Running Head: FACEBOOK SHOULD RETURN TO EDUCATION

Facebook Should Return to Education

Jody R. Becker

Western Oregon University

Author Note

Graduate Student at Western Oregon University College of Education

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jody R. Becker

Jody.r.becker@gmail.com
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Abstract

Social media provides an open and cost free platform for real time interaction between students,

faculty, and institutions. With proper use and application, this social media platform can improve

the quality of interaction among learners and may aid to increase the level of social presence in

the virtual classroom. Facebook was created for Harvard students in 2004. It offers many of the

same features of the institutionally endorsed learning management systems (LMS), and multiple

universities are already utilizing it as part of the curriculum there are still educational institutions

that hesitate to endorse pedagogical uses of social media like Facebook in the classroom because

of privacy issues, mainly FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and FIPPA

(Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) concerns. (Joosten, Pasquini & Harness,

2011).

Common concerns about privacy on behalf of students, institutions, college administrators, and

faculty will be addressed and discussed. This essay will show that faculty and institutions are

missing an opportunity to increase the quality of education available to students by continuing to

resist the incorporation of Facebook into education.

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Facebook Should Return to Education

Social media is transforming the way individuals communicate in higher education. Educational

institutions have been utilizing Web 2.0 tools, particularly Facebook, since it was originally

launched in 2004 for Harvard students. When Facebook launched fan pages in 2007, many

universities joined in and increased the presence of Facebook within their institution. At this time

in Facebook history, close to 85% of students at 4 year universities had Facebook profiles and,

420 universities were taking advantage of high Facebook use among students (Cheater, 2008).

This essay advocates that the use of social media, particularly Facebook, can be successfully

integrated into educational institutions, and will increase student engagement if used

appropriately.

Educational technology and e-learning can occur both in and out of the classroom. In many cases,

it can be asynchronous, or synchronous learning. Educational technology can be used in

conjunction with face-to-face learning or in distance education to improve collaboration and

communication between students and faculty. In traditional learning management systems, the

communication takes place asynchronously. Communication between students and the instructor

are delayed in traditional learning management systems and Facebook has the capability to add

synchronous, or real time communication and collaboration between students and faculty. Not

only that, Facebook has the capability to host video calls similar to Skype, voice calls and instant

chat. Moodle does not have this capability. Student engagement is again increased by the

innovative features Facebook has to offer eLearning environments.

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Facebook was created for Harvard students and offers many of the same features of the

institutionally endorsed learning management systems (LMS). Multiple universities are already

utilizing Facebook as part of the curriculum yet, there are still educational institutions that

hesitate to endorse pedagogical uses of social media in the classroom because of privacy issues,

mainly FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and FIPPA (Freedom of

Information and Protection of Privacy Act) concerns. (Joosten, Pasquini & Harness, 2011).

FERPA and FIPPA should not be used to isolate learners and students from the community, be it

digital a digital community or otherwise. Imagine a world where learners were isolated from the

community, or that the community was isolated from the educational institutions.

An education lawyer advised that FERPA cannot be interpreted as building a total and complete

wall between schools and communities. We would have bad schools if that happened and

disengaged students. He added that sharing is an important part of learning. (Bathon, 2009).

Learning how to interact with the digital world is part of an education in these technology rich

times. Policy suggestions from a variety of universities for instructors or staff wanting to use

social media are; when students are assigned to post information to public social media platforms

outside of the university LMS, they should be informed that their material may be viewed by

others; students should not be required to release personal information on a public site; instructor

comments or grades on student material should not be made public. (Interestingly, grades given

by other students on peer-graded work can be made public under FERPA); and while not

clearly required by law, students under the age of 18 should get their parents consent to post

public work (Orlando, 2011).

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How FERPA is implemented is up to the institution, and some universities are stricter with these

policies than others. FERPA does not forbid instructors from using social media in the

classroom, but common sense guidelines should be used to ensure the protection of students

(Orlando, 2011). There is a significant lack of support and guidelines for the use of social media

in many institutions. Despite the reported responsibilities universities feel, many do not provide

the necessary resources to guide safe and effective social media use (Joosten, Pasquini &

Harness, 2011). Its time that these guidelines and policies were created within institutions for

the benefit of staff, faculty and students. When Facebook is used in a way that is associated with

a college, it might be beneficial to endorse policy creation because students are likely already

using Facebook.

Nearly half of US students are already using social media to collaborate and discuss classroom

related material. Salaway and Caruso (2008) found that 49.7% of U.S. students in their survey

used social networking sites to communicate about course-related topics. Another study found

that the number of college students using social networking to discuss class materials increased

by 26% between 2010 and 2011 (Dahlstrom, 2012). If students are currently using social media

to discuss classroom materials and their educational experience, it makes sense that the

institutions should modernize their approach, accept that students are using social media, and

provide a proper education concerning digital citizenry.

Recently, organizations like the American Nurses Association (ANA) have offered tips and

principles when using social media to avoid future problems (ANA, 2011). Professional

curriculums now offer units designed to help doctors and nurses manage their digital footprint
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as a component of their education. If students can learn about digital citizenry, then they will

have the opportunity to make informed decisions regarding online interactions and apply those

skills to professional situations where necessary. Facebook offers the opportunity for students to

practice good digital citizenship while they are still in college, although there has been some

resistance to the idea of using social media as part of the curriculum because of privacy concerns

on behalf of the students.

Studies have found that some of the reasons for student resistance to the idea of conducting

classes in social media networks include the idea that students do not want faculty arranging,

controlling, or manipulating their social spaces (Simard & Schnackenberg, 2012). A current

challenge in the incorporation of Facebook for professional use by faculty, is many students

choose to connect to the instructors professional email account with their personal accounts and

profiles. With Facebook, its possible to create multiple accounts, and students and faculty may

choose to create another account that is strictly used for school, and associated with their school

email account. This way the students and faculty are able to keep their private lives private while

participating in classroom discussions and coursework. In addition, students and faculty should

use the highest possible privacy settings to keep their private information out of the classroom.

If educational and academic accounts are created and used specifically by faculty and staff, then

the security and privacy can be protected while using social media as an educational tool. In

order to stay up to date on privacy policies of Facebook, its important that faculty and students

check their settings often, which would require some additional efforts in order to remain

informed and make necessary adjustments. This may cause concern for many institutions that are
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investigating incorporation of this tool into curriculums. Facebook allows for notifications

whenever security settings have changed, or when new options are available. If students and

faculty are alerted to these changes, and take necessary precautions to manage online

information, then privacy of both students and faculty can be protected through Facebook

settings.

If institutions are concerned about the shift in resources involved when incorporating social

media, there are viable solutions available. An argument is that in the instance where social

media is supported, it is usually through the creation of a new position or the changing of a

position description to include social media responsibilities on behalf of the institution (Joosten,

Pasquini & Harness, 2011). The shift in resources, or additional staffing, is a small price to pay to

increase student engagement and retention in a learning environment. Several studies have

suggested that students post to Facebook more frequently in discussion forums than in

conventional course management systems (Chu & Meulemans, 2008; Salaway et al., 2008;

Schroeder & Greenbowe, 2009). In a study of students from universities across the United States,

Jones found that 79% of them reported that the internet has had a positive effect on their college

academics (Jones, 2002).

Studies focusing on use of social networking sites and student engagement have found a positive

correlation between time spent on these sites and student engagement. Existing scholarship

regarding student learning and technology indicates that the era of Web 2.0 provides an

opportunity and the ability to create a virtual community, and leads to social and innovative
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learning, which in turn, leads to the motivation of students (Cerda & Planus, 2011). Social media

provides an open and cost free platform for real time interaction. It can facilitate improving the

quality of interaction among learners and increase the level of social presence. Faculty members

who are not using Facebook are missing an opportunity to capitalize on the students

involvement with Facebook. Higher education administrators and faculty have an opportunity to

help students use social networking sites in a way that is beneficial to their engagement and to

their overall academic experience. It is important for those working in higher education to

familiarize themselves with the opportunities for academic dishonesty within a social networking

environment and to design policies with expectations like those in traditional face-to-face

environments.

According to an email from Gregory B. Zobel, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor of Educational

Technology at Western Oregon University, Setting up the FB (Facebook) group was easy. The

challenge was reframing an existing course from working in Moodle to working on FB. At the

same time that I shifted platforms, I redesigned all of the assignments and assessments. For me,

the trigger of moving to FB was also a trigger for more self-evaluation in the assignments. As

such, it's hard to distinguish where the FB focus ended and the course design began. Professor

Zobel continued that Initially, I checked multiple times a day to see what was going on. Then it

moved to every other day or at least once/day. There are also the FB alerts that kept me abreast of

activity. If things were really slow or busy, I'd poke in and take a look. Also, having things on

FB made it very easy to check where things were at. (Zobel, 2015) When asked if he thought

student engagement increased or decreased when Facebook was used for his Web 2.0 class
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instead of Moodle, Zobel replied For the web 2.0 class, definitely increased from what I saw.

More work, more interesting work, and more non-required work (Zobel, 2015).

In Zobels case, student participation and engagement in class material increased. Students went

above and beyond the minimum requirements of the course and collaborated with instructors and

each other more often than they did on the classic learning management system endorsed by

institutions. While the Moodle platform is a success in some cases, there has been a new

movement in technology and pedagogy toward social media in institutions. The rise of social

software provides new avenues and opportunities for increased collaboration and an opportunity

to change the way people learn (Prensky, 2011). It is time that Facebook returned to education so

that students and institutions can become part of the global community where they can practice,

model, and teach good digital citizenship.

Despite the privacy concerns and necessary changes in facilitation, the addition of social

networking into classrooms and educational institutions is worth the effort. Guidelines can be

established by the institution and faculty and that will give the students an opportunity to learn

and practice good digital citizenship as part of the educational experience. Privacy concerns can

be mitigated by creating a separate account on Facebook for school use. Facilitation concerns can

easily be addressed by the institution. If appropriate guidance is set up and maintained by the

institution, then Facebook will be a success.

The 21st century learner requires educational opportunities not bound by time or place and that

allow interaction with the instructor and peers (Beldarrain, 2006, p. 150). Social media,
FACEBOOK SHOULD RETURN TO EDUCATION 10

particularly Facebook, can be integrated into pedagogy and curriculum, and will benefit

educational institutions, students, and faculty. Facebook has been shown to increase student

engagement and involvement in their education. Faculty and institutions are missing out on an

enormous opportunity increase the quality of education available to students by continuing to

resist the incorporation of Facebook into education.

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