SAMPLE POLICIES – Facebook for Educators. EDUCATOR’S GUIDE – Facebook for Educators.
News That Inspires. 4 Reasons why Facebook is an Educational Tool for Schools. Recently I helped review the use of information and communication technologies in the Jordanian public school system and I was intrigued to find that Facebook was blocked in both public and private elementary and secondary schools.
In fact, the overall attitude of teachers and administrators seemed to be that Facebook was a waste of time – that it had no redeeming educational characteristics at all. Yet I don’t see Facebook in that negative light. I find it a compelling platform to to encourage language development, interpersonal communication, group collaboration, and of course, ICT skills improvement. 1.
Language Development Facebook requires students to express themselves and communicate in a written format. 2. Schools use Facebook, Twitter to get out their message. Community forums and newsletters sent home in backpacks are so old school.
You want to find out whether stewed tomatoes are on tomorrow's lunch menu? Check out the district's latest tweet. How about the date for the next school board meeting? Look on Facebook. Don't like a school district decision? Social networking isn't just for kids, trendy parents or curious grandparents anymore. In the Portland metro area, at least eight districts made the leap this fall, signing up for Twitter or Facebook. Though the sites won't replace the more traditional forms of communication anytime soon, they provide another way to reach out to plugged-in parents, residents without kids and even students themselves. At the same time, the new domain comes with a new set of questions about how to maintain the district-sponsored sites, what kind of content is appropriate and who should have access to the sites during the workday. So far the district has 307 "fans" following its daily updates. Educators use Facebook with policy protections as resource for communication, learning.
Staff photo by Cathy Cramer(From left:) Woodruff School Music Department students Sydnie DeRosa, Logan Riddle, Ariana Yamasaki, Joshua Ore, Danielle Basile and Timothy Venella post to the program's Facebook page with Woodruff School Music Department Director Spencer Lau.
Social networking websites offer educators a world of opportunity for growth and communication, but, as lawsuits and horror stories have highlighted frighteningly often, they can also open doors to abuse and trouble. Despite the challenges of policing online content and interactions, many school districts are working to utilize resources such as Facebook in progressive ways that advance effective communications and learning while protecting students. “We have increased our communication and awareness between our school, our students and parents and our local community, business owners and sending schools,” said Jason Helder, principal of the Salem County Career and Technical High School. 100 Inspiring Ways to Use Social Media In the Classroom. Social media may have started out as a fun way to connect with friends, but it has evolved to become a powerful tool for education and business.
Sites such as Facebook and Twitter and tools such as Skype are connecting students to learning opportunities in new and exciting ways. Whether you teach an elementary class, a traditional college class, or at an online university, you will find inspirational ways to incorporate social media in your classroom with this list. Ideas for K-12 Classrooms Implement these great ideas in your K-12 classroom to have students learning in a dynamic new way. Make literature real. Ideas for College Classrooms Integrate these suggestions into college classrooms for engaging learning opportunities. Window to daily life at school. Ways Students Can Use Social Media From practicing a foreign language to finding scientific research, these tips will have students using social media to enhance their education. Find scientific research papers. Students Want Social Media in Schools. Souhegan High School.
The Why and How of Using Facebook For Educators – No Need to be Friends At All! If you are one of those out there that believe that Facebook has no place in the classroom, then, well maybe this post isn’t for you.
But please first take a look at just a few reasons why you should reconsider: The fact is, the majority of your students and their parents are probably already on FacebookEven when schools have a policy against being “friends” online, there are tools you can use that won’t violate policyDespite what you may hear, there are strong privacy options that you can set up so only those that you want can access your informationWe have an obligation as educators to model appropriate online behavior and learn right along our students From Where do we begin? Just today, Facebook released their own sponsored Facebook For Educators guide, but we found that there really wasn’t enough “how-to” in this guide to make it worth it. FacebookForEducators.org Should we be “friends” with students? This is certainly a hotly debated question. How Are Teachers & College Professors Using Facebook?