The other element we looked at this week is social networking. I'm actually kind of a newcomer to these sites - I only joined Facebook last summer. And I have to admit that I'm one of those people who joined Facebook to keep current with other people, not to communicate anything about myself. One of my sisters-in law lives in Chicago with our nephew and is an avid FB user, so I like to follow her and see the latest nephew photos. Actually, it seems like one of the best ways to see others' photos nowadays is through Facebook, which I enjoy - but I wonder if people actually print and frame pictures anymore.
I don't even post my own photos, and I've always used the (valid) excuse that I'm in public education and don't want my personal information readily available. But I also think it's my personality - I don't love sharing my stuff with the world, though I do think that it's important to participate in these sites to keep current. I do think that regardless of my personal relationship with social networking, it's vital that school librarians are aware of and even involved in the technology. This type of interaction seems to be the trend of the future - fast, public, and broad-reaching communcation that is definitely not limited by the boundaries of a classroom.
That being said, I have a tough time figuring out how to safely and effectively use FB in education. I could see setting up a page for a classroom - but why bother? It's just as easy to make a secure website, blog, or wiki. I know that kids love FB and it would definitely be easy to get their attention on the site, but why not expect them to visit another site? It's not that much to ask, and I tend to agree with one of the posters on our discussion board this week: why should we not expect more out of our students than Facbook? Why not challenge them to visit another site that we could easily set up to have social/collaborative aspects but still be entirely safe?
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