14 Why Facebook is Important (Feb. 9 - 15)

What is Social Networking?



Facebook is a free social networking site that is used pervasively by students. Many faculty at CCSNH do not fully understand how Facebook works or why they should have a Facebook account. Some have never heard of it!!!

Students are using Facebook constantly to communicate, to share information, photos, contact information, other applications within Facebook and to instant message each other and to post public or private messages. It is a Web 2.0 application that students are already using all the time. If your teaching does not involve use of Web 2.0 tools for collaboration, communication, research and project based learning you are not understanding the richness of your student's personal lives already. If your teaching involves lectures, text based content, individual projects, little opportunity for student interaction and a lack of visual, auditory and Web content, your students will be unengaged and probably uninterested and struggling or dropping your course. I would too.

In the college environment, the computers on campus are fully enabled to use social networking sites, blogs, wikis and streaming audio and video. The problem for us is not with blocking the technology. It is about a large number of faculty who are not yet aware of the seismic shift that is happening in education and how students are already using Web 2.0 technology. Students have a richness in their personal life that is often lacking in their academic life.

In addition to engaging students more fully and enabling them to learn and retain what they learn more effectively, we need to prepare students to work in a networked world where Web 2.0 tools are routinely used for collaboration, communication and working together on projects with people who may not be located in your state or country. I worked for a Danish company. When the Danes in Copenhagen were sleeping we in the United States were in the midst of our work day. We used Blackboard discussion board as a tool for communicating about 9 years ago. That is a long time ago compared to freely available technology tools now.

What Can You Do with Facebook?



At CCSNH, I attended a presentation by a police officer concerning the dangers of Facebook. I agree that students need to be aware of the need to protect their privacy and safety. However, to focus only on risk and abuses, and not mention the importance of using this pervasive Web 2.0 tool was so one sided and discouraging. Students need to be fully informed and aware of the need to protect their privacy and to be careful what they are posting for their friends or networks online.

There are sites readily available to help faculty inform students such as:

10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know

The Unofficial Facebook Resource

As students move through CCSNH, they all need to learn the importance of professional networking online. It is the way that many people get hired into good jobs that are never advertised anywhere except through online networking sites like LinkedIn. Professional online networking sites are not only powerful tools for connecting to other people, but are also a way of screening out people who do not have Web 2.0 skills that are increasing essential in the 21st century work environment.

Guy Kawasaki's 10 Ways to Use LinkedIn (Jan. 2007) is a good summary of why students and you need to learn to use Web 2.0 tools to network personally and professionally. Many of those who do not will be left behind and not aware of the seismic shift in the education and work worlds.

Creating a Professional Presence Online is a more comprehensive way to make professional connections and to demonstrate your credibility, experience and knowledge to a wide audience of prospective clients, customers or employers.

The world of work is changing so fast now that all of us need to stay connected with the tools of technology and how to use them effectively.