My experience with the use of Facebook (FB) in school.

My experience with the use of Facebook (FB) in school.

In this first of two blogs, I will in this blog share experiences on the use of Facebook in school.

Here is the school where I work.





Why do I want to use (FB) in teaching?
In most classes where I teach, the number of pupils is between 28 and 30. This means that I rarely manage to have equal contact with all students during a lesson. Just as often I feel that I have not "seen" all the students and didn`t reach to help each pupil. Therefore, I would test out the FB to see if this could be of any help.


In brief, was the philosophy that I would meet the students in their area, namely the use of social media. In this way I would both be available as a teacher and also learn to know the pupils better. I chose to test this out in a 9.class, the subject was science. Before I created a group on FB I discussed with the class what the purpose was and what thoughts the pupils had about this. In short, the class felt that this was a good idea. Then they could meet each other in a common room at FB and see me as a teacher. The students did not want this to be an open group, but only class students and few teachers would have access.
After the FB group was created, there were much activity. Only 3 students chose not to join. 2 students were not allowed to be on the FB by their parents, and one pupil didn`t want to. Beforehand, I had decided that I would not accept that the students were my personal friends on FB. In the beginning there were many who wanted to be. After I had discussed this with the class and explained why I would distinguish between personal and business, there were no more requests.




"The Facebook song"


Use of FB in the class?
To try to keep this from being a place where the students only use FB for social issues, like talking to each other, I chose to start with technical questions and I wanted feedback. This proved to be wise. The students were quick to provide feedback on what was discussed in the post. Eventually, the students were also quick to come with questions to me and with questions to other students. Many students use FB to get help with their homework. This worked well at times. After a while, students began using the forum to ask for help in other subjects too. Some students have become very good at sharing and helping others with homework. Also, questions that are of a more administrative nature will be clarified in the room. As for example, when a submission is, when is the test and then widens. This despite the fact that the school has its own LMS. As a result, many phone calls and text messages that I had earlier pretty much ended. It mostly takes place on FB now. Every day I visit the page to check out the activity and answer questions if it is necessary.
Another interesting fact is the discuss the pupils have about issues of personal character in this room. As an administrator and a participant in the room, I can see what they are passionate about. They discuss everything from technical questions to matters of more private character. This allows me a greater degree of understanding what is happening between students in the class on the social side. On several occasions, conflicts and other issues have been identified this way. Eventually, the students were aware that I too could see what they wrote in the private chat room but it didn`t seem to have negative impact on what they wrote. Also, cases that I've taken up as a result of this chat, students apparently thought were okay. This allows the use of FB also important to keep up with the class environment outside the classroom.




Is everything just joy and cheer?
After using Facebook for about 3 months, I have not quite managed to get all the pupils in the "speech". Those who were not "visible" before has not significantly become more visible after I started using FB. They sometimes join to see what happens but does not participate with any questions or chat. Those who use the service are mainly girls. Certainly those who basically are very social and has many friends in the class. From this, one can say that I have not succeeded in my attempt. But the FB has become a low-threshold for my students where it is easy to connect and help with what they need help with. It has also been instrumental in helping to keep up with who's in the class of a more social character. These are issues that are important for both the class environment and for the individual student satisfaction and in turn academic outcomes.