Apr
21
2010
I have decided to finally venture back into attempting to use Facebook in the classroom as it makes eminent sense to use the tool that our learners are already using. My main issue with Facebook has always been that it has so much interfering “noise” and are… oh so slutty with ads that invite you to apply for anything for green cards to quick dates. Learners who are easily distracted, will be detrimentally challenged (and I include myself here), so I thought.
However, my teachers who have used (are using) it reported that they had great success, connected with their learners in ways that have not been possible before (even the shy ones) and managed to keep their learners on task. One teacher explained that she rewarded learners with “playtime” if they managed to complete tasks. Another teacher reported on how learners contact her after hours asking questions about homework and they have even started debates on really topical issues which then spilled back into the classroom, creating a buzz.
With the new Facebook features that allows for groups and fan pages (cutting out the necessity of being forced to befriend weirdoes), I am ready to wander back and give it another go using this little PowerPoint as inspiration.
Jan
25
2008
We have not even begin to unpack the issues that social networking can hold for schools. So I will start collecting snippets of articles dealing with social networking issues…It got the following from Knowplace:
ABOUT FACEBOOK & PRIVACY:
Facebook privacy values were called into question recently following a huge number of user complaints related to the introduction of a controversial new advertising application called Beacon. Beacon tracks the online buying habits of Facebook users and spreads trend information amongst their approved friends. Many Facebook members responded with outrage. Groups emerged out of the protest, the largest of which is ‘Students Against Facebook News Feeds’ (700,000 members) The 23 year old founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg recently apologized to the members. To increase your privacy on facebook:
Method 1:
- login to facebook
- profile
- privacy
- external websites
- edit settings
- Select: “don’t allow any websites to send stories to my profile”
- Save
Method 2 (If you use Firefox browser)
- Download and Install the BlockSite plugin for Firefox.
- After restarting Firefox select ‘Add-ons’ from the Tools menu.
- Click the ‘Options’ button on the BlockSite extension
- Click the ‘Add’ button
- Enter http://www.facebook.com/beacon/* into the input box
- Click ‘OK’
- Click ‘OK’ again and you are good to go.
Both Methods With Visuals: http://www.wikihow.com/Block-Facebook-Beacon
