If you build it, they will come!

One of the first things that we instructors talk with our students about on the first day of class is the resources that are available to them. With the emergence of the BlackBoard course development system, this usually entails telling them what materials have been posted and where they are posted. Job well done - we're using technology in the classroom, and everyone is happy. I've adopted the BlackBoard into my courses fully and it works very well as a clearinghouse for all varieties of course materials - powerpoints, lecture notes, course discussions, even posting podcasts of the lectures.

Upon using this technology, however, I've come to realize that there is one major flaw with this system, and it's not with the usability of BlackBoard or the accessibility of it. The problem as I see it is the implied nature of the relationship between student and teacher when the BlackBoard alone is used - that is, I'll post some things there, and it's entirely your responsibility to come and get it. Rather than expecting my students to come to me exclusively, I challenge myself to meet them halfway. I want my students to both learn and take responsibility for their actions, but I feel as though I have more of a place in this relationship than just a person with knowledge on how to get what they need. To get more to my point, my students aren't on the BlackBoard. They only even think about BlackBoard when they need something, and weeks can go by without a student giving the BlackBoard a single thought. Many of them do, however, go on Facebook.

As an experiment (after all, I am a scientist), I've created facebook groups for each of my classes. I've found that with a little effort on my part, I can increase student participation and awareness of the resources available to them with a minimal amount of additional work on my part. First, I create a professional facebook account. I don't use my personal one that I use for friends because my friends write idiotic things on my wall. I only give group access to students that are currently enrolled in the class. I post documents, like the syllabus and homework assignments, to the website Scribd and cross link the documents to the group page. I can blast out messages to the whole group VERY easily, the messages go to an e-mail address that they actually use rather than their college addresses, and they have the ability to post questions, ask for help, and organize study groups. I can create events, like exams and review sessions, and notify the members quickly and easily.

Best of all in all of this, the students are already there on Facebook, waiting to be invited and included in groups. If you give them the slightest indication that you're actually taking the time to accommodate them in a partnership, their level of interest and participation rises dramatically. They actually do use it! I'll write about more of my experiences with facebook in the classroom as the semester progresses. As for now, I had about 30% of my class request access to the group with 12 hours of being made aware of it. I'm off to a promising start!