Facebook Fracas

Our story “WI Schools Ban Facebook, IM Fraternizing Between Staff, Students” inspired readers, who weighed in on all sides of the debate over social media use.
“Our independent school recently came to the same conclusion [as the WI district], arvind s grover, director of technology at the Hewitt School in New York City, wrote on SLJ’s site. "Basically, our policy says that faculty and students should use school-sponsored online spaces to communicate. For us that means: e-mail, Moodle, blogs, wikis, even our school Twitter. But besides that, creating appropriate boundaries seems reasonable to me. Would you contact a potential employer or current employer via your Facebook? Blending boundaries is complicated, but I, as a teacher, don't want to mix students’ weekend hangout photos/video, with academic discourse. Having a school-created social network is a great option, and schools should do it. Some argue that the kids won't do it because that's not the natural place for them to hang out. Well, neither are schools, but we make them go there, right?
Meanwhile, teacher librarian Carol VanHook, uses Facebook to share book club information with her students at S. E. Polk High School in Pleasant Hill, IA. “I value this tool as an open line of communication,” she wrote. “Many students have sought homework help from me on Facebook, 24–7!”

LM-NET, the popular discussion group for media specialists, hosted its own lively debate. Here, too, comments ranged, from one that characterized social media use with students as “unprofessional” to another considering the possibilities of networking in elementary school.

“If we block access to Facebook and MySpace during school and create policies about who can contact students, how on earth can we expect kids to learn responsible use?” wrote Shannon Walters on LM-NET. A teacher librarian at C. P. Smith Elementary School in Burlington, VT, she says it’s important to demonstrate ethical and appropriate use. “I wouldn’t consider friending my students, but I would consider friending parents with a professional FB page to get the message out about new books and school events,” wrote Walters, who also manages a Twitter feed for parents.

For her part, teacher librarian Darshell Silva views the Facebook ban as "thoroughly disheartening." "I have a MySpace page where I regularly communicate with current & former students," she wrote on LM-NET. Silva, who works at the Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program in Providence, RI, adds  "I post book lists, book club teasers, library contests, and all kinds of library related material to my myspace blog. It is a very effective tool. If you are not able to meet the students where they are, is forcing them to come to you going to work???"

"Unfortunately, complying with Terms of Service does limit which tools are available to me in my elementary library classroom," adds Walters. "To give students an opportunity to practice safe Internet use, I originally built  Nings for book discussion groups; Ning TOS indicate clearly that the platform is for age 13+, so I moved the discussion groups to Moodle: much more clunky to navigate, much less cool to use. Is this frustrating, when I don't believe that federal legislation (COPPA) prevents students at risk from engaging in risky behavior online?  Yes. But I comply and model acceptable use for my students."

Guusje Moore, librarian at Housman Elementary in Houston, TX, posted on LM-NET:
"I'm the librarian who does have some students as "friends" on Facebook. They are actually ex-students - they are currently in middle school. They were my library "pets" & I really enjoy keeping in touch with them. Many of the students in my school don't have many positive role models so it's a way to encourage them to stay in school and think about college. After all, it's take a Village and what does it matter if the Village is Cyber?
I also have a personal blog, which I know some of the students read - I do make sure the content is upbeat and G-rated. Given  how some electronic communications have turned around and bitten people I think it's wise not to write anything I couldn't show to an 11 year old - or a future employer.

Your thoughts? Let us know.