Week 3 - Facebook and Ning

During week 3 of my EDU 651 at Ashford University we have discussed the uses of social networking sites such as Facebook and Ning. 

One of our assignments this week was to discuss an issue of a teacher that made a comment on Facebook about a student in her class that was meant for her friends but seen publicly (including by students).  We were to discuss if this teacher should or should not be disciplined by the school for making such a comment.  As an educator this teacher should not be talking about students or making comments.  Educators are highly responsible for their online content. Even though the teacher thought her comments were being made privately the teacher’s reputation is at stake. If parents see the teacher’s online content why would they want that teacher for their kids. Educators are supposed to be respectable people and should treat their students with respect as well. People should really understand the implications of what they post and what is seen.

Our second assignment was to discuss Ning and it's possible educational uses.  I signed up for a Ning account and it is much like a Facebook page but more private.  You can set the settings to where you have to approve anything before it is posted to your page.  It is also kind of like a Moodle classroom.  You can set a classroom group on it and have all of your students join the group.  You can create projects for the students and have them post to the group. 

It is truly amazing to see all of the great educational technology tools that are out there.  There are a lot that are the same so it would be your preference on which one you prefer to use.  Kind of like MySpace vs. Facebook.  I prefer to use Facebook as my social networking site even though there are other networking sites out there.