Post #5 Reasons not to use Facebook in the classroom

So far, I have been trying to find reasons why we should use Fb in tecahing/learning. Now I would like to concentrate on a rationale that explains why we should -perhaps- not choose Fb as a instructional resource tool.

According to these comments posted in the blog titled Technology Integration, Facebook has its place in that sense, but there seems to be a lack of any compelling reason to significantly integrate it into distance education. The author states that the services offered through Facebook (e.g. chatting, meeting new classmates, arranging for social/academic meetings) can well be attained using the current technologies in CMSs without the risk of security breaches and other legal matters pervasive in social networking websites.
http://toolsuse.blogspot.com/2007/07/facebook-and-distance-education.html

Another blog, called Didactalab, a blog dedicated to Experiments in didactical design, educational technology and empirical research, the author states that with FaceBook you can post and tag notes, you can import RSS feeds (but it is not meant as an aggregator) and you can share your notes with friends. But he adds that you cannot attach other documents than photos, but today with online office apps this may not a big problem.
The Good: fast, easy.
The Bad: No support for teaching, groupwork or course structure. No support to structure lots of notes besides tags. Users have to micromanage tool if they want to subscribe to the other users tools (only friends). Very basic tool.
Bottom line: This tools is usable for sharing some notes between friends.
http://www.didactalab.de/wp-main/?p=66

This wiki titled LTC (Learning Technologies Centre) explains that ...for most people, Facebook is a social space, used for informal conversations, building and maintaining relationships, and the voyeuristic tendency of profile surfing. The value of Facebook for formal teaching and learning is unclear. While learners will likely use Facebook to create small networks, study groups, or use its communication tools for arranging study times or clarify assignment requirements, formal use in college-level instruction may be too much of a stretch for learners.

However, in the wiki they also add that educators... are not waiting for SNS to mature. Many have begun to integrate Facebook directly into classroom teaching. Some colleges, while not focusing on inclass integration, are using SNS as notification and marketing purposes.

An added concern, according to the author is about Fb's privacy and security. The recent launch of Beacon - Facebook's marketing program that shares data with advertisers and displays purchases and decisions made by users on the activity feed - served as an awakening for many users. http://ltc.umanitoba.ca:83/wiki/Facebook

Another concern that a teacher expresses about its use in an educational setting has to do with the suitability of the posted content ... you would have to keep an eye on usage the entire time, to make sure it was not being used innappropriately. ...how would you be able to monitor or delete inappropriate posts? http://kayc28.wordpress.com/2007/09/29/could-facebook-be-used-in-an-educational-setting/

John Larkin, an educator and instructional designer has a more blunt "line of attack": It really does not require that much thinking. To me it is plain commonsense. Just because it is a “Web 2.0 tool” it does not mean one has to weave it into a teaching and learning programme. As far as I am concerned any attempt to employ MySpace or Facebook in the classroom would be like trying to bash a square peg into a round hole. http://blog.larkin.net.au/2008/01/17/social-network-sites-in-the-classroom/

Some students have began to voice their opinions regarding the use of Fb in the classroom. As part of the research conducted for the story Yada Yada Nada? that appears in the March issue of University Business Students were asked about Facebook. When asked: Do you think it's appropriate for college faculty or administrators to try to use Facebook or MySpace to communicate? This is what they said:

• No. College faculty and administrators are there to be professional and, well, administrative. Facebook and MySpace, to me, are seen more for fun and a way to keep in touch with people that you don't see every day or to find old friends. If our professors need to get in touch with us, they should e-mail us. Plus, we feel differently about our professors than we do our friends. It's somewhat awkward to think about my professors looking at goofy pictures that I took over the weekend and then expect them to still think I am intelligent.
• It depends on circumstance. I don't think it is appropriate for them to try very hard to be buddy-buddy with me, or know my personal business. Funny, reading what I just wrote makes me feel a little foolish for having posted personal information on the most widely accessible media in the universe. Regardless of this fact, Facebook is primarily for me, my friends, and occasionally cruising purposes. It's not for my enemies, it's not for my parents, and when I get on Facebook I don't hope that my logic professor, or the president of the college, saw my status today.
• It depends. For the most part, no. I'd much rather they stay out of it. However, I do have one professor who is known for being fairly hip. He's on Facebook and I have no problem with this because I know he's not going to abuse that position. He won't use Facebook for school stuff unless it's a fun event or something like that. I would not want faculty to use Facebook as an official platform for class topics.
  http://www.universitybusiness.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=724

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