This article caught my eye and even though we are in the heart of the summer, I thought it was interesting to take a look at how 'public' personas may effect enrollment decisions. If you've ever been on ratemyprofessors just to see other student reactions, this article may interest you. (The citation is at the end of the blog.) I think seeing professors in photos with their children is certainly harmless enough. However, I do research professors before taking their class. I may not start by searching for a Facebook page, but it is certainly on the list...
Here are two excerpts from the study:
"Overall, our
data suggest that given only limited information on a Facebook profile,
students formed judgments about professors. However, our participants did not
differ in their reported willingness to take a course with these teachers. One
possible explanation is that participants do not typically use Facebook as an
academic resource15; thus, in this somewhat abstract situation,
students did not translate the information to the context of course planning. Students
are much more likely to use Facebook for entertainment.3 The
majority of our participants did not have professors as Facebook friends and
disagreed that they look for professor profiles on Facebook. This finding
matches previous research16 and provides support for the argument
that course planning is not a motive for students' use of Facebook."
"As
King et al.7 argue, the importance of addressing teacher use of
Facebook cannot be understated. Students currently do not appear to rely on
Facebook for academic purposes. However, Facebook is a rapidly evolving medium.
As professors utilize Facebook as a means to stay technologically relevant to
their students, they need to monitor what they self-disclose. Our data
demonstrate that students form perceptions about the classroom environment and
about their professors based on the specific details disclosed in professors'
Facebook profiles."
Professors' Facebook Content Affects Students' Perceptions and Expectations
Merry J. Sleigh, Aimee W. Smith, and Jason Laboe. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
Here are two excerpts from the study:
Merry J. Sleigh, Aimee W. Smith, and Jason Laboe. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
Due to society and the web constantly changing, I think it is very important for teachers to self-disclose and watch what they are posting online. I have an old athletic trainer from high school that I am still friends with, and he still teaches at my old high school. He doesn't use Facebook anymore for this reason, instead has turned to Instagram where he has two separate accounts. He has a public account, which anyone an view (including students) and a private account for friends and family (which I can view). The content of his posts are for the most part exactly the same, except he may change the caption of the photo to be more student friendly and appropriate or he will post the photo to his private account, but not the public. I think as time goes on Facebook will be viewed more and more as an academic resource which means instructors will have to monitor their profiles (or delete them all together).
ReplyDeleteAs I know some professors would maintain several facebook account with different groups of people. I wonder if researches considered situations like this :)
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