Oh Facebook. So many wonderful possibilities, so many tragic misunderstandings. What a lot of people don't realize is that they do leave a digital footprint whenever they tag a photo or post a comment on social networking sites. People need to be especially aware of how websites like Facebook can actually cause a lot more harm than good in the professional world. It is incredibly important to keep up a professional front on social networking sites; watching what you say and removing incriminating photos of yourself (or just not posting them at all) is incredibly important. Anyone can access Facebook, including potential or current bosses, administration, students, and their parents. Teachers need to pay particularly close attention to what they do on social networking sites to avoid negative backlash, whether it be angry parents, bosses, or news reporters.
With that said, social networking sites can be a wonderful teaching tool to use in the classroom. For example, students could create a profile page based off of a historical figure. English teachers could assign characters to different students, who would then have to create accounts based on that character, including their likes and dislikes, who their friends are, their favorite quotes, etc. The students could then be told to interact with each other as their characters would interact with one another. A great example of this would use the play Romeo and Juliet. The first post on Romeo's Facebook wall would probably be something about him and Rosaline ending their relationship and being dragged to a ball by his friends. Mercutio and Benvolio could write on his wall and his new relationship status would become "it's complicated" with Juliet Capulet.
Facebook is easy to incorporate into a classroom with techniques like this in mind. As an English teacher, I could use it to assess the depths to which my students understand character development in the different works we read throughout the year.
What happens when a student chooses, or gets assigned, a part that a parent disagrees with? Do you do The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and create the profile as "N-word" Jim? This concept could easily be done in the class without the use of social networking sites. What is wrong with having the students act out the characters rather than blog about them. I just think that putting them online creates the opportunity for someone to at least act offended.
ReplyDeleteI really like that idea from Rozema as well about incorporating social networking into the classroom to make texts like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet seem relevant. It's a great way for kids to understand the character's from the story and their motivations!
ReplyDeleteI pretty much have to agree. And I have the exact same idea for making a site on a historical figure for facebook. Ed Modo might be a better choice as its a more teacher friendly facebook type social network but its seems like an awesome idea.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that in an English classroom a facebook or other networking site could be used at great lengths to inspire students in ways that paper and pencil seem to fall short these days. By giving students an opportunity to write what they know in a genre they are familiar with, we gain a better idea of their knowledge on the subject and not just on how well the students can write an essay.
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