Feature Stories
Social Networking: Using Facebook with Your Students
By Tiffany Asha, M.A.
Fine Arts Department Chair
Deerpark Middle School
Round Rock Independent School District
Austin, Texas
Unless you have been living under a rock the past few years, you have heard of social networking Web sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Perhaps you even have an account yourself. Social networking has become a very powerful form of expression, communication, and artistic inquiry – where everyone is an exhibitionist and a voyeur.
I began my investigation into social networking in 2006 when my middle school students introduced me to MySpace. I opened an account to learn more, and my social networking practices quickly turned into a daily vice. In my polls over the last few years, I have learned that over 90% of my 170 middle school students have a MySpace and/or a Facebook account. Many students have multiple accounts and aliases with one that remains "parent friendly". The majority of students access their accounts several times per day, mostly by using their cell phones.
So how can teachers bring the level of classroom technology up to meet the standard that students are used to in their personal lives? How can teachers evolve their style and method of communication to better engage their students? Here are a few pointers to get you started:
- Check your district policies first! Read your contract, which is sure to include a "morality clause", meaning you are accountable for actions outside of your classroom, including the Internet. Some districts' policies are current with the level of technology, and specify terms around teachers' use of social networking Web sites.
- Create a page for yourself. Facebook is preferred by most students, as it has fewer advertisements. The rule of thumb for content, pictures in particular is: if you would not publish it in the school newspaper or announce it on the school intercom, do not publish it online. Anywhere. Even if you remove content or a questionable image, it still remains "out there" in the ether.
- Tell your students that you have created an account, and accept their "friend requests". For some of us, this will initially feel quite awkward because you are, in essence, socializing with your students. But, there is another way to think of this: you are simply using technology to help build relationships and make connections to your students, which will pay dividends in the classroom. Look at your students' pages; you will be surprised at what you see, and what you learn. Students reveal a lot about themselves online – beyond friendships, family situations, and the usual status updates about going to the mall; several of my students have used MySpace and Facebook to reveal their sexual orientation to their peers. All of this information helps give you a context to who your students really are as individuals.
Looking beyond these basic guidelines, there are particular benefits to art teachers using social networking sites. For example, most students' sites are truly performance art where students – and the majority of users for that matter—are carefully crafting their persona. The image they want to project is metered to the masses. "Reality" is irrelevant now that everyone has Photoshop. 85% of my students own a digital camera, take pictures on a daily basis, and post these images on their social networking site. Based on the socioeconomics of my students, I would have not assumed that they have access to these technologies, but they do. In four consecutive years of student surveys in my department, I have found that there is no correlation between socioeconomic status and technology access.
If you want to go beyond the basics, here are some other ways you can profitably use the social networking sites:
- Create a group for your class on Facebook. You will have instant access to your students. They check these sites as often as they look at their cell phones. Use the group discussion forum to remind students about upcoming due dates, spark an online discussion about what is happening in the art room, or post a link to your website. Anything you would post on your class Web site should be posted here. As reported in my class, the difference is students spend upwards of ten hours per day on social networking sites; none of them are spending that amount of time on our websites no matter how fabulous they are!
- Create events for free advertisement to your art shows and school events! Invite parents (yes they have Facebook too), students, and community members by using this application online.
- Create digital photography assignments around their account's default/profile picture: playing with their persona, depicting an alter ego, printing/collaging defaults – the possibilities here are endless. To ensure equal access for the few who may not be allowed on social networking sites, post these assignments on your school Web site as well.
Connecting with your students does not have to stop when the bell rings. Using technology to communicate with students in a format that is familiar to them will benefit your program and your relationships.
Strategies for Team-Teaching
By Jackie Ellett
Art Teacher
Duncan Creek Elementary School
Gwinnett County, Georgia
I have taught art in a variety of different situations. Of all the different scenarios I have experienced, I have found team-teaching to be the most beneficial. Under the right circumstances, the benefits of team-teaching can extend from the teachers and the students to the entire school community.
Team-teaching traditionally consists of a group of teachers working together on a regular basis to plan lessons and work towards achieving specific goals. The purpose of team-teaching is to help groups of students learn. Team-teaching can occur at any educational level and across any discipline. Team-teaching can also occur at an interdisciplinary or even school-wide level. The teaching team will meet together to set goals for the course or topic, design an outline or syllabus, and build lesson plans and evaluations around the targeted goals.
I team-teach with another certified art teacher. We often connect what we are teaching with what is being taught in the regular education classroom. We usually make the cross-curricular connections on our own, but sometimes we plan interdisciplinary lessons with classroom teachers. When we partner with the classroom teachers, concepts and ideas introduced in the art room are carried over and reinforced in the regular classroom. Not only does this give credence to art being an academic discipline; our students also experience the concept of interdisciplinary learning.
How can you make team-teaching work for you? First, you need to team with someone you can work with. It helps if your teaching philosophies are similar. However, different philosophical backgrounds can lead to a more enlightened approach. Scheduling time to meet together and honoring that time is extremely important. My teammate and I meet every day during lunch. We use this time to discuss what is and is not working, and to make adjustments. We help each other with student challenges and celebrate each other’s successes. We involve our students in their learning by listening to their suggestions. They benefit from getting feedback from two different teachers. Our art classrooms are situated around the corner from one another. It is a short walk for our students to get feedback from the other class and art teacher.
Personally, I find that working as part of a team makes me a better teacher. When teachers work together, they share knowledge, model respectful behaviors, and bring out the best in each others’ abilities. Teachers who work together create rich learning experiences for their students. Effective team-teaching requires flexibility, open-mindedness, imagination, creativity, and an understanding that sometimes it is okay to fail. Commitment of time from the whole team, whether that team consists of two or 22 people, is imperative. However, the benefits of team-teaching are well worth it.