Facebook & MySpace - Wait, What?!

Teachers, do you use Facebook and/or MySpace on a weekly basis? Like many teachers, I'm sure your profile is set to private (kudos to you if you aren't; you're braver than me!) But, unlike many teachers, I'm sure you may know how important social networking is in your life now, and probably will play a key role in the future, as well.  Keeping this in mind, have you ever thought about setting up a professional Facebook or MySpace page? Kids would LOVE to be "friends" with you on Facebook. I'm sure you'd have a huge following! BONUS: After a couple of years you might have more than 1,000 friends! (How many people can boast that?)


But, on a more important note, Facebook and MySpace are becoming prominent means of communication in your students parents' lives, as well. I witnessed just last week a post by a parent who wrote on the wall of her child's 3rd grade teacher, "If possible could you let Meghan sit closer to the front. She says she is have trouble seeing things far away. We are going to make her an appointment with the eye doctor. Please feel free to contact me for any reason. Thanks." You might be thinking, wow, couldn't she have sent that on email? Yes, probably, but she felt comfortable letting her know on Facebook, so now Meghan sits closer to the front because of one simple communication. 


Facebook and MySpace can be used for a variety of different objectives. For example, on Facebook you can create a Mrs. Jones Parent Group, where your child's parents sign up and you can message out to them about special things going on in class, field trips they can volunteer for, and other miscellaneous things such as when supplies are getting low. You can also create a Fan Page for your class, as well. You can post student work on both Facebook and MySpace, and you can "tag" the parents in the work so that they can brag to their friends. I'd bet you'd have a lot more parent involvement!