Friending Your Profs: Social Networking at the College Level

Being at the graduate school level, my professors take great advantage of social networking because older students spend less time in the classroom. In undergraduate we had an email for each professor, which we only used in the event that we could not reach the actual class. Now we use the internet as a way to expand what we learn, as well as communicate with one another.

My undergrad university has its own Facebook page where it posts information about sports, lectures, concerts, and what professors and alumni are doing. I am also friends with the dean of my former department as well as several of my former professors on Facebook. I wanted to show them that I was still thinking of them so that perhaps they might think of me in some capacity later on. This might also show any professionals who visit my page that I cultivate good relationships professionally as well as personally. There are certain etiquette rules when one provides more professional access. The kinds of photos, language, etc. that are posted must be elevated as well. Status updates might be changed merely from personal tidbits to more important information.

Since coming to grad school we have communicated a great deal through Facebook and Google Docs. I am a creative writing major. So in our workshops everyone sends their work to everyone else to read and comment on, without having to make ten or twenty paper copies of each assignment. In addition we use the Google group to post articles we find interesting and responses to required readings so we can spend more class time on our own work. This paperless system was devised almost entirely by my fellow students. It allows us to take more of an active role in our own education. The Google Doc system is also the principle means of communication for my school’s literary journal, of which I am one of the editors. We read and edit all our submissions in Google Doc and then tell the other editors which pieces we like through Facebook. We also use Facebook and Twitter to remind readers of submission deadlines, launch parties, and public readings.

If managed correctly, I believe social networking for the sake of education is an excellent way of relaxing the environment, since it is such a huge part of the personal lives of people in this generation. We are all comfortable with it, so it gives us the feeling that the school system is catching up with the way we amuse ourselves.


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