I found your experience of using facebook with your students very interesting because I read quite quite a lot about young peoples uses of social network sites when I was writing up my CT dissertation (but not twitter). The research showed that they do in fact like to ‘furnish’ these sites and create their own online identity through them – so I think you may be correct in saying that using these spaces for educational purposes would be like an invasion of that social space.

Maybe the difference with twitter is that, although you can ‘dress up’ your profile page, it’s quite unusual for followers to visit that part of your twitter account. Most of the communication is carried out on the main fast moving twitter page. There are only short succinct statements/thoughts on there and it definately has the feeling of a ‘shared space’ anyway?

There’s definately lots of food for thought here, I think

I’m from a HE/FE background and we used facebook to set up a page to communicate with students for programme / module updates and reminders; however, we found that students were sharing social pictures and thoughts (that could be deemed unprofessional and inappropriate) and not in the way we had intended; we since have discontinued the page. I think this was because they use facebook for social things and maybe find it difficult to separate and may have thought that us using it for programme stuff invaded their social space? Although I have no hard evidence for that thought.
I have just started with twitter and am using it for keeping up with educational things rather social, I have a facebook page for that!
Interesting though isn’t it what makes it different?
Kind regards
Clare

Neither Facebook or Bebo are available to Stirling pupils or staff. I have great (social) conversations with about 20 SHS staff on Facebook, never of the educational variety mind. For me twitter is for work and facebook for fun (although twitter is quite often fun too!)

Twitter is available in my school at my request.

Writing posts is hard work sometimes. I always start with an idea in my head – but when I start to write it down, I go off in all sorts of directions.

The issues with the blog host tonight didn’t help …. well, that’s my excuse anyway

Now it’s your turn to write again!

I like your idea about students having duel Facebook accounts. That makes a lot of sense to me – especially if they’re using their educational planning side of it well.

Now you’ve given me even more food for thought

I am of 2 minds re the use of Facebook in education. As I say my Facebook account is private and always will be (you are my ‘friend’ and will therefore know why ) but a group of our seniors have started to use it to work on planning their Trash fashion show – they have created a group and are using it very well. The problem is they also use it to talk and share pictures of their life outside school.

I think if Facebook is to be used as a learning tool in a secondary school pupils should perhaps be using dual accounts – one for learning and the other socialising.

I wonder what other think?