1. The use of Facebook and Social Media in the middle school classroom… Catching the Students in their own Web.

2. The Format – you thought you escaped the classroom! Intro…Who is that guy and why is he allowed in a classroom? The Chalk and Talk portion…as quickly as possible (at first) Politics, R+J, and Australia comes to Fredericton Audience Participation

3. Today’s presentation – the main idea? ***The Medium is the Message***The Medium is the Message

4. Why Social Media? Our world is quickly becoming user- generated: Wikipedia (recently found to be as accurate as Britannica) Facebook CNN’s iReport (what’s the most famous news footage of the past 20 years?) Blogs Podcasts Twitter

5. In 2006, Time Magazine announced that YOU were the most influential Person of the Year. Congratulations!

6. So how did I do it? Wikis…the beginning Easy to set up for classroom instruction…virtual blackboard. Can set up discussions Good for student projects Students able to offer input into their learning.input

7. The Amazing wiki Students could create and re-create their own wikis and bring their own world and voice to their work. their own wikis I could communicate with students even while I was not there (pity the supply teacher).

8. 13 year olds CAN do Shakespeare… R+jtxtmsgassmt A Living Personal Response Journal Social Media like wikis, FB, and Twitter allow for the comfort level needed by many students. The writing and learning can continue at home.

9. The dawn of Facebook in the classroom… Born of a discipline issue – the classroom slouch. “So a man walks into an inservice…”

10. …and the times, they are a changin’ Our students are Web Natives. They grew up online. We are the visitors. Our students are Web Natives A quick survey… 90+% already had FB accounts All were comfortable w/ the language It was fun – the classroom was electric.

11. Enough curriculum…how did it work? *Created the site … should be a business site. *Had kids become fans (‘Seriously? Log into Facebook?’) *Create interest: Begin with discussion topics…give it time to grow.

12. The first real test…The first real eye-opener. The Student Voice – Teen Stress … this was ‘the moment’.Teen Stress Voices I had never heard – less threatened. Opportunity for real discussion. The challenge was to make it connect. Middle school classroom allowed for the flexibility.

13. The Facebook classroom… The honesty … disclosure you may never get. There is an electronic curtain that creates a comfort. This can also be a negative! See 7 th entry.honesty No real ‘guidelines’ as to the discussion. I was an observer.

14. The Facebook Classroom is Everywhere They are ALWAYS on Facebook. I could always get info to them. They would be thinking about our classroom before they even got there. Comfortable contact…students felt they could ask questions this way.

15. Social Media at work – a virtual trip to Australia Oceania triad project… Major Unit, entirely constructed using social media. Oceania triad project…

16. Social Media at work – a virtual trip to Australia Student output followed suit…’Show Us’ projects were produced via wikispaces. Various social media supported opinion.

17. Social Media at work – a virtual trip to Australia As project evolved, students decided via FB discussion, that we should interview somebody from Oceania via the internet.

18. Social Media at work – a virtual trip to Australia A candidate was located and was able to meet our kids via wikispace and facebook. facebook The highlight – a webcast via wiki, Facebook and Skypehighlight Her presentation via wikispace.presentation

20. Assignment Please become a fan of the Facebook page Talkin in Memphis. You can search for it via your own FB page. This is now our page to work with. On the ‘Discussion’ tab, you will find a list of topics based on our experiences today.

21. Final thoughts… American Cliché … a social networking podcast. American Cliché