Technology for teaching English lab

Using Facebook for educators – no need to be friends at all!

Few reasons why you should believe that facebook can has a place in the classroom :

1. The fact is, the majority of your students and their parents are probably

already on Facebook

2. Even when schools have a policy against being “friends” online, there are

tools you can use that won’t violate policy

3. Despite what you may hear, there are strong privacy options that you can set

up so only those that you want can access your information

4. We have an obligation as educators to model appropriate online behavior and

learn right along our students

Should we be “friends” with students?

You may do not want to friend your students on Facebook. I definitely don’t want

you to go against your desire! But, I feel that done responsibly, you should absolutely

friend your current students! Why?

Get to know them in a whole different light – students share their likes, hobbies, and more. Really getting to know your students transfers into a better experience in the classroom and a better ability to reach every student.

Create an open and supportive environment – if you are open to it, students could even send you a quick chat message if they are stuck on a homework question in the evening.

Keep up with students years later – there is no doubt you are one of your students’ favorite teachers ever. Keep in touch and communicate years after they leave your classroom.

Technology for teaching English lab

How to safely “friend” students on facebook :

Option 1: Use Lists to keep some things private

To set up a list of all of your students you will want to take the following steps:

1. Click on Friends in the left sidebar after logging in to Facebook

2. Click on Edit Friends at the top right

3. Click on +Create a List which will appear in the same location as the button from

step 2

4. Add all of your students to the list you just created by clicking on “Edit List” next

to their names

5. Click on Account > Privacy Settings in upper right corner

6. Click on Customize settings in bottom left

7. Use the drop down menu to limit your students from seeing what you don’t want

them to by clicking on Customize and then type in the name of your list in the Hide

these from these people: text box

You limited everything , when they visit your account, all they can see is your

profile image, school and work info, and that’s about it.

Option 2: Set-up a second account just for your students (and parents)

Many schools and experts are recommending that teachers create a whole new

facebook account just to use in their professional lives.

This may work for you, but in reality, you are less likely to be able to keep up with

more than one account and it kind of defeats the whole purpose anyway.

That being said, it may be a good option for you. Just create an account using your

school email address and only let students and parents friend you there.

Technology for teaching English lab

Why every educator, school, and organization needs a facebook page

Even better than friending students online is setting up a page.

Pages allow you to distribute announcements, blog posts, events, assignments, and

more .

This is better than using your personal profile because there is no need for parents or

students to be your friends to get the updates, and it can really be used to develop an

online community around your class or school.

How to create a facebook page (self study) :

1. Login to your facebook account

2. Go to facebook.com/pages

3. Click on “Create a page” in top right

4. Choose “Artist, Band, or Public Figure” if you are a teacher and choose

“Organization” if you are a school or group

5. Follow the steps on screen to get started

Adding the “like box” to your page (self sudy) :

One of the best ways of letting your students and others know about your page is to

put a “like box” on your blog, wiki, or website.

Here is how to get your own like box (self study) :

1. Go here to get the code needed for your box

2. Type in the URL or link to your facebook page

3. Choose if you want to show the stream – this will display the most recent posts to

your facebook page’s wall

4. Change the size and decide on the other options available

5. Click on Get Code and copy the iFrame code from the top box

Technology for teaching English lab

6. In a blog, paste the code into the HTML Tab of a page or post, or into a blank text

widget in your sidebar

7. This code should also be able to be pasted in most wikis and websites – look for

help info on embedding code for more

Groups – An alternative to Pages

People would take more ownership of activity in a Group than a Page. In terms of

what the two features signify to users, a Group implies that the students are creators

of content, while the Page places the instructor more prominently as the ultimate

mediator of content.

So in deciding between a group and a page, you will want to think about your goals

for setting one or the other up.

How to set up a group

Setting up a group is a quick process.

1. Sign in to your facebook account.

2. Visit facebook.com/groups.

3. Click on the green “Create Group” button in the top right and follow the on screen

prompts.

Technology for teaching English lab

Facebook for e-Learning: 20 educational applications

Facebook is one of the fastest growing social networks that helps people

communicate efficiently with their friends, families, coworkers, and classmates.

How can we use Facebook for e-Learning ?

Some of the Facebook users are your learners and they know how to use Facebook

effectively .

Using Facebook for e-Learning could inspire many of our students to learn ,however

Facebook was not created to be used as a learning environment .

Three types of interaction :

1- Learner and content .

2- Learner and Instructor .

3- Learner and Learner .

20 Facebook educational applications based on the three types of interaction

Firstly : learner and content (9 applications)

1- SlideShare : you can create and share presentation on Facebook. At the same

time you can add documents, PDFs, add MP3 audio .

2- Mathematical Formulas : you can distribute mathematical formulas and

solutions to your learners. Learners can see the formulas even if they did not

add the application.

3- NewsRack : a fully featured RSS reader that can be used as a standalone

client with Google Readers. You can share information relevant to your

course with your learners.

4- Events Calendar : you can create, edit and maintain a monthly calendar on

your profile and share it with your learners.

5- Flashcards : you can create flashcards to help you study on Facebook.

6- Zoho Online Office : you can have all your office files such as documents,

spreadsheets, presentations online and share them with your learners.

7- UdutuLearnLets : you views courses that you have been given access to and

shows your progress.

Technology for teaching English lab

8- WorldCat : you can do research, catalog your library collection and of course

share it with your learners.

9- Files : you can access your files from anywhere and share important work

files with your learners. Files is powered by Box.net.

Secondly : Learner and Instructor (5 applications) :

1- SurveyGizmo : you can create surveys, polls and quizzes and send them to

your classmates on Facebook.

2- UdutuTeach : this application allows you to import courses from myUdutu

(authoring tool). You can manage which learners can take your course and

track the progress.

3- Webinaria Screencast Recorder : you can create screencast tutorials or

record video presentation for sharing with your learners.

4- Skype Me : your learners could see when you are online (Virtual Office

Hours) and talk or chat with you for free!

5- Quiz Monster : create your own quiz Facebook application .

Thirdly : learners and learners (6 applications) :

1- Neat Chat : learners can chat on Facebook groups and pages. They can share

files, send private message and do much more through a fast and intuitive

interface

2- StudyGroups : quickly and easily collaborate with your classmates and plan

out homework for your courses.

3- Books iRead : share the books that you are reading with your classmates .

4- KoofersShare : your old tests, quizzes, and study guides with other students.

Technology for teaching English lab

5- BookTag : this application let you create arbitrary book lists, label them and

share them with your classmates.

6- PeerPong : discover everyone’s expertise and connects you with the best

person to answer any question.

Useful group : Facebook for e-learning