Have a look at this. This is a Regina teacher that I went to university with. Read the comment section, very interesting.
I have used Facebook in my classroom before too, I guess I should be fired too then.
CBC News – Saskatchewan – Sask. schools grapple with Facebook.
Te(a)ch 
The ‘teacher should be fired” is getting more downvotes than up – interesting. Thanks for the article – I missed it, and it will actually be something I use this Friday with Faculty now. Sharing is a good thing!
I am wondering Alec, if the reason that people are voting thumbs down but did not defend Colin in writing is that sometimes when you are fighting for something new, explaining or defending your ideas all the time can become very tiring. I know that sometimes when I listen to someone say something that I don’t agree with it is easier to say nothing than to stand up for what you think is right or try to teach someone something new. Giving it the ol’ thumbs down is an easy way to disagree without having to bother explaining a new/different point of view. I think that this is because when you are blazing a trail like Colin is or like all of us that support him are, we are the minority and it is easy to be beat down by the majority. However, if more people took the time to publicly defend education changes, maybe I wouldn’t have so many parents questioning my unorthodox teaching methods. 😉
That was a very interesting read. The comments actually surprised me a little. Living in the world of Twitter educators and working with a principal that is always supportive of trying new things in the realm of technology, (she is working with a group of students to create a weekly podcast about what’s happening in our school) I sometimes forget that there is still a huge faction of the community at large that don’t accept the idea of social media and collaborative learning. I wonder if the people commenting understand the deep understanding of the historical figures and the events of the time that would be required to create a Facebook page for them and to stay “in character” enough to interact with others. I don’t think that these people understand that Facebook would just be the tool through which the teaching happens (referring particularly to the comment that had a mark for Facebook).
This whole line of thought makes me think of Kelly Tenkely’s “Bloomin'” series of Bloom’s Taxonomy. She has created a series of graphics to show the different levels of Bloom’s accompanied by a partner graphic showing current internet tools and sites that answer each level of Blooms. (I’ve added the link to Delicious with the eci831 tag.)
Thanks for posting this. It has given me a lot to think about.
Wow, I am amazed that after reading the story the comments and thoughts about using Facebook in the classroom are so negative. Clearly there is an educational benefit (as mentioned in the article). Beyond that, the concerns that people have about proper use, bullying, etc. are valid. BUT, wouldn’t you rather have your child’s first Facebook experience be in the classroom with an involved teacher who is monitoring its use? The alternative is having the first Facebook experience unchecked and when bullying or improper use do happen, the child is left to figure it out on their own? I for one would much rather that students learn how to use social media properly and understand how to deal with things like online bullying than to try to figure it out on their own where they may or may not be successful.
Wow! I can’t decide if I want to be angry or sad. Those of us who chose to be educators seem to be in a lose-lose situation as nothing is ever good enough! (although I am sure that the majority of us also knew that before ever getting into the profession).
Last semester I did some research about the use of social networks such as Facebook within the classroom and I found many articles like this where schools and divisions were unsure what to do around that topic. Some teachers were pushing to unblock sites while others were pushing for sites like Facebook to be blocked. It puts schools and divisions in a tough spot.
The comments on these articles are always interesting to me, even if they leave me, as mentioned before, both angry and saddened. There are some very solid arguments on either side of the debate but to encourage the firing of a teacher because of the implementation of something new? Wouldn’t most effective teachers lose their jobs? In my opinion, effective teachers balance what works with the “something new” that students are looking for. If we are to fire teachers for trying something new most of us would no longer have a job, and then what?
I am a teacher that does not use Facebook within her classroom. I am not completely opposed to the idea, but have not yet figured out how I would use it effectively and until I do, I won’t use it. However, if someone else has figured out how to use it, then I say go for it and share your ideas!
Contrary to the comments on the article, teachers are not to entirely to blame for the students we have in our classrooms. Let’s play devil’s advocate; so we get rid of the computers, add more library research, more phys ed as some of the comments mention, spend time on spelling etc. What is that teaching them in our ever changing world? Will they then be prepared for the real world once they leave? Will it matter when they go home to their personal computers, video games etc?
It seems that when there are no ties to the comments that are being made, meaning that no one can truly find out who made each comment, the comments can be taken to a different level, on either side of the argument. We talked a bit about this last night and someone asked about introverts and extroverts online. I know that there are many parents who do not agree with things I have done within in my classroom but would never speak to my face the way they do behind my back (I’m thinking of small town gossip here). It’s almost like the comment forum for news articles allows people to talk that same way. The anonymity of it makes some people more outgoing, and they feel freer to make such comments. Would some of those comments, for both sides of the debate been made if comments were tied to commenter’s real names?
Can you imagine what some of those commenters would think about the grad class we are currently enrolled in 🙂
I saw this article the other day and was completely frustrated by many of the comments. Angela mentioned the anonymity of the commenters. I also have thought about this and have to wonder if these individuals have actually considered both sides of the debate and made an informed choice. Or if they have just have it in their mind that it is bad (or good) and just went with that.