Facebook and Education
One of the most popular social networks is Facebook. Facebook has millions of users, as well as hundreds of companies and institutions who use Facebook as a marketing tool. The benefit of on-line social networks is the amount of people a user can communicate with. A unique feature of Facebook is the thousands of applications that users can use to either interact with others or to use on their own. These applications, also known as apps, vary from fun interaction games to specialized tools that can be used for business or education.
Besides the use of university profiles on Facebook, teachers and professors have begun to use Facebook as a tool in the classroom. Steve Kolowich, a writer for the Inside Higher ED website, states “The data suggest that 80 percent of professors, with little variance by age, have at least one account with either Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Skype, LinkedIn, MySpace, Flickr, Slideshare, or Google Wave. Nearly 60 percent kept accounts with more than one, and a quarter used at least four” (Kolowich, 2010). Educators can use Facebook to update students about assignments, quizzes, and any schedule changes. Students can use Facebook to communicate with other students about class assignments and work together Facebook’s group feature.
The following YouTube videos show how educators use Facebook today.
20 Facebook Applications that can be used for school.
Video of student's thoughts on using social media in universities
Facebook top 20 learning applications. (2009). [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRhvnTHAqek&feature=related
Kolowich, S. (2010). Professors and social media. Inside Higher ED, Retrieved from http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/05/04/socialmedia
Social media in the classroom. (2009). [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RzoDrWtfOA&feature=related