by Graci Gillming, Technology Training Coordinator 

Facebook has been a “fav” (favorite) pastime for teenagers for quite some time, and it’s catching on among adults of all ages.  References to it are all over the Internet, TV, and radio in advertisements of all kinds now.

Subscribers to Facebook post what’s happening in their lives and share pictures, websites, music, quotes, etc. You add “friends” by searching for them or someone finds you, and you become friends. When you post something to your Facebook page, all your “friends” get a little message. Likewise when they post something, you see what they posted. Depending on how your privacy settings are set up, the friends of your friends or friends of your network will also see your posts. So you can see how news could travel fast by going to friends of friends of friends.   

One thing to keep in mind when you post anything to Facebook; it’s like standing on a crowded street corner and talking into a microphone.  Your message is audible for a quite a distance, much more so than if you were just talking to one person or even a small group of friends.

A question often asked by educators is “Is it appropriate to have students as ‘friends?’”  It really depends on how educators use Facebook.  Some may use it purely for professional means and others for social, and for some both professional and social. An educator must be careful about what he/she says to students. If you wouldn’t say it in the classroom, then it’s best not to say it on Facebook. If you want to use Facebook with your students, set up an account just for your class(es). Keep your personal account free of your students.

Your school district may have policies about social networking by educators. If not, the following guidelines, taken from Doug Johnson’s blog at http://sn.im/esu10-socnet-educators, may be helpful for you.

Guidelines for the use of social networking sites by educators:

• Do not accept students as friends on personal social networking sites. Decline any student-initiated friend requests.
• Do not initiate friendships with students.
• Remember that people classified as “friends” have the ability to download and share your information with others.
• Post only what you want the world to see. Imagine your students, their parents, your administrator, visiting your site. It is not like posting something to your web site or blog and then realizing that a story or photo should be taken down. On a social networking site, basically once you post something it may be available, even after it is removed from the site.
• Do not discuss students or coworkers or publicly criticize school policies or personnel.
• Visit your profile’s security and privacy settings. At a minimum, educators should have all privacy settings set to “only friends.” “Friends of friends” and “Networks and Friends” open your content to a large group of unknown people. Your privacy and that of your family may be a risk.

Remember, your job may be jeopardized by your use of social networking sites. If in doubt, don’t post it!!