Module 4.5 - Facebook

Module 4.5

Fabio Montella

March, 2016

How do you see a Facebook page as adding value to the learning environment that you are creating? 

Accessibility.  Facebook will allow me to reach students and potential future students en mass and often.  The familiarity and popularity of this social media platform speaks for itself.

Given that you would use private pages for internal postings, are there ways that you would try to encourage an ongoing community or commitment through the Facebook venue?

I would encourage classmates to use this platform as a means to communicate with one another on instruction-related issues, while also connect on a more personal level.  Apprenticeships require some degree of camaraderie, which I would encourage the class or group to achieve collectively.

How would you plan on maintaining such an outward-facing social presence?

I would arrange a set schedule that would be dedicated to social media. Bi-weekly would suffice, but daily would be ideal.  I need to be understanding of the fact that not everyone in class will be as dedicated to viewing or using social media as others, and some simply will not have as much free time as others.

Would you maintain this yourself or share the responsibilities with the learners in your environment?

It would be a combined effort.  I would provide information while expecting some level of feedback and/or assessment and self-assessment from students.

Are there other comments and notes that you want to make about your personal learning and/or the challenges that will lie ahead as you start thinking about the expectations that others may have as outcomes from your learners?

I think many students will be a little apprehensive about using social media for something as traditional as custom tailoring classes.  In that regard, I will need to find an appropriate level of usage for social media which will keep students engaged and not alienate them.

 I also expect that some students may wish to have more lessons or information posted on Facebook.  Though some tutorials and instructions will be made available through social media, this must be kept at an appropriate level in order to serve the needs of all students and address all modes of learning.   A majority of the instructions will remain in a classroom.

Thoughts on Facebook

Facebook

I find Facebook to be one of the most useful tools for education and/or business.  The manner in which it allows you to communicate with an intended audience is unparalleled.  Its constant evolution allows users to remain ahead of many curves while maintaining a level of user-friendliness that benefits a variety of different users.

I've used Facebook for several years on a personal level, but this was my first endeavor on a professional level.  In using Facebook to remain in contact with family and friends, I become aware of the "event notification" feature but never utilized it.  Often I would see this feature being put to use by family and friends promoting a party, fundraiser. etc.  It has always appeared as a very useful tool, but even more so when it is utilized on a professional level.  It tends to be a bit more informal than sending bulk emails, which would have been my initial choice for mass communication.  The informality of this tool, together with its clarity and creativity options, have made me an advocate and a user.

I can envision Facebook being at the forefront of any promotional/informative efforts that I will make within my custom tailoring instruction goals.  Promoting my professional link to members of my personal Facebook account will hopefully create a chain-letter of sorts that will in turn promote interested parties to contact us.