The PROBLEM I have is point number three in Sue’s edublogger article: 

“Despite what you may hear, there are strong privacy options that you can set up so only those that you want can access your information” 

The primary problem as I maintained in Facebook Friending 101 is NOT you. Although there are educators who post innappropriate things on their walls all of the time, MOST of you IF you are using it with your students are not. These privacy options ARE NOT ENOUGH for the scenarios I’ve presented.

Here’s the response I left in the comments:

Source: http://www.touchnote.com/files/assets/NITT009.jpg

Vicki, thanks for your post. The real problem is that 1) Individuals still think they can act one way in private, another in public online…and there’s no division between the two; 2) We think we can tolerate that kind of behavior from those we associate with. Think of it this way…”birds of a feather facebook/tweet together.” (smile) 

My policy, which appears to work but still results in occasional moments of embarassment when I notice it, is to unfriend anyone who uses profanity and does stuff that I don’t want to have associated with me. I encourage my children to do the same.Is that enough? I fear we live in a place that isn’t sanitized, linking/connections are desirable, and sometimes, those links will be inappropriate. This is why appropriating adult communication tools for use with K-12 students will always be bleeding age and problematic. Yet, this is real life and we must model appropriate behavior. Thanks for working hard to clarify the path ahead for adult learners.

Others, like Dean Shareski, suggest an “accept and forgive approach.” And, that’s not unreasonable is it? Why should we make our “friends” conform to our morals and standards for behavior in virtual spaces? The truth is, if *I* were cursing and carrying on, even if it were me just being who I am, wouldn’t I be “cast out” or would I be forgiven?

Many people object to bad language and it is not acceptable for general use. Someone who habitually swears shows that he lacks vocabulary and is unable to get his meaning across without swearing. Swearing at work makes a worker sound unprofessional. The workplace is a public space. (Source: Profanity in Work Communications)

In truth, in today’s school climate, being cast out rather than forgiven would be the response considered most appropriate. Not only would you have the onus of cursing in front of children,but you would also have the issue of cursing in a public space which could cause considerable distractions in your workplace. What would parents think of a teacher or educator caught cursing in a public space in front of children? It’s certain that students cursing in school may be fined.

…some general actions and gestures to avoid as an ESL teacher in a multicultural class:

• Swearing

• Touching students

• Eating or chewing gum in class

• Embarrassing students

• Pointing

• Holding eye contact for a long period of time

• Standing very close to a student

Now I’d never dream of trying to convince a jihadist not to have faith in his virgins nor separate a political pundit from his bleak cynicism. Such attempts would be fruitless if not immoral. But I will try to persuade as many readers as possible that  as conscientious educators we better serve our students by being skeptics than evangelists.
Yes, share what works. If a technology use engages and motivates students; if it helps make them better communicators or problem-solvers; if it even, heaven forbid, helps them do better on tests, we should document and share these experiences.
“Documentation,” however, needs to be more than a simple story. Stories indeed can be powerful, but stories alone will not persuade us skeptics.

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