Facebook is my friend, but not just any friend, it's my BFF. Not like that Tom fella at Myspace that dropped off the net when the going got rough. I was very hesitant to get a Facebook account at first, but the Army sent me to South Korea for an extended period of time, and I needed a way to talk to people. I used yahoo messenger to communicate with my family that was 14 hours behind in Kentucky. My friends and I chatted back and forth on Facebook, sending pictures of bygone days in some forsaken part of the world that we occupied together. I guess you could say that part of my Facebook is a virtual VFW for Military buddies. I am overly cautious about who I accept friend requests from, and my page and pictures are set to private. I never used to do this, but I found someone was copying pictures of my military career and using them as their own. A sad but true fact of the digital world.
Knowing all about networking is a way to digitally monitor what is going on around you and your class. There have been numerous news stories about teachers, administrators and parents intercepting messages pertaining to cyber bullying or cheating or in some cases inappropriate behavior. This knowledge can also keep you out of trouble. The rule I tend to stick with is not to friend any students, nothing personal, just keeping myself above reproach.
Facebook has many practical applications for classroom use. I have several class pages that I follow, and the teacher uses the page to post homework, start discussions and most importantly keep the parents informed. Like any tool, if you use social networking correctly, it will work well for you. On the other hand misuse could cause injury. Something to think about.
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