What options do teachers have for using Facebook for creating informal learning by students? Can Facebook be used to alert students that their teacher has just read an interesting article on Scribd.com?

Building a responsible and protected space for students on the Internet is a challenge.  

It's nice when students can create a profile that appears with their profile on the same location as a teacher's profile.

Consider the status of "colleague" that a student might feel if that student also appears on JacketFlap.com.  "My teacher is an author... and I'm an author, too!"

http://www.jacketflap.com/profile.asp?member=smccrea

This is my profile.  Imagine if one of my students creates a book on Createspace.com and then posts the information on Jacketflap.com.   Colleagues... 

How can we use Facebook without being "friends"?
One of the advantages of using Facebook publicly as a teacher is that when I visit Scribd.com and Youtube, the LIKES that I click on are public and go to my public wall.  Any student that is "friends" with me gets a notification:  Steve just read a document on Scribd.com.

Some of my students then read the document.  This is part of the YourNetImpact.com effect.  Teachers can lead students in the use of social media.  

Is it possible to have the same impact if the teacher is not in direct relation with the student?  Well, what if a teacher creates an open group that the students can join?   Then the teacher can post a link, such as, "Here's a document on scribd.com that I found interesting."

CLOSED GROUP

https://www.facebook.com/groups/146455595399703

This is a closed group

My students have to be members to see the posts in this group.


OPEN GROUP
Here's an example of an open group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITDEnet

When I post something, my students can see the items, even if they are not members of the group.

This is an example of a post (by Teri) that shows items that she is looking at.  Others in the group (and other people who are not members, such as my students) can see what Teri has recommended.



Here are some sample looks:

1. Should Professors Use Facebook to Communicate with Students ...

   www.facultyfocus.com/.../should-professors-use-facebook-to-communic...
   

   
   

   Feb 27, 2012 – Nearly 85% of faculty have a Facebook account, two-thirds are on LinkedIn, and 50% are on Twitter according to research from Faculty Focus.
2. 
   

   Friendly Advice For Teachers: Beware Of Facebook : NPR

   www.npr.org › News › US › Education
   

   
   

   • 

     Find this graphic

   Dec 7, 2011 – It's becoming a particular challenge for teachers who can quickly rile ...too broad and may have prevented teachers from using Facebook at all.
3. 
   

   How college professors use Facebook - Schools.com

   www.schools.com › Visuals
   

   
   

   Apr 27, 2011 – It's a known fact that students are Facebook-obsessed. A new survey shows that teachers might rival their younger counterparts when it comes ...
4. 
   

   Do College Professors Use Facebook? | Edudemic

   edudemic.com/2011/04/college-professors-facebook/
   

   
   

   Apr 28, 2011 – From connecting students to enhancing the educational experience, it's popping up everywhere. Does that mean college professors u.
5. 
   

   Every Teacher's Must-Have Guide To Facebook | Edudemic

   edudemic.com/2011/01/every-teachers-must-have-guide-to-facebook/
   

   
   

   Jan 2, 2011 – What do you think about teachers using Facebook? Are both students and teachers responsible for online interaction? Should teachers create ...

The general idea is "be safe.  Be careful about what you post.  Perhaps students can get information from you if you create a Subscribe opportunity."

This is a typical administrative attitude about the relationship between an instructor and a student.  It is easily addressed by having the professor sending the student to the official channel, thereby leaving the FB channel open for other interactions.

Send comments to TheEbookMan@gmail.com

Here's another example of what I do with Scribd.com and Facebook (with a little jump on Twitter).

I can post an announcement on the Facebook page called FreeEnglishLessons.com and then I can tweet a short link to the scribd.com

These interactions can lead to informal learning outside the classroom.

We can strategically reinforce something that happened in class by going onto Facebook and posting some items.

Students who don't use Facebook miss these interactions but can sometimes get the information from peers.  Hmmm.  Any other suggestions about how to use FB to make discussions more interesting?