The Results
Respondents were about evenly split on the question between "No" (44.07%) and "Maybe" (42.37%) (way to take a stand there people!). Interestingly, only 10.17% of respondents said "Yes, friend everyone." Here's a nice pie chart of the results.
There were two comments left under "other"
"No, it reeks of favoritism."
" Yes. Set security/privacy settings are important, and be professional."
Other comments received included one from a principal who didn't want to know what his teacher were doing on Facebook because then he'd have to deal with their inappropriateness come the next work day. And another from a respondent who likened "friending" to the practice of hiring relatives. Where I come from we call that "institutional incest."
Thoughts
It looks like the jury is still out on this one - though it looks like we're leaning toward "No" when it comes to friending people at work.IMHO it is NOT a good idea for principals to friend subordinates at work. Quite frankly, I don't want to see
I am a BIG fan of using social media to connect with teachers, students, and parents. On Facebook I suggest using a page rather than a profile to communicate professionally. Though attached to your profile for logging on, a page is separate and distinct from your profile. Pages allow for easy, frequent updating, pictures, events, and the like. Rather than friend the page owner, people subscribe to the page by pressing the like button. Both parties get the benefit of communication with out being able to view the other's profile. If you'd like to see a page this link will take you to mine (feel free to press like while you're there).
Your thoughts
The use of Social Media in educational settings is evolving and I'd love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below and be part of the conversation.Photo credit (CC) West McGowan
