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Facebook Extends Facetime with Students Between Classes

March 29, 2008 - 1:00pm — Dave
social networks
 Nichola GutGold is presenting on the popular social networking site Facebook. Gutgold is known for making herself available to her students, even providing her home phone number. Her use of Facebook extends her availability; she prefers to make connections with students as easy as possible.

Gutgold shows a number of examples of great people communicating well with their audience by establishing an identity: Reagan and his cowboy hat, Clinton and his sax, Liddy Dole and her appearance as a biker chick with Jay Leno.

Gutgold said that we don't need to be embarrassed to have facebook pages, we need to embrace them. Facebook could aid in the retention of our students. Facebook is the new email, and we need to adapt to their communication preferences. Gutgold introduced Robert Thackery-Dey, an undergrad from Lehiegh Valley, who spoke well of his experience with Facebook. Robert claimed Facebook was the 5th most trafficked website world wide, and the most popular photosite, with 14 million uploads a day. Robert introduced Foram Dave, another undergrad who spoke enthusiastically about her use of Facebook. She claimed that it encouraged the formation of study groups and facilitated collaborative study.

Foram then introduced Alan Janesch, who runs the Grassroots Network to advocate for Penn State and education to legislators. Alan isn't young or hip or savvy (his words. I thought he looked pretty hip...) and wants to communicate with students. He saw that higher ed groups were using Facebook, so he joined, and started a group: The Penn State Grassroots Network. He uses Facebook to point others to his blog and to official information webpages as well as print media. Alan offered 10 Rules for those considering Facebook:

  1. make sure it's right for you
  2. ask a student for help
  3. keep privacy settings tight, add applications selectively
  4. start a class group on facebook, plug it in your syllabus
  5. use a professional photo
  6. be choosey about friends
  7. use an informal voice
  8. resist "abbrvs" in "txt"
  9. make the most of features but avoid facebook fatigue
  10. channel your inner student

John Harwood posed a hypothetical question from a hypothetical email asking if Penn State had an official Facebook policy. There is none, but Alan Janesch works for the Alumni Association- under a slightly different umbrella- and has more freedom.

Comments

March 31, 2008 - 10:17am — b2p

Going to where the students are

That was one thing I really got from this session -- that we need to go to where the students are to meet them half way and to help them, especially "at risk" students. Both Nichola GutGold and Alan Janesch made this point. I was impressed that the faculty are looking at technologies in this way and that by using them, show how much they care for the students.

I also appreciated the conversation around the "parent" on facebook versus the instructor. Students appreciate the instructor being accessible but I agree with the comment made that sons and daughters instructors think it creepy that their parents are on Facebook. And it comes back to students understanding that these are public sites so how do we help students know what information is appropriate to post there (if they are afraid that their parents will see some of their content, should they have posted that content)? I appreciated the faculty comments on helping students recognize this aspect.