PARENTS' GUIDE TO FACEBOOK

A Parents' Guide to Facebook Released
Posted 11/08/2010 at 7:00am | by Paul Lilly

Worried your teenager might be misusing Facebook and sharing too much information with the world? ConnectSafely.org and the iKeepSafe Coalition want to help and have jointly released "A Parents' Guide to Facebook," a 35-page booklet and online resource designed to help parents show their teens how to optimize their privacy and safety on the world's largest social networking site.

"Many of our recommendations are stricter than Facebook's default settings for teens but, fortunately, Facebook provides excellent tools for further customization. This booklet helps parents and teens customize those tools fo teen-appropriate safety, privacy, and reputation protection," said ConnectSafely co-director Larry Magid.

The guide offers up step-by-step instructions, illustrations, and parenting points on safety and privacy controls, and covers both cell phone and PC-based access.

Guide (PDF)
At-a-Glance chart



http://www.connectsafely.org/Safety-Advice-Articles/facebook-privacy-chart-for-teens.html

MY THOUGHTS

it's quite a good guide.  and it's downloadable.  for free. click here for the guide.

PARENTS AND KIDS AS FACEBOOK BUDDIES

Facebook Relationships: Natural for parents & teens
January 19, 2011 | Debbie Turner

http://www.onlinesocialmedia.net/20110119/facebook-relationships-natural-for-parents-teens/

The ever-growing Facebook is sometimes portrayed in a negative light and sometimes there has been the perception that teenagers who are using it are hooked on it and may also use it in rather a covert way, sometimes at the expense of good relationships with their parents.

However an article by Bernd Debusmann over on Reuters goes a long way to dispelling this idea by looking at results from a survey carried out by Kaplan Test Prep. It showed that perhaps contrary to popular opinion, around two-thirds of teenagers in America are happy to share social networking with their parents by having them as Facebook friends. However a note of caution is that 16% of those who have parents among their Facebook friends, only accept them as a prerequisite to signing up.

Not all teenagers are happy to accept their parents as Facebook friends either and 38% say that if their parents send them a friend request they ignore it. However executive director of Kaplan, Kristen Campbell said, “Facebook … continues to be the new frontier in the ever evolving relationship between parent and child,” and also points out that the majority of teens “are not hiding and that is positive.” It’s also noted that for many it opens lines of communication that did not previously exist and also allows teenagers to claim an amount of independence.

Campbell also describes using Facebook as a ‘natural step’ for those that have grown up as part of the Internet generation. Another article, this time by Bridget Tyler on KidGlue, also looks at these survey results and gives some good advice to parents out there that may be finding it hard to be a parent in the social networking age.

What are your thoughts on this and are you surprised by just how open most teenagers are? Where should parents draw the line at involvement in their teen’s social networking lives? Why not let us know by sending us your comments.

MY THOUGHTS

i feel so relieved i am so past teenage years.  my mom has a facebook account(and she doesn't know how to use the computer).  as a teenager i probably won't like to have my parents in my network.  but then, in retrospect, i doubt we would have been allowed to get into social networking sites. i doubt that very very much.

Social network boosts learning

Social network boosts learning
Franklin history class uses online forum to build their skills.

By Andy Sedlak, Staff Writer 4:35 AM Saturday, January 22, 2011

FRANKLIN — Plenty of teachers have taken advantage of the Internet’s researching possibilities, but one Franklin High School teacher is making strides to incorporate the web’s second generation — social networking — into his classes.

Jim McFarland began teaching five years ago and has been using online discussion boards in his history classes for the past three. He usually posts first, typically regarding classroom readings or general assignments, and asks his students to comment on his post and each others’ as part of their homework.

“It allows me to evaluate a lot easier, to get feedback before class even starts,” the 30-year-old said. “So then, in the period that I have them, I can (either) correct and misconceptions they may have had about the reading, or it prevents me from having to be repetitive and go over materials they already understand.”

The use of discussion boards and forums are popular at the college level.

“If he’s teaching them how to use these things safely and responsibly — that’s great — I don’t think (educators) do that enough,” said Janet Hurn, Senior Instructor of Physics at Miami Middletown. “They’ll have a leg up in the modern classroom.”

McFarland asks his students to use Google Docs, which allows access to electronic classroom documents through Google. With a recently updated version, students can simultaneously access the same document, meaning one could be writing the paper’s opening, another the body and a third the conclusion, all at the same time.

“They can help each other, which is more assistance than I can provide,” McFarland said. “It’s that collaborative nature that I like a lot, and the district isn’t paying any money to use these servers. It’s all free and will be — knock on wood — forever.”

McFarland created a Facebook page in the days running up to Franklin’s exam week, where his students had the ability to pose questions about homework or review session times.

“I check it almost every time I get on,” said Emily Simpson, a 17-year-old senior in McFarland’s AP history class.

“It definitely feels different in there, but in a good way,” she said of McFarland’s classroom. “It makes you feel like you’re learning at a faster rate.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2871 or asedlak@coxohio.com.

MY THOUGHTS

any takers?  i'm thinking. i'm thinking. i like the idea.  just don't know yet how i can do the same.