Facebook is the best social networking tool for educators.

[Steve Mackenzie]

What are people's opinions on facebook as a social networking tool for educators. Because of the wide take up of facebook would it not be easier to use facebook with students rather than a Ning network. What extra has a Ning network got to offer?

[Deirdre Bonnycastle]

I have two educational groups on Facebook, Teaching Critical Thinking and Active Learning that you might want to check out.

As for comparisons, I belong to both Facebook and Ning. I love all the silly widgets on Facebook where I can send friends flowers and fish and dedicate songs to them, but I would not want these as part of a formal class. I like the ability to set up a Ning group with personal pages plus a homepage for each class.

[Steve Mackenzie]

Hats off to you deidre - you are still well busy doing interesting things. I agree with you that however appealing facebook is, i prefer to setup a seperate group. i've joined your two groups - cheers for letting me know.

[Laura Gibbs]

For me the single biggest difference is this: Facebook is locked down; every single page of Facebook requires a log-in and password to get into it. Facebook is CLOSED.

Ning, on the other hand, can be configured as open OR closed, depending on the needs and preferences of the community.

Personally, I prefer that anything educational on the Internet be open by default, unless there is a reason to close it. You never know who may benefit from reading and seeing the discussions that go on, even if they do have to be a member to post to the discussion. That is the case here at College2.0, for example - I can view this discussion page and benefit from that, although to post to it, I need to log on. This page is linkable, it produces an RSS feed that is public - all kinds of things that benefit the Internet at large.

A closed network, completely closed, like Facebook, can never benefit the open Internet; it can only benefit its users.

To me, that is a HUGE loss. I understand some things needing to be password protected, but not all things! Especially not for educational communities!

The assumption that things are closed by default rather than open by default is what completely hampers Facebook as well as most of the course management systems that are out there.

What's the point of a global Internet if we are just going to build virtual walls for no good reason?

:-)

[Deirdre Bonnycastle]

There are a couple of issues here:

1. Public vs social: Images from Flickr of a young girl were used without her permission or knowledge in an advertising campaign. A family friend had taken the picture.

2. Censorship: Several high schools and colleges have blocked Facebook, Second Life, Ning, Blogs, wikipedia etc from use by teachers out of a misguided notion of protecting students from harassment as well as an underlying notion that fun/social isn't educational.

One way to find balance is to make the student produced content private.

[Laura Gibbs]

Hmmmmm, maybe for underage students that would make sense, but even then, I am doubtful: make it all private, because of the VERY RARE cases of problems?

That's kind of like saying we should never drive anywhere because there are some irresponsible drivers out there. I just don't buy it - it's never been a problem for me, while the benefits to open publishing, which are easy to document, are simply ENORMOUS. We need rules of the road, ways to enforce them... and then we can deal with accidents when they happen.

If we forego the trip entirely, we will never get anywhere.

[Deirdre Bonnycastle]

Another argument for openness is parent access, several reports of K-12 online include statements about how proud parents are to see their children's work.Grade 1 Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ8VAef8QM4

[Steve Mackenzie]

Thanks for your views Laura. I had not thought about the CLOSED aspect before. I believe the key to keeping a community together is email notifications of what is going on, so My biggest gripe with facebook is that it does not do this. I shall consider your openess theory, i see your point, but i wonder if contributions to discussions may be inhibited if discussions are going wider than known class mates.

cheers Steve

[Laura Gibbs]

hi Steve, I think as long as people can choose whether or not to reveal their own identities (about half of my students blog under a pseudonym), the openness is not a problem - if anything, I think it is a good incentive!

My students both blog and publish websites and on the open Internet and it's great - they are very self-conscious, in a good way, of the fact that their friends and family can see their work, and that their work provides a kind of model and benchmark for future students.

For purely personal stuff, I absolutely understand having a closed network, and I think Facebook is great for that purpose; for education, I like to encourage an equality of teacher/learner and have my students know that they are in fact contributing to the amazing educational experience that is the open Internet!

You can see their projects for this semester if you are curious - I am always very proud of them!
Myth-Folklore
Indian Epics
World Literature

[Steve Mackenzie]

thanks for that Laura - I shall take a look!

[Michael Staton]

Hi Steve,

We made this video here:
http://college2.ning.com/video/facebook-for-educators-using

Ning is private, for one. Ning is also better for niche discussions and finding relevant people and user generated content, rather than Facebook which is made primarily for keeping up with people and their lives.

I don't think its an either or. Its definitely a "both" but each tool for its right purpose. A network like this is a good use of Ning. Reconnecting with an old friend or a accelerating your friendship with a new contact is a good use of Facebook.

Hope that helps,

Michael Staton

[RAJIV KUMAR]

The business of higher education is highly individualistic. However, its core stakeholders, being researchers, teachers and students, have always depended on communities of interest and, more specifically, professional relations. At the core of higher education is the meeting of minds, and because that is not in principle dependent on bringing together bodies, social computing has always had a high potential impact.
Web 2.0 is set to transform the way Higher Education is imparted currently. It will also help the students get more accustomed to the Industry situations and working by collaborating with the Industry Mentors and educationists. It will improve transparency as fellow students, professors and friends will rate the authenticity and credibility of the student. It is very cost effective as the recruiters get campuses online, they get to choose from various campuses at the same time, several checks and balances and applied to refine the recruitment process.

[Steve Mackenzie]

Hi Len,

re: I believe that a private social network with an academic focus is a better way to use social media

I work in higher education and i can see the role of social media on the wider scale very useful for personal and professional development, but agree with your statement above - a focused private group using social media is best. Thanks for the post, i shall check out meetatrecess

Steve