Facebook - the next virtual learning environment?

A question has been lurking in the back of my mind these days especially with all the buzz and anxiety being triggered from the state’s decision to get rid of unions. 

The questions being asked are, “How are we (public schools) going to survive?” I ask, “How are we going to do things differently?”

In a recent conversation, blended learning or virtual environments came up. What if students worked at home some times and then came to school for face-to-face discussions?

I started to put this idea together with another project I have been thinking about - using Facebook in schools. 

Let’s start. There are traditional virtual environments. Worksheets, tasks and assessments are posted online - with a threaded discussion here or there. Links to resources are also available. 

Then multimedia comes into the scene and students and teachers alike can post videos of themselves or others. Discussions are grown and get to deeper understanding. 

All good stuff, right? 

So recently, I have been using Facebook to learn. The significance to this is I get to choose my “teachers” and what I am learning. I also get to participate although not as directly as I’d like yet. I think that is more my comfort level though. 

I know teachers have a lot of expertise. A teacher can explain things in ways like no other. But so can sources that are not teachers, like National Geographic or my buddy Scott. I even learn from people I don’t agree with - won’t mention those names here though. 

What if teachers used Facebook as there means to teach - anyone. And then students friended their face-to-face teacher - yes, relationships and the human connection will never go away - in addition to other teachers, like their friends or the teacher in Finland or Japan, and what about friending pages like The Learning Channel or PBS History Detectives, or The National Parks or - wait - this list could get really long. Do you see what I’m talking about?

The face-to-face teacher would be the one to teach the skills and knowledge when needed by posting good thinking questions and screen casts of how-to’s, but also to facilitate and guide the learning for their students and support their learning. 

Going public is something that is a little scary for teachers even though they have been on stage their whole life in the classroom. I always thought there was a direct link between the entertainment industry and teaching. 

Don’t you think it’s time for a little drama, suspense, comedy of the educational kind? I say open the curtains - it’s showtime!