Facebook in the classroom?

The idea of using Facebook in the classroom does not directly relate to the age group that I will be working with. However, when I think about it in terms of middle school/high school I think that there are both positives and negatives. Facebook can be a good tool to use in the classroom because, let’s be honest, most kids are on it. So my thought process is, if they are already on it, why not let them use it for educational purposes rather than just social networking. Kids like using technology in the classroom, especially if they know how to work it; therefore I think it would have a lot of positive feedback from the students. I believe that using Facebook in the classroom has the potential to be a highly effective tool, especially for group collaboration. It is great ways for students to post questions and have other students give answers to them as well as just having an open discussion regarding certain topics in class. I have had many classes where I had to be part of an online discussion and often I would be annoyed because I had to figure out how to work another website. By having the students use something that they already know how to work, it takes out the frustration. Despite its positives there are obviously negatives to using this social networking site in the classroom. First, there are parents that do not want their students using sites such as Facebook for safety issues. Social networking sites are scary when used by younger students because they could be communicating with people that they don’t know or they could be bullying/being bullied. Personally, I know a few parents that will not allow their child to have a site such as Facebook. Also, I think that by letting students use Facebook in the classroom that they are more likely than not going to check their own page, comment on others, etc. rather than stay on task. Often when you give students an inch they go a mile, therefore it would be almost opening up a can of worms by allowing the use of Facebook in the classroom. Teachers can also get into trouble with getting involved with their students on Facebook. I think it is not professional for teachers to be friends with their students; however, there are teachers out there that just don’t care. This usually sends out a bad vibe to the parents as well as places their own job at risk. When considering the community, I mainly think back to the parents and I think that if there is a lot of negativity regarding the use of Facebook in education from the parents that it will cause a lot of negative feelings not only towards the teacher but also the school. Personally, I think that even though there are positives towards using this in the classroom, overall I think it is a bad idea to have Facebook used in education, at least for middle/high school aged students. It just seems like an idea that is asking for parents to complain and be angry about. Despite the fact that it could be effective in terms of education, I think the negatives outweigh the benefits. There are different ways to incorporate technology into the classroom such as having a class website that allows for online discussion that isn’t linked to Facebook. Overall, I think that technology is a valuable tool to incorporate into curriculum but obviously the right type of technology is important.