Facebook Education Applications

Facebook is a social networking website that is mainly dominated by students. Only recently have educators came to realize this, and realized facebook as an acceptable medium to communicate with students through. Integrating Facebook into the classroom is a very controversial issue that is currently being discussed and debated. Expert Danah Boyd states that:

"In their current incarnation, social network sites (SNSs) like Facebook and MySpace should not be integrated directly into the classroom…I have yet to hear a compelling argument for why social network sites (or networking ones) should be used in the classroom. Those tools are primarily about socializing, with media and information sharing there to prop up the socialization process (much status is gained from knowing about the cool new thing). I haven't even heard of a good reason why social network site features should be used in the classroom."[1]

On the website 'Collegedegree.com', a list of applications are offered that highlight the role of education in Facebook and vice-versa. These applications have been tested and proved as educational tools that assist students in their missions as successful students. This integration is seen as successful as opposed to the views of Boyd. Another example of this possible integration is the list "100 Ways You Should Be Using Facebook in Your Classroom" found on onlinecollege.org.

  1. Books iRead: Share the books you're reading, and see what others think of books with this application.
  2. DoResearch4me: This app makes it easy to gather information using your thesis statement, instructions, and more.
  3. Flashcards: With this application, you can create flash cards to help you study on Facebook.
  4. Wikiseek Search: Use this research tool to find Wikipedia articles and more through Facebook.
  5. SkoolPool: Get the lowdown on schools, online and otherwise, with this neat application.
  6. Rate My Professors: Find out what other students think of professors before you register for their class.
  7. JSTOR Search: Find full text research articles on Facebook with this application.
  8. Notely: Organize your school life with Notely, an app that helps you wrangle your calendar, notes, assignments, and more.
  9. Study Groups: Get everyone together on your group project by collaborating with this application.
  10. Get Homework Help: This application will get you connected with tutors and other students that can help you with your assignments.
  11. SwapRoll: Save money on textbooks by trading them with the Swap Roll application.
  12. Notecentric: Take notes right inside of Facebook and share them with classmates using this application.
  13. Class Notes: Use this application to find scanned notes for your classes on Facebook.[2]

After reviewing and assessing these applications, we can see that they are not necessarily ready to integrate into the classroom, but they are definitely beneficial to students and their studying process.

Another application that does not directly affect students but is a great aid for students in education is the National Library of Singapore's Facebook application

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License