The discussion thus far has suggested some very innovative uses for MySpace
in adult education.  I have very little experience in social networking
sites, however, and wonder about privacy and safety in using these sites.  I
think the points already made about keeping personal and professional
personae separate and about how information is available to anyone is
important.  This article in this morning's New York Times about the
challenges faced by those who want to remove themselves from Facebook (
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/technology/11facebook.html?ex=1218344400&en=3509c270367a4099&ei=5087&WT.mc_id=TE-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M032-ROS-0208-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click&mkt=TE-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M032-ROS-0208-HDR
)
made me wonder if MySpace has similar problems and if so, if those might be
problematic for teachers and students?  Does anyone have any knowledge or
thoughts about this?

Leslie Petty

On Feb 12, 2008 10:02 AM, Emily May <emay at obtjobs.org> wrote:


>  On getting students and staff to stay within the protocols:

>

>

>

> Out of the starting gate we had a few issues with staff wanting to

> confront students about things listed on their MySpace pages.  This issue is

> particularly poignant for our agency.  We help these young folks get jobs,

> and our job developers don't want to ruin their contacts by sending over

> someone who isn't ready for the workplace.  Oftentimes MySpace pages can

> uncover drug or alcohol abuse and/or gang involvement.  As a staff we

> decided that it was hard to tell how real these claims are on a MySpace page

> because MySpace serves as an "alternate reality" for many youth.  We also

> decided that our experience with them in our program was a much better judge

> of their character than what we read on-line.

>

>

>

> On the student side of things, one of the reasons we knew that MySpace was

> so hot among our trainees was that they were always sneaking a peak during

> class!  That issue continues, but now we have a way to fight back.  Our

> secretary monitors our MySpace page from the front office. When a student is

> on MySpace, a little icon shows up on our friends list.  If that student is

> supposed to be in class, our secretary will contact the teacher and let them

> know that the student is on MySpace. Sneaky, I know, but practical!

>

>

>

> Emily

>

>

>

> ______________________________

>

> *Emily May*

>

> *Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow*

>

> 783 4th Avenue

>

> Brooklyn, NY 11232

>

> 718-369-0303

>

> emay at obtjobs.org

>

> www.obtjobs.org

>

>

>

> <emay at obtjobs.org>

>

>

>   ------------------------------

>

> *From:* technology-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:technology-bounces at nifl.gov] *On

> Behalf Of *Mariann Fedele

> *Sent:* Monday, February 11, 2008 4:08 PM

> *To:* The Technology and Literacy Discussion List

> *Subject:* [Technology 1501] Re: Social Networking Part III: Getting

> StudentsandStaff on Board

>

>

>

> Hi Emily,

>

> This is a great set of protocols. Have you had any difficulties in having

> staff and students meet and stay within the protocols?

>

> Do list subscribers have any concerns related to Myspace or other such

> sites that Emily can respond to?

>

> Regards,

>

> Mariann

>

>

>

> Mariann Fedele

>

> Director,

>

> NYC Regional Adult Education Network

>

> Literacy Assistance Center

>

> Moderator,

> NIFL Technology and Literacy Discussion List

> 32 Broadway 10th Floor

> New York, New York 10004

> 212-803-3325

> mariannf at lacnyc.org

> www.lacnyc.org

>   ------------------------------

>

> *From:* technology-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:technology-bounces at nifl.gov] *On

> Behalf Of *Emily May

> *Sent:* Monday, February 11, 2008 1:54 PM

> *To:* technology at nifl.gov

> *Subject:* [Technology 1498] Social Networking Part III: Getting Students

> andStaff on Board

>

>

>

> *Getting Students and Staff on Board.**  *We launched the plan mid-cycle

> and did a short survey examining how many of our youth had MySpace pages.

> 88% admitted that they did, but a number of them were hesitant to turn over

> their MySpace page information to us because of the content on the page.  If

> you go to our MySpace page you will notice by looking at the comments that

> not all the profile pictures are "appropriate." Among staff we had to agree

> to overlook this in order to meet the goals of the project. To balance this,

> we talk extensively in our classes about how employers are increasingly

> looking at MySpace pages prior to hiring.

>

> Staff gathered together and developed a list of protocols for how we were

> going to implement MySpace internally.  These protocols addressed a number

> of challenges that we saw from the starting gate, including: student

> privacy, professionalism, and defining appropriate communication.  Here is

> what we decided:

>

>    1. Staff will not use what is on trainee's MySpace pages against

>    them.  For example, if a student references drug or alcohol abuse on their

>    page, staff will not bring it up with the students. Remember, MySpace is an

>    "alternate reality" for many kids, and much of what is said online may not

>    be true. We need to make MySpace a safe space for our trainees so that we

>    can use this resource effectively to our advantage.

>

>

>

>    1. For trainees who are uncomfortable with the idea of giving staff

>    access to their MySpace page, encourage them to set up a separate

>    "professional" MySpace page.

>

>

>

>    1. Despite OBT's involvement with MySpace, trainees will still not

>    be allowed to access their MySpace page during class time unless a staff

>    member specifically directs them to the page as part of an activity.

>    Trainees who wish to look at their MySpace page will be able to use OBT's

>    computers at the end of the day.

>

>

>

>    1. Staff will be encouraged but not required to create a MySpace to

>    use with trainees. Staff wishing to be "friends" with OBT's MySpace page

>    must set up an OBT-specific MySpace page. You should not use your personal

>    MySpace page under any circumstances; even if your page is professional,

>    your friends' pages might not be. When creating your OBT MySpace page, you

>    must use your work email address and your headline should be "Job Title" at

>    Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow. The only allowable friends are:

>    trainees, alumni, or staff. All other friend requests should be denied.

>

>

>

>    1. Staff may use their OBT-specific MySpace page *or* the "OBT"

>    MySpace page to contact students.  All communications must be professional.

>

>

>

>    1. All trainees will be encouraged to switch their MySpace page to a

>    "friends-only" view (versus public).  This will help protect them in the

>    event that an employer looks them up on MySpace.

>

>

>

>    1. All friend requests to the OBT MySpace page are vetted to ensure

>    that there is a genuine relationship with OBT.  This is done by sending a

>    message to friend prospects to confirm why they are interested in OBT.

>

>

>

> To get staff not involved in the development process on board, we

> developed and presented a PowerPoint presentation at our all-staff meeting.

> We explained that traditionally, OBT had two methods to get in touch with

> our students: the phone and letters.  Now, we were expanding to include

> email, MySpace and Instant Messenger.  We didn't mandate that all staff use

> all the techniques.  Rather, our goal was to educate staff, get some key

> staff on board, and then publicize among staff the success stories.  We also

> designated three "MySpace Experts" to help get staff uncomfortable or

> unfamiliar with the technologies set up and adjusted.  Slowly, more and more

> staff have gotten on board – particularly among our job developers and

> retention staff – as they realize that these technologies make their lives

> much easier.  Staff report using these technologies to inform our students

> about upcoming interviews or contact them to see how they are doing on the

> job in addition to our more "macro" goals listed above.

>

>

>

> Outside of issues of privacy (addressed in the staff protocols) our

> students were already essentially "bought-in" to the idea of MySpace.  We

> had students create and design OBT's MySpace page so that we could more

> effectively "meet students where they are at." This helped to improve

> student engagement and interest in the project.

>

>

>

> Tomorrow, I will discuss how we used LinkedIn to meet a different set of

> goals. I will also examine other social networking sites out there that may

> be "hot" among the students you serve.

>

>

>

>

>

> ______________________________

>

> *Emily May*

>

> *Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow*

>

> 783 4th Avenue

>

> Brooklyn, NY 11232

>

> 718-369-0303

>

> emay at obtjobs.org

>

> www.obtjobs.org

>

>

>

> <emay at obtjobs.org>

>

>

>

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

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> Email delivered to lpetty at twmi.rr.com

>




-- 
Leslie Petty
Associate Director
Project IDEAL Support Center
University of Michigan
734-425-0748
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