Co-Create Thrilling Learning Experiences

That 70s Show caught me by surprise the first time I saw it. Since I grew up in another country, at first, I had no idea what the teenagers in the show were doing sitting in the basement, acting silly. After a few minutes, it became clear they were "smoking pot."

Pamela Parker (Texas Teacher Law) shares that while she and her friends hung out in the family's basement rec room, teens today hang out in virtual basements called facebook and myspace, and they often invite their teachers in. Is it safe to assume they're engaging in similar inappropriate behavior? Obviously, the Ohio Education Association thinks so, and wants to encourage its teachers to not make the same mistake. In the equivalent of a virtual "avoid inappropriate locations like strip joints and singles' bars" advice, educators are advised to not risk their job and careers by creating MySpace or Facebook accounts. And, if they have them, better to delete them.

"The fact that a student can attempt to contact an OEA member who has a profile on these sites lends itself to the possible interpretation of an improper relationship," the memo told teachers. "Because of the high standards placed on school employees and the risk of job and career loss, the OEA recommends avoiding even the appearance of impropriety.
Read eSchoolNews article

Contact online with students is inappropriate for teachers, unbecoming the conduct a teacher should display. That's my interpretation of the Ohio memo sent to teachers regarding their MySpace and Facebook accounts.

That's right, let's block off contact with students because those who are ignorant of new technologies will perceive ANY contact as giving the appearance of impropriety. Am I interpreting this memo incorrectly? The truth is, some schools systems and administrators would rather ban all contact except that contact which occurs in the hallowed halls of academia. Instead of increased interaction that results in teaching and learning opportunities in an increasingly online world, there is a push to demonize what happens online as a distraction, and detriment to your livelihood. 

And, isn't there a good reason for that? Haven't we all seen the high profile cases of priests, teachers sexually abusing children, soliciting minors in regular classrooms? How much of the solicitation will now move from face to face to online, and how can anyone--especially administrators already over-burdened with traditional paperwork--hope to keep up?

The fact is, if you have a MySpace or Facebook account, you're going to get tarred with the brush of impropriety...at least in Ohio. Is this true in your school district? And, how does that happen without a real conversation about the issues and concerns? What about the possibilities? Rather than celebrate these technologies, encouraging teachers to get Facebook and MySpace accounts, maybe folks should be discouraging educators from stepping out of line.

Let's consider another perspective...

Yes, some teachers have used the technology inappropriately. Some teachers have used poor judgment, some have acted irresponsibly, some immorally, and some even illegally. Does this mean that the technology should not be used by any teachers? What incredibly poor logic...The fact is simple: my use of technology, including but not limited to the use of MySpace and Facebook, makes me a better teacher. Social networking sites help me to better understand the world my students are living in. After all, it is a very different world than the one I grew up in. Heck, it is a different world than the one I woke up in this morning.
Source:Deeper Water Blog

Perhaps, a more eloquently stated point of view is the one Alisa Ortley, a university student, shares below:

I totally agree with you in the fact that we need to start teaching our children how to use social networking tools safely. The best way to do this is by starting in the school system. The same way that we teach our children sex education and drivers ed we need to teach them safe social networking skills. The children can get together and discuss the different ways that they may be targeted and learn from eachother how to avoid being the target of a predator. Kids learning from eachother about their online expriences and learning that their space online is a reflection of them. They need to learn how important the information they put online is in essence their resume to the outside world.

This past weekend--out of curiousity and to safeguard my standard username "mguhlin"--I took the plunge and jumped into a Facebook account. To be honest, I was amazed at how easy it was to connect to other folks, the clean look of Facebook (as opposed to crummy looking MySpace, where I also have an account). I certainly see Facebook as a way to connect with other educators. But what about students? I admit that I would feel a bit uneasy about encountering my students online, yet I'd work to overcome this feeling by modelling appropriate behavior and ensuring that we were still professional. Unlike some, I suppose I believe that online behavior with students MUST ALWAYS be professional, whether I'm on or off duty.

But, should creating a Facebook or MySpace account automatically land me in suspicious territory? Should I go delete my Facebook account because folks in the Ohio Educators Association say I should? I'm not sure. Consider these comments from well-known edubloggers:

• Simply banning read/write web tools on school networks is an inadequate response: Educators must strive to learn alongside students and parents how these technologies can be safely and powerfully used to communicate and collaborate. Source
• Check out BJ's thoughts on a framework for understanding simplicity and leave him some feedback on Facebook. Don't have a Facebook account yet? It's time you did! Source
• Social networks aren't bad, in the same way as a car isn't a bad thing. But if you don't know how to drive them then you're sure to have an accident one day, and you might well bring others down with you. Source
• As a person interested in educational technology, one item on this year's compilation particularly jumped out at me, "Thanks to MySpace and Facebook, autobiography can happen in real time." I think it's fair to say that there has been a fair amount of skepticism about these social networking sites, and it's interesting how this statement frames their uses. Our kids are writing their own stories and the writing process has been democratized. This is something we cannot ignore. Source
• We all seek community--it's human nature. We form communities within our departments at school, or with other like-minded staff, while students form them around clubs, activities, or even Facebook, MySpace, gaming, etc. Source
• Jessica Cantarell posted an interesting piece before the study on DEN News with views from both sets of users. "Both sites aim to serve the same basic purpose: creating communities and connecting people with common interests. Registered users on both sites can benefit socially, professionally or romantically due to the availability of information on the large population of users." Hmmm... like many of my readers, I am on both. Two of my kids are on both and two are just on Facebook. It is common knowledge that Facebook collects all your information and sells it, and some say MySpace exploits and debases American culture. Source

It's too easy to fall into one camp or the other. As an educator, I should have the freedom to explore new technologies...and if I encounter my students, colleagues online, then it's worth remembering that professionalism and transparency are worth practicing and modelling 24/7, 365 days a year...and we have to understand that everyone--including pastors, politicians--slip and fall (but nothing on the scale of moral turpitude, although that's a reflection on the Community). Why not our children and their teachers?

Often, conversations just don't happen. As administrators, we opt for what's perceived to be the safest route--condemnation, prohibition, willful ignorance of an innovation until it becomes a requirement. Sometimes, it's that loss of control by those who have the authority in the past to decide what other people read, and consider for reflection.

The OEA is no exception. However, I wonder if anyone IN schools will want to touch this. Educators are universally afraid of controversy, the hint of impropriety...it ruins careers and the discussion of what's appropriate or not is better left to those OUTSIDE education--religious leaders, pundits, legislators, parents and community, in short, anyone except the very people who SHOULD be discussing it and grabbing the issues by the horns.

When you consider that our students are engaged by technologies that convey authentic voices, that allow for not just a conversation between two people--teacher and student--but a multitude of learners collaborating online, that "group work" shouldn't be just about collaborating with the people in your classroom but with anyone that is OUTSIDE the boundaries of your classroom... and, that the most important connection to education is that our students and our teachers can both co-innovate value, co-create thrilling learning experiences with each other...now THAT is a vision to get behind.

Our own ignorance and fear are the demons we must vanquish. We can do that only by facing that rather than banning and prohibiting to achieve an illusory safety that never existed.

Your thoughts?

Miguel Guhlin
Around the Corner-MGuhlin.net
http://mguhlin.net

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Comments

[Dave Meister]

I have had a hard enough time getting my staff to use online connectivity to engage their students without the teachers' union getting involved and telling them to resist innovation. Another example of educators getting in their own way! Are we supposed to leave WalMart if we see a student there? Can we go to a movie if a student is there.....can we ask what they thought of the movie, or would that be too forward? What has happened to common sense?

[Dave Sherman]

Terrific post. It seems as if this topic keeps popping up. If it isn't Wikipedia, then it is the use of iPods or cell phones in schools. Or maybe it is the use of video games in the classroom. Why are so many educators so afraid to use new technologies in their classrooms? I believe it is our responsibility to look for ways to use new ideas and technologies in our teaching and learning. We should be embracing and modeling the use of innovations such as Facebook instead of banning them. This is a way to hook students.

[Miguel Guhlin]

Gentlemen, obviously, I agree with your sentiments. I ran into a post this morning that shares how Facebook use should be modelled among students.

Jeff Utecht at The Thinking Stick nails it in his presentation. As administrators, what can we do to foster technology use that isn't afraid of the boogieman, and provides appropriate models for our children?
http://www.thethinkingstick.com/?p=602

Take care and thanks for commenting,

Miguel Guhlin

[Peter Stinson]

Wow. Harsh. I guess the good folks at the Ohio Education Association belief that teachers ought to have no real life, not be true role models, and be absolutely removed and remote from their students.

This certainly sounds like it's in the best interest of the students.

Why don't we create entire environments where there are no adults whatsoever. Let our youth figure everything out for themselves. No role models. No coaches. Nothing.