Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Social Networking: Facebook? Twitter?

What problems are we trying to solve?
  • Staying "connected" students, staff and stakeholders even when their phone numbers and addresses change. Probation officers and judges might find it useful? Visual record of student attendance? 
  • Keeping people informed about who is coming and what is happening at school and events. 
  • Posting assignments for students. 
  • Sharing with other GED programs. 
  • Improve student interest and attendance in obtaining a GED 
  • Getting "share of mind" from 16-24 population 
  • Establish a long term relationship? 
  • Get more students? 
  • Build a body of knowledge? 
  • Create a "learning" community that will help our learners into the future. To provide them support during their next stage. 
  • Provide longitudinal data. Valuable data. Should we give incentives? Can we sell data? 
  • Students can post a question for other students or teacher to answer? 
  • Promote more social connections? 


Issues?

  • Permissions? Who should see what? 
  • Administration of the site? What rules are needed? 
  • What material is acceptable to post? 
  • Where are the boundaries between students and faculty? 
  • In the future, what material might not be acceptable to post? 
  • How many students use Facebook? How often? 
  • What types of photos can be posted? Can we do it weekly? 


How to proceed?

  • Describe functions of the site 
  • Decide which are the most valuable 
  • Estimate cost of each function 
  • Do easy items first. "Low hanging fruit" 
  • Define these roles: administrator, teacher, student 



What other GED programs have a Facebook page? Are they using other social networking?
"Social Networking", Reverence 3

Blaine High School in Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin District 11 considers social networking. Someone created a bogus imitation and made mean postings. "40,500 students in 13 communities". Site services parents, teachers, and administrators. LinkExtend is a tool that helps students avoid dangerous sites.

Edmodo, a more secure social network, is used by 17,000 schools. (but it lacks the obliqueness of Facebook, which may be what we need to keep track of students)

Facebook vs. Twitter: Reference 4

Twitter is better for people who have simple cell phones. Facebook may end up being more successful.




Faculty on Facebook, Most successful

References

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Cool Cat Teacher
  • Faculty on Facebook: Confirm or Deny?. C. Michael Sturgeon. Faculty Coordinator of Instructional Technology. Lee University; Cleveland, TN msturgeon@leeuniversity.edu 
  • Social Networking: Keeping It Clean By: Waters, John K., T.H.E. Journal, 0192592X, 20110101, Vol. 38, Issue 1. Found on ERIC 
  • Facebook vs. Twitter: Battle of the Social Network Stars By: Tagtmeier, Curt, Computers in Libraries, 10417915, 20100901, Vol. 30, Issue 7 
  • Faculty on Facebook: Confirm or Deny?Online Submission, Paper presented at the Annual Instructional Technology Conference (14th, Murfreesboro, TN, Mar 29-31, 2009). 20 pp.

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