Most teachers in university warn students who bring their laptop to class to stay off Facebook during the lecture. In every school within the EMSB (English Montreal School Board), Facebook is one of many blocked sites. As a future teacher, I would love to be able to incorporate Facebook (or whatever they will have when I graduate) in my classroom. It is true that Facebook has a bad reputation within the teaching community, with cyber bullying and the harassment of teachers, I think that with proper instruction, students will be able to use Facebook to their advantage. I would like to teach my class to make Facebook groups with the intention of sharing their ideas for a particular topic. The students could also communicate through the chat feature with me, their teacher, if they have any questions. Through the Facebook Event application, the students can easily organize study groups. They can even share their class notes or interpretations of the topic in the Notes application.
By showing them that Facebook can be used for class purposes, I would also be showing them what could go wrong, which would include how to deal with cyber bullying. Sadly, this last subject is growing more and more and is quickly becoming the bullying method of choice in elementary and high schools. By raising awareness and showing different uses for Facebook and other social networking sites, I would hope to diminish cyber bullying events within my classroom.
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