These notes are from the session on November 11th:

Facebook requires members to be 13 yrs old. Many underage students violate this requirement.

One of the attendees described how she belongs to the social networking tool from her home country of Poland and how she is now connected to some of her former students.

One attendee described a project that would have greatly benefited from making a connection through something like Facebook. His students needed info not easily found in traditional online or print resources.

Comments and questions at the end of the November 11th session are listed here:

One teacher with a page has decided to not be friends with his students…he has things to share on his page, but has to decided to limit his contacts with the students.

One participant noted it would be a good way to collect “stuff” for yearbook/newspaper!

One participant asked what is the difference between MySpace (MS) and Facebook (FB)?
MS doesn’t appear as clean…more clutter…a bunch of billboards….not as sophisticated. Since FB started in college, it has maintained the more organized look.

Notes from November 17 session:

There is a little red icon on the bottom right of the screen that tells you someone has sent you a message on your wall.

You can limit how much info you include about yourself.

There is an application “Where You’ve Been” that you can add to show locations (with pictures) that you have visited. These can be added to your Wall.

Another application is “What’s Your Actually Age” –based on education level, your job, your general health, etc. Would make for a good discussion with students on how factors affect your health…factors you can control and not control.

To be in a group...you must have an account and be invited or accepted. The group feature is under Info

An organization page is different from an individual’s page.

Help students to find the Privacy settings and to think thru what should be checked.
Friends – yes, but maybe Friends of Friends is not a good choice!

Other questions or comments from the Nov. 17th session:

An attendee uses Facebook to set up his basketball team practices because his team players all have accounts – a tool for communication.

You can also IM within Facebook.

Why is Facebook preferred over MySpace?
Facebook was originally set up for college students. MySpace attracted a lot of musicians and artists. It has more flexibility for this reason which can be good and bad. Facebook is more tailored and controlled.

One attendee said young people in her family use it to screen people they meet. They give their Facebook id instead of email or phone number and address.

Nings may provide some of the same needs in a classroom setting without all the social aspects for teachers to consider using.

Notes from the Nov 19th session:

Two attendees had accounts before the district opened it.
Your wall is the home page.
The Flair tab contains buttons (pictures or sayings) you or your friends have made.
Click on edit button under Applications to get the 3rd party apps to add even more stuff to your page. Example: You can make a booklist and that feature allows you to see others who read what you read. You build community that way.
Question: if you don’t limit who sees what you, then anyone who has an account can see you. You can not surf homepages…you must be invited to see homepages.
Groups – members must be invited. Can not even ask to be member.
FB could serve as a family network that could be completely private.

Notes from the Dec. 5th session:

8 attendees have had an account for a “long” time…prior to the district opening.
time shows on posts so teachers could tell if it was written in class or research time.
Social ads - pictures of friends are used as a trigger to have you check out an ad because you see the picture…this can be turned off.
Sharing apps like decorations, little games is a big part of the “social” aspects of it.
Writing on the wall is a conversation method.
Applications is the lower left corner – how you can add new fun and educational things

Other Comments:
Even grown-ups post inappropriate things, not realizing it goes and goes.
Debate teacher is now going to use the wall to post messages about practices, etc.
Event invitations can be done ahead of time. Is found as part of built-in calendar. Can be for virtual things (like World Aids Day)