Does Facebook really deserve the bad rap?

The more that people use a technology tool, then the more ways the tool can end up being used.  Sometimes for good and sometimes for not so good. 

Facebook clearly falls in this category.  Ask anyone over the age of 40 and a good portion will say that Facebook can be a waste of time and addictive.  Ask anyone younger than 30 and Facebook can be a way of life.  In the edutechinnovations blog, the question is posed...could Facebook be "a valuable learning tool after all?"


Facebook groups offer a more secure forum for the naysayers of yesterday. Privacy controls are easier to understand, more visible and groups can be set to an invitation only access. Since many learners are already plugged in, there is less chance of missing an assignment. But assignments are also mixed in with the update posts, fun pictures or cool cat playing piano videos constantly pinging for attention in the background.

The benefit of Facebook that I enjoy most is the communal learning aspect. Richardson (2010) reminds us that as a social community we end up getting more out of the experience than we put in through the shared network of ideas. Introducing our students to methods of utilizing Facebook for lifelong learning well beyond just posting cat videos will benefit as society moves forward with this ever evolving technology platform.

Reference

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.