As students continue to use Facebook to connect and communicate in increasing numbers, it has also become common for faculty members to consider the use of this social networking site to facilitate interaction in educational contexts. One of the perennial questions that arises is whether faculty should accept Facebook "friend requests" from students.
In this episode, we are joined by VCU faculty members Mike Abelson, Melissa Johnson and Stephanie Rizzi who share their experiences with using Facebook and offer their perspectives on the pros and cons of "friending" students. In the course of the discussion they address some of the complexities of faculty members having online social identities, point out some uses that have supported some community building among their colleagues, and offer some meaningful advice to faculty who are new users or who are considering the use of Facebook.
We invite you to continue the conversation by sharing your comments.
You can listen to or download the episode below:
I first of all thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. I teach graduate students who are all K-12 teachers, so I would have no problem friending my students, as I see them as fellow colleagues.
That said, this comic passed to me from Gaurav Gupta is rather timely:
Online Friends!
Posted by Britt Watwood on April 6, 2009 9:41 PM