Response 4: "Using Facebook as a Teaching Tool"

In Elaine Childs' article "Using Facebook as a Teaching Tool," she describes how she successfully implemented facebook as a tool to use in her English class at the University of Texas. Childs seems to be a forward-thinking professor; her class was called "It Was Like That When I Got Here': The Simpsons and Postmodern America," and after reading the name of the class, I instantly found myself wishing that as an undergraduate student she would have been my English 101 professor. Childs says she wanted to "create an informal online network through which students could communicate with me and with each other in a comfortable, quick-and-easy medium; I wanted to take rhetoric out of the classroom and locate it in their space." This proved to be a great way to make "the practice of rhetoric accessible." I remember being frustrated when I would try to use the blackboard system that CUNY provides its students. I'm still frustrated by ESIMS and several other poorly operated systems.

Childs goes on to reflect on her experience, saying the wall was the biggest success, and that should would schedule particular hours where students could connect with her online in the future. I would imagine facebook to be a great tool, as most people are on it at least once a day anyway, so it would be simple to check class updates and postings. As a high school teacher, I don't feel as though I have enough leeway to use facebook as a teaching tool. I could already foresee parents and administrators having a problem with it, as many people with whom I work are very traditional and not as inclined to utilize new digital mediums. None of the other teachers at my program even provide the students with an e-mail address; it's basically a pen and paper operation for the most part. If it were allowed though, I'd love to use facebook in the classroom. I set up an account for this digital literacy class, and so far, I have found it addictive (I'm not sure if this is a good thing). Childs says, "I am convinced that placing course material in students' social space promotes the demystification of writing, the university, and the instructor." I agree with this, particularly since students are writing more frequently than most teachers believe; it's just that most of their writing is done online, so using facebook would allow them to concentrate on school in an arena in which they are comfortable.