Communication Tool #3

Communication Tool #3

Facebook – With close teacher monitoring, I think Facebook is a wonderful resource. Students get an instant audience, again it needs to be closely monitored. The timeline on Facebook can provide teachers and students a digital portfolio of their work, reflections, pictures, attachments, etc… from the whole year. Parents can also have the ability to check on their work too, especially from the easy access of their phone or laptop in the comfort of their own home, work, etc.... Parents, teachers and peers, again with close monitoring, can make comments on student work and become involved in that particular student’s education. There is an interesting Facebook in Education page that provides tips and success stories.

Early Elementary Technology Tool Rubric

	Score 1-DNM 2-PM 3-M 4-E	Notes
Safety	3	Teachers need to monitor closely and set and constantly recheck the privacy settings and the students’ “friends”.
Student Enjoyability	4	Students enjoy this social media tool. It is appealing and it is great to use for tool. Students will have an opportunity to see the academic possibilities instead of just using it to post selfies. It is very user friendly for students, parents and teachers. Students will be very engaged in this tool.
Accessibility	3	This tool is free. YAY! Students can use this tool easily. The only constraint I see is individual districts who have a ban on this tool; however, the districts who ban this tool need to see a presentation and research on how powerful this tool can be for academics and parental involvement  of students of all ages.
Feedback (When Applicable)	4	It is easy to give feedback to students as  a teacher, parent or peer. Teachers can be in charge of the pages and delete inappropriate comments, again, closely monitor usage.
Higher Level Thinking	3	Students can demonstrate higher level thinking abilities within their academic assignments, reflections and their individual response to feedback by parents, teachers and peers.