When I asked a couple weeks ago if there would ever be a time for Facebook in schools, I started a fairly heated discussion. A few people applauded the call for modern and relevant outreach and student connections. Most people were horrified at the thought of using Facebook, whose privacy cred makes Google look like the Federal Witness Protection Program, for interacting with students.
To be honest, I don't disagree with many of these concerns. My intent was and still is to increase communication between parents, teachers, and students and ensure that kids have access to all the information they need in really relevant and easily accessible ways. Am I advocating for such connections at all costs? No, and obviously our students' privacy and safety needs to be the top priority. I still maintain that there is an important place for Facebook in all of this given its general ubiquity, but there are important mainstream, simple alternatives to consider.
This brings me to a reader email, asking about the very issue of improving and modernizing school-parent communications:
My issue is about communicating with parents and the school community using technology. How's that for a novel angle?
Currently, our parent council has proposed that a 1-page insert be included with the monthly school paper newsletter in order to announce upcoming events (e.g., fundraisers) that are being offered.
I'm looking for an electronic way to do this, and have been investigating Facebook Pages for this. Pros: parents already go on Facebook daily, so "Liking" a parent council page would a perfect way for its announcements to be "in their face" on their Facebook Wall. Cons: Once a parent has "Liked" the page, a link to the page appears on the parent's profile page, thus revealing that they are interested in the events advertised on the parent council page, etc. etc. security NO-NO!
Is there another way to put the parent council's announcements "in parents' faces" without having to deal with this limitation in Facebook's security settings? A traditional Web site or RSS feed wouldn't work, as no one would remember to check it. Announcements really have to smack them in the face while they are logging into something that they use daily.
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
My response is below...As always, share your own thoughts in the talkbacks.
Great question! And not one that is easily answered with a "universal" solution. That being said, I have a couple of ideas. Again, none of these are perfect, but they're all worthy of consideration: