There was this one website, here, that I looked at, which had some really interesting and informative ways on how to use Facebook in a learning environment. Of course, if a teacher were to use Facebook you'd probably want to create a new profile separate of your personal one for the class. Facebook really is a great communication tool and a great way to get discussion going and collaboration.
The teacher could create a group for the class, upload photos from the class when doing a class event, have students use the "notes" part of Facebook, which in a way is like blogging, and have them all answer questions on there and have the other students comment on their peers' notes.
Teachers could also use the status update as a way to communicate with their students such as : "don't forget to study!" "do forget to do the homework!" "is thinking about a possible pop quiz tomorrow", etc.
I'd love to use Facebook in my classroom because it is in everyone's lives and is everywhere! Students will love it, it's fast, easy to use, and it is something the students are interested in.
-Danielle
I would have NEVER thought of this, but it is such a great idea!! How better to remind students of class than to become a part of their social network?! I think this would help students remember what is going on in class, like posting the days notes, example problems, and videos. Maybe the teacher could even create a small quiz through Facebook. I really like how you thought of bringing a large part of a student's life (i.e. Facebook) and brought it into the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI would have never thought of using Facebook in the classroom and I am still not sold. I am just afraid that students will use it to look up other things and find information that they should not be seeing. I also do not know if parents would approve of their children using a social site.
ReplyDeleteDenise, that's a good point, but in one of the websites I was reading, and idea came up as to asking the parents to sign a permission slip allowing their student to partake in using facebook. I'm not saying to use facebook for elementary, but I wouldn't mind using it in a high school environment, which I want to teach. Also, I think you need to see how mature your class is in order to see if they could handle using this website.
ReplyDeleteI agree Facebook can be very useful in the classroom. Teachers need to be careful about what they post.
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