with students?  What other ways might Facebook be used effectively with your students?

These are only a few of the many questions and considerations that are emerging as professors, and people in general, work to adapt to the changing social and educational landscape created by social networking technologies.  If you’re interested in further discussing these ideas and how social networking tools can be used in teaching and learning, please join us for a brown bag, Social Networking in Education, on Monday November 9^th at 12pm in UMC 245. The brown bag will focus on key tools and specific examples of their uses, with tips, reflections, and best practice recommendations.

Article Link: Facebook: The New Classroom Commons?

- Written by Mark Gammon, ASSETT DATC

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