Blog #7: Social networking

Introduction

Hi kids! Here's a picture of a hammer. You probably have one in your house. You can do good things with it like build houses and communities, or you can do bad stuff like hurt people - including yourself! But you know what? I don't know how to really use a hammer, I don't have one, and to tell you the truth, I'm a little bit scared of them. So I'm not going to teach you about using hammers at all.

What's that? Your parents aren't teaching you to use a hammer either? And you're using it all the time anyway? Well, that's not my business, I'm just your teacher.

Reflections on the process of learning about social networking

As I am already a regular user of facebook for social purposes, I wanted to not only stretch my learning this week about social networks in general, but help others to discover social networking and examine the use of facebook very closely from a professional educator's perspective. To accomplish all this, I completed three things:

1.) Taught an adult education class called Introduction to Facebook at the local community college.
2.) Co-led a ProD session for local high school teachers on Teenage Technology.
3.) Examined the user settings and literature on using facebook as an educator.

Intro to Facebook
In October, I signed up to teach a night class for adults interested in learning about facebook. I had noticed that my parents' generation was wanting to use facebook to connect with their kids and grandkids, but they were reluctant to dive in and learn independently. Seeing as I had social networking on the brain and been using facebook for over two years, the opportunity seemed like a good fit. Every student in the class was a grandparent who wanted to see pictures of their grandkids, chat with their friends and family, and connect with old classmates. The largest chunk of time in the class was spent on privacy and account settings. At first the students seemed put out by this time allocation as they just wanted to dive in and use the tool. Then I shared with them the experience of Andrew Feldmar who had been recently interviewed on CBC's Spark podcast.

A well-established Vancouver psychologist, Feldmar was routinely crossing the Canada/US border when the border guard decided to Google his name. The search returned a result for an academic article Feldmar had written about his LSD drug use in the 1970s. From that moment on, Feldmar was banned from entering the US for the rest of his life, unable to visit his children or attend conferences. No charges, no trial, barred.

The students suddenly understood how important their digital footprint could be. We live in a community that is a 15 minute drive to the border, and people regularly cross to pick up mail, get gas, or go shopping. The idea of not being able to cross the border based on something they wrote or posted online was shocking, but a lesson that hit home. I used the overhead NEC projector to go through every single page and every single tab in the Account, Privacy, and Application Settings, promising them they would only have to do this once and then they could play.

This was also a good opportunity for me to go through my settings to make sure my profile was as professional, secure and inaccessible as it could be. My facebook profile cannot be found in public searches, users must be friends with me directly to see any of my content, and my friend list does not show up when my name is searched in the facebook search bar. As much as I love my friends, sometimes I don't think their profile pictures are ones I want students or employers associating with me in any way.

Teenage Technology
My husband is also an educator, and we regularly discuss what we're reading, technology, teaching, and classroom resources. This semester, after I was going off about Nings for teaching, he set up one for his woodworking program. He was impressed that it only took him a couple of hours and he could add a variety of multimedia. Before he shared it with any students, I decided to test out his account settings and signed up as "The Bad Kid," experimenting with what I could join, post, and do without his approval. He was pretty quick to figure out his Network Privacy settings and kick me off after that ; )

Seeing as I was such a help for his Ning (ha!), my husband asked me to co-present on Teenage Technology for an upcoming ProD day. He gave a brief lecture, held a discussion, then divided the teachers into small groups doing a carousel of activities. My station was facebook. I created four "fake" accounts so that the teachers could use the social network without having to go through the process of setting up an account. We explored the processes of friending, sending messages through the mailbox, writing on walls, looking at other people's profiles and pictures, and using the chat or instant messaging function.

For the most part, the teachers were overwhelmed. "There's too much going on!" they cried as their chat screen blipped and their Inbox filled up while they cruised profiles, "I can't keep up with all this." This led to some great discussions on how the student keep up with it all, why teachers would want to use facebook at all, and the permanence of the digital footprint existing even after the account is deleted or the user is deceased.

Using facebook as an educator
The BC College of Teachers (BCCT) warns against the "risks" of using facebook. "Breaking down the walls between a teacher's personal and professional life can undermine a teacher's authority and create a significant danger zone for both teacher and student. An educator's ability to maintain boundaries within the professional relationship ensures a safe connection based on the student's needs. A safe relationship is threatened when the boundaries become blurred or ambiguous" (page 13).

The BC Teacher's Federation takes a somewhat more open-minded view: "However, 'Don't do it' doesn't do it. Too many teachers are finding educationally productive uses of the social networking tools to ignore or abandon them. Finding a balance is key. Many of the exemplar stories from the NEA [National Education Association] involve 'offensive' and 'unacceptable' photos and information on MySpace pages. Most really do fit the 'what were you thinking' category" (Canadian Jurisprudence).

Having examined my account settings and reviewing what my union and professional body had to say about facebook, I most identified with what Stephen Abram had to say on the matter in his article "Multimedia and Internet @ Schools." Social networking sites "are only as safe as the user has the awareness and skills to make good judgements."

Discussion of social networking for my own personal learning

I joined Joyce Valenza's Teacher Librarian Ning in September. And then I did very little. It wasn't because I didn't have time, or wasn't interested, or there wasn't great information being discussed and shared by amazing Teacher Librarian people, it was the sharp little stab of pain in my heart that stopped me. I have been trying to get hired on with my local school district for four years, but due to declining enrollment they have not been hiring staff without seniority at the elementary level for what feels like a very long time. Working as a Teacher On Call found me underemployed, so I made the difficult decision to step away from teaching (my love!), start my Master of Education, and accept full time work with a regular paycheque.

Checking into the Teacher Librarian Ning was like being the puppy in a pet store. I had my nosed pressed up against the glass, but couldn't touch or smell anything. Look at all those people doing great library things! Pick me! Take me home! I love teaching kids! I love literacy! I'll walk myself every day! But they already had all the puppies they needed and the Teacher Librarian Ning became a reminder of my frustrated state.

Taking these MEd classes, I am already collecting strategies, information, and resources for the day when I can step back into a classroom or library. So the Teacher Librarian Ning wasn't filling a need in my preparation or practise. Then I read a blog post by Will Richardson about personalizing the professional development learning of teachers, and realized what was missing for me in pursuing the Teacher Librarian Ning: the passion. It was hard to muster up passion for something when my first reaction was sadness and longing (whimper, whimper, tail wag). I was also reminded of the works of bell hooks (Florence, 1998) and Adrienne Rich (1977) which challenge students to take responsibility and claim their own education.

This was a great process to go through because it made me realize how students may experience compulsory sign-ups. Although an assignment might require them to participate in a specific site, they may not demonstrate their best self on that site as that is not where their passion is. So what then, was I passionate about? I like bacon, but somehow I didn't see myself experiencing too much personal learning on Enjoy Bacon: the social network for people who enjoy bacon. Except for maybe learning there's such a thing as a bacon briefcase.

Then I remembered the social network called Library Thing I had joined back in October. Now here was a social network I wanted to participate in - one for people who love to read books! At first, I had created my account and added a few books. I found the process time consuming, and didn't really explore the site. As a result, the advantages of LibraryThing were not readily apparent. I have always kept track of the books I read each year so that I can refer back to the list to remember interesting authors and estimate how much reading I get done in any given year. LibraryThing allows me to keep track of this online. Great. What else?

It wasn't until I forced myself to sit down in November and really dig into the site that the benefits became apparent. Although I added books to 'my library,' I hadn't figured out how to sort, rate, or comment on them. Once I realized I could do this by clicking on the 'edit book' icon in my list, things got interesting. I sorted my books into categories such as non-fiction, currently reading, children's, young adult, read but unowned, your library, wishlist, and favourites. Some of these categories were supplied by LibraryThing, and some I added to suit my own needs.

The 'read but unowned' category helps me remember books I've borrowed from friends or taken out of the library. So if I find the book lying around my house in a month or two, I better figure out who it belongs to and return it. The 'wishlist' can be emailed as a link to family members who are wondering what to stuff in my stocking this season. Instead of writing down book recommendations on a scrap of paper that gets smooshed in my bag or pocket, the 'to read' category helps me keep track of books that friends and colleagues have recommended. Next time I'm wandering the library and can't remember the book that I wanted to take out, I can quickly check my profile on LibraryThing. And for when I do finally land that teaching job, the 'children's' and 'young adult' categories will help me quickly get my hands on quality books that I can incorporate into my practise.

Now that I had entered a chunk of books, LibraryThing started to get more accurate in its recommendations of books I might like, similar to Amazon's "Customers Who Bought This Book Also Bought" feature. In the section of my home page called 'Members with your books' I could link to other users' libraries with similar collections. For example, sweezel and I had the most number of books in common. Like the dinner guest who heads straight for the books on the shelf to get an idea of one's host, I was able to browse sweezel's collections to get an idea of the person and gain some quality book suggestions. At the bottom of sweezel's profile page is a post by an author asking the member to review his new novel based on a similar book being favourited. How cool is that?

I love my iPod because I can tell that it was designed by people who LOVE music. Now, I also love LibraryThing because I feel that it was designed by people who LOVE books. Some features that I am still exploring include:

• tagging - I feel tagged out right now and didn't use this feature
• connecting with other members 
• uploading books to my library straight from twitter
• the Statistics and Memes page which houses my library stats on the right, and links to a wealth of tools on the left 

Although I found the site somewhat slow to load each book into my library, the overall usefulness for book lovers is outstanding and well worth the time commitment. This is definitely a site which I can envision using with the baby that is still inside my belly. We can keep track of books we have read together, write our own reviews, and get ideas for other books s/he might like.

For public libraries and organizations, there are limits on the practicality of LibraryThing. Even with the feature that allows you to mass upload book titles from files or webpages containing the ISBNs, the process is time consuming. In addition, patrons and clients may not be familiar with LibraryThing and would have to be shown how to take advantage of the service - an additional time commitment. For school libraries, this learning process has value. However, the other factor involved is, of course, money. LibraryThing is "free to 200 books, $10 for a yearly membership, $25 for a lifetime membership" with an additional maximum ceiling of 10,000 books per collection (LibraryThing). Once my personal collection hits 200 books, I will probably weigh the benefits of an annual membership vs. a lifetime. As a Teacher Librarian, I would probably be content with the idea that the school collection is already accessible online and not feel I had to upload the collection, but encourage students to create personal accounts to help foster their love of reading.

Discussion of social networking in terms of teaching and learning

As a primary level teacher, I would never hand my students a class set of hammers. I don't know what we'd do with them or use them for, and I'd be worried for their personal safety. My woodshop-teaching husband, on the other hand, enjoys teaching teenagers to use not only hammers but band saws, jointers, planers, and all manner of things they could cut their fingers off with. What's the difference between us? Experience, knowledge, and skills for safely operating woodworking tools.

Social networks are also tools. The collective knowledge of wikipedia defines a tool as "an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other." So if, as a teacher, I don't know how to use social networks for teaching and learning, then they cease to function as a tool as they cannot possibly generate effective action.

The reality is that students are using social networking sites. "If one wants to be successful in reaching students, one must begin one's teaching where the student actually is, not where one thinks the student ought to be" (Razna, 2009). If the students are on social networks, maybe someone should be teaching them how to safely use the tool? If our overarching goal as educators is to have graduates with:

• the knowledge and skills required to be socially responsible citizens who act in caring and principled ways, respecting the diversity of all people and the rights of others to hold different  ideas and beliefs 
• the knowledge and understanding they need to participate in democracy as Canadian and global citizens, acting in accordance with the laws, rights and responsibilities of a democracy 
• the attitudes, knowledge and positive habits they need to be healthy individuals, responsible for their physical and emotional well-being 
• the attitudes and competencies they need to be community contributors who take the initiative  to improve their own and others’ quality of life (Ministry of Education, page 2)

then shouldn't we be teaching them how to be digital citizens as well?

Pros of using social networking for teaching and learning

• provides an opportunity for teaching about online safety and digital footprints
• "these sites can be used for a whole school to help facilitate social interaction and create bonds among students" (Blanding, 2009)
• encourages even reluctant readers to engage in constant reading, writing, and the higher order thinking skills advocated in Bloom's taxonomy
• basic sites are free and fast to set up
• students and teachers can connect with other people who share their passions and interests
• security settings can be altered to create controlled networks
• social networks are an alternative avenue for students to communicate with their teachers and peers, especially for those too shy or quiet to speak up in class
• creates the 24/7 classroom where the door is never closed
• strengthens rapport between users
• adult participation in social networking sites lets youth know that someone IS home, someone IS watching, and it's not a parent/teacher-free zone where they can do and say whatever they want
• easily facilitates groupwork and collaboration
• de-centres the teacher as the sage on the stage and paints all members as contributors and learners

Cons

• online safety. "Many adolescents who use these sites include names, addresses, and provocative pictures of themselves, behaviour that can only increase their chances of getting into trouble. In addition, students need to know that any content they create online will become a part of their Web portfolio. They need to ask themselves, 'What if someone finds this piece five or ten years from now?'" (Richardson, 13).
• networks take time to create, maintain and moderate
• some networking sites are blocked by school districts. To get his Ning up and running, my husband had to put his case to the school's administration and then get the tech department to unblock the site.
• data mining: students' information is a commodity which can be bought and sold to companies even after a profile is deleted
• blurs the teacher/student boundary and the public/private life of the teacher

On this last point, I would argue that the public/private divide is an urban notion. In very small towns and rural communities, the teachers' and students' lives are more intertwined - with less possibility for personal privacy than is afforded in an urban environment. If teachers from small, rural areas were strictly drawing lines between their personal and professional lives, they would be going from school to home without interacting or participating at all in their broader community, and be lesser teachers for it.

The teachers I have observed who have the greatest connection with students are the ones who ask about their soccer game, how their Mom is making out in her new job, or take a personal interest in the student as a human being. In addition, these teachers are not afraid to let the students know that they are also human beings, one who has a family (pictures on the desk), interests outside of school, and cranky days.

Summary

Social networking sites are not inherently evil. They are tools which can be exercised by teachers who have the experience, knowledge, and skills to put them into safe practise with their students. As Doug Johnson writes on his blog (2008), "Schools DO need to teach safety and privacy with all social networking tools. If we don't, who will?"

References (not linked in text)

Blanding, M.. (2009). Thanks for the Add. Now Help Me With My Homework. Ed.magazine, Winter. Retrieved from http://www.gse.harvard.edu/blog/news_features_releases/2009/01/thanks-for-the-add-now-help-me-with-my-homework.html

Florence, N.. (1998). Bell Hooks' engaged pedagogy: A transgressive eduction for critical consciousness. New York: Greenwood.

Johnson, D.. (2008). http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2008/10/7/facebook-an-educational-resource.html

Razna. (2009, October 7). Message posted to Thanks for the Add. Now Help Me With My Homework. Ed.magazine, Winter. Retrieved from http://www.gse.harvard.edu/blog/news_features_releases/2009/01/thanks-for-the-add-now-help-me-with-my-homework.html

Rich, A.. (1977). Claiming an education. Speech delivered at the convocation of Douglass College.  Retrieved from http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:kOChPrmwYiYJ:www.u.arizona.edu/~jacovijl/Rich-Claiming%2520an%2520Education.doc+claiming+an+education+by+adrienne+rich&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=safari