People… A Facebook Pondering

So I’ve been invited to Facebook several times… and of course it’s the bees-knees on every campus, and increasingly in high schools, organizations, anywhere there’s a loose semblance of community really. I remain conflicted as to whether to join. As a promoter of social networks and a believer in the ability of technology to connect, I think Facebook is an example of explosive community growth… but is there any substantial content? Does it not seem a tad egocentric to setup a profile, post a picture, and wait for your network to grow? For that matter, has it not become an over glorified Classmates? Lost touch with someone in high school? College? University? Well just wander over to Facebook. Post your profile and wait for everyone to surround you. Or if they don’t, you can seek them out instead. I just don’t know. I frequently wonder about people from my past… but to what degree am I remembering them and to what degree am I remembering *my* perception of them? Are they the same person? Is my perception distorted? I have contact info for many people in my past and if the need arises I can attempt to re-establish the connection. And if someone wants to seek me out, a quick Google should do the trick. I don’t really know if I have a need for Facebook… I’ll continue to grapple with this one… My question to the average Facebook user: what do you take away from the community? What do you contribute?

For those unfamiliar with Facebook, Educause (as always) has a great summary from the education perspective. And in the Facebook vein, a great YouTube contribution:

The Jeff Show

I have a couple of presentations/events coming up over the next couple of months:

• Spring Perspectives 2007 – Running through the WebCT Jungle: Tips and Tricks: This session will march deep into the WebCT jungle – learn how you can use WebCT as a central point-of-access for course content, assessments, grades management, library resources, and Turnitin.com. The session will include demonstrations of new active learning tools such as blogs, journals, peer review, and student contributions. Come and learn how to survive in the WebCT jungle! I’m looking forward to working CCR’s Run Through the Jungle into this one!
• Summer Teaching with Technology Institute – The focus of this Institute is to highlight the essential knowledge and skills required for the integration of technology into either your face-to-face or distance courses. Participants need not have any experience with instructional technologies to attend; they need only to have an interest in how technology can enhance their curricula.