From friends to students to politicians, many have a Facebook account. Facebook, a social networking site, began in 2004 and has moved beyond its early days of connecting students at Ivy League schools. Since 2006, anyone who is over 13 and has a valid email address can create an account. Estimates are there are 100 million users worldwide. As with other social networks, a user creates a profile page that limits as to how they can change its appearance (thus cutting down on visual clutter and spam). Use of the site is free since it is supported by advertising.

Yet for those of us in academia, we wonder if the communicative value of Facebook will have much impact on learning. Some contend that such sites for online collaboration are integral tools in the lives of today’s students. With students constantly checking their Facebook accounts, is it a good way to reach them? Can we integrate Facebook into instructional activities? Or do students want their account for strictly social purposes? We are all new at this and we are learning as we go.

Because Facebook is social, we have to decide what is appropriate to share with our students. If you create two profiles, one can be personal and the other for when you are an instructor. Conversely students can create a “Limited Profile” list and put you on it so you don’t have access to their entire profile. There are lots of ways to connect with your students, including for example, publish notes (much like a blog) and tag students, post photos, and share your experiences through status updates. For other educational ideas go to http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7036945291

Since you already have Blackboard for your classes, how can Facebook compliment it? For starters, those at Blackboard recognize that socializing is compelling for most students and that accessing course material may not be. According to Blackboard’s site, “You (students) have to access a different system to get your course information and you don’t always know when something new has been posted or assigned, so it’s difficult for you to stay on top of your studies. We get it. That’s why Blackboard is offering Blackboard Sync™, an application that delivers course information and updates from Blackboard to you inside Facebook.” Blackboard’s sync integrates with Scholar, allowing students to post relevant links to share with classmates. In the article, “Facebook meet Blackboard” it states, “Some of Sync’s other features include integration with Blackboard’s message boards, access to grade s and a page with announcements and recent course updates — viewable only to the student who’s both logged on to Facebook and enrolled in the given courses” (http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/05/14/sync)

Here in the Cockrell School we know of a few Facebook activities. The Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department (PGE) recently launched a page to help to connect PGE students with each other, and to faculty. Envisioned by new PGE Department Chair Dr. Tad Patzek, he sees the PGE Facebook page as a way for students to navigate their academic experiences through shared interactions. The Faculty Innovation Center (FIC) has also invested into Facebook, with a page that features FIC projects and services available to the Cockrell School. We expect that interest in sites like Facebook will grow and we are here to assist you as you explore this new avenue.