Education, Faculty of
Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of
DSpace
Facebook in the home economics classroom
Abbott-Mackie, Gayle Ann
There is a growing controversy over the use of Facebook in education; the use of social media is currently a “hot” topic in education, some argue for its integration and others disfavour it. Teachers and students routinely use Facebook and other social media in their personal lives, so there is now significant interest in how might those same tools be put to academic use. Although there are some researchers who have written about the potential of social media in education, only a few studies have specifically addressed its role in curriculum and pedagogy. I believe that the main reason behind this controversy is the lack of solid empirical research about the overall value of not only Facebook but of all popular social media in education. In the spring of 2012, I decided to initiate the use of Facebook in my Home Economics classes. This graduating paper, Investigating the Use of Facebook in the Home Economics Classroom, documents my teacher inquiry/action research project to monitor and to determine its effect on my teaching practice and on the way students experience the course.
FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 1 Investigating The Use of Facebook In The Home Economics Classroom by Gayle Ann Abbott-Mackie (Bachelor of Education, University of Victoria, 1998) A GRADUATING PAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master of Education in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Curriculum and Pedagogy – Human Ecology and Everyday Life The University of British Columbia (Vancouver) © (Gayle Ann Abbott-Mackie) (April 15, 2014) FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 2 ABSTRACT There is a growing controversy over the use of Facebook in education; the use of social media is currently a “hot” topic in education, some argue for its integration and others disfavour it. Teachers and students routinely use Facebook and other social media in their personal lives, so there is now significant interest in how might those same tools be put to academic use. Although there are some researchers who have written about the potential of social media in education, only a few studies have specifically addressed its role in curriculum and pedagogy. I believe that the main reason behind this controversy is the lack of solid empirical research about the overall value of not only Facebook but of all popular social media in education. In the spring of 2012, I decided to initiate the use of Facebook in my Home Economics classes. This graduating paper, Investigating the Use of Facebook in the Home Economics Classroom, documents my teacher inquiry/action research project to monitor and to determine its effect on my teaching practice and on the way students experience the course. FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 3 DEDICATION The focus of this paper was understanding how social media, specifically Facebook could be used in my teaching practice so it is appropriate to thank all of those HEEL cohort members; especially those who regularly posted updates and messages on the HEEL Facebook page. I don’t know what I would have done without their lively banter and messages, they were not only encouraging to me but to all the group members throughout the process. A big thank you goes out to all those students and staff who participated in my inquiry and who used and continue to use my Facebook page. I would also like to thank Doctor Gale Smith and Doctor Mary Leah deZwart for their time, advice, support and encouragement. To all the “girls” in my life: mother (Arlene) and sister (Kary), Sherri, Sue and Tasha, I couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you to my husband Bob and son Bruce for their support and for putting up with me the past three years. And finally, heartfelt acknowledgements to my father (Bob) for starting me down this road; I can still remember the look on your face as I left the house on my first practicum. FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………..iii TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………….iv CHAPTER 1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 6 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 6 Background to the Study ........................................................................................................... 8 Why Facebook and Home Economics? ................................................................................... 9 The Pros and Cons ................................................................................................................... 13 Terms and Definitions ............................................................................................................. 14 CHAPTER 2 Literature Review .................................................................................... 17 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 17 Defining Social Media .............................................................................................................. 17 Using Social Media................................................................................................................... 19 Facebook in Teaching and Learning (Table 1.1) .................................................................. 22 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 24 CHAPTER 3 Research Questions and Methodology .................................................. 25 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 25 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................................ 25 Research Question(s) ............................................................................................................... 25 Methodology and Conceptual Framework ............................................................................ 26 Chart 1:Question/Research Paradigms/Modes of Inquiry/ .................................................... 28 Data Collection and Transformation ..................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER 4 Data Analysis ........................................................................................... 31 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 31 How I Use Facebook In My Classroom ................................................................................. 31 Outline....................................................................................................................................... 33 Data Collection Related to Course Evaluation Surveys ....................................................... 34 Grade 7 Survey Results. ........................................................................................................ 35 Grade 8 Survey Results. ........................................................................................................ 37 Grade 9 Survey Results. ........................................................................................................ 38 Journal Entries ......................................................................................................................... 39 Facebook or a Blog? .............................................................................................................. 39 Heartfelt Remarks. ................................................................................................................. 39 Educational Purposes............................................................................................................. 40 Unintended Uses of Facebook ................................................................................................. 41 Absentee learners................................................................................................................... 41 Student Interviews ................................................................................................................... 44 General Facebook Use. .......................................................................................................... 45 Toward a Paperless Classroom. ............................................................................................. 46 A way to involve family in school. ....................................................................................... 46 No improvements required. ................................................................................................... 47 Continued friendship. ............................................................................................................ 47 Discussion with Critical Friends ............................................................................................. 47 Why use Facebook? ............................................................................................................... 48 Professional barriers to using Facebook. ............................................................................... 51 Facebook Page Analysis .......................................................................................................... 51 FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 5 The social aspect of social media. ......................................................................................... 52 Areas for Further Research .................................................................................................... 53 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................. 54 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER 5 Summary, Limitations and Recommendations .................................... 57 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 57 Summary and Implications of the Study ............................................................................... 58 Significance of the Research ................................................................................................... 60 Limitations of this Research Project. ..................................................................................... 61 Recommendations for Further Research .............................................................................. 63 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 63 CHAPTER 6 Reflections ................................................................................................ 65 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 65 Serendipity ................................................................................................................................ 66 Background .............................................................................................................................. 66 What is the Transformative Learning Experience? ............................................................. 67 Further Thoughts About Transformative Pedagogy ............................................................ 69 Where To Next? ....................................................................................................................... 69 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 71 APPENDIX A .................................................................................................................. 76 APPENDIX B .................................................................................................................. 78 APPENDIX C .................................................................................................................. 80 APPENDIX D .................................................................................................................. 88 APPENDIX E .................................................................................................................. 89 APPENDIX F .................................................................................................................. 93 APPENDIX G .................................................................................................................. 94 FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 6 Investigating the Use of Facebook in the Home Economics Classroom CHAPTER 1 Introduction If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday are we robbing them of tomorrow? John Dewey, 1944 Introduction Every school in my school district has technology that can be accessed by both staff and students for educational purposes. This technology includes: computers, hand held devices, software and mobile applications. Using this technology, students can access course content via the Internet and social networking sites. It is unclear how technology and social media, specifically Facebook, is used and by whom as well as the educational impact. My study takes place in an inner city mid-sized Middle school in British Columbia where I teach Home Economics. The school services the lowest and highest socio-economic areas of the district with a First Nations population of about twenty-five percent. The school has slightly fewer than four hundred students from grades seven through nine and a teaching staff of twenty-five. In September 2012, both staff and students began to access course content via the school’s internet (WiFi) through the purchase of a class set of iPods (hand held devices) and iPads, obtained with funds from a Mitchell Odyssey Foundation Grant. More recently, our school has used in house funds to purchase additional iPads and iPods. I proposed to conduct a teacher inquiry/action research project into the use of social media, specifically Facebook, in order to determine 7 FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOMits effect on my teaching practice and to investigate whether Facebook provides a means for students to become more independent learners. The use of social media is currently a “hot” topic in education. Teachers and students routinely use Facebook, Twitter and other social media in their personal lives, so there is now significant interest in how those same tools might be put to academic use. In the spring of 2012, during a teacher job action I decided to initiate the use of Facebook in my Home Economics classes to keep in contact with my classes. Eventually, this enabled me to conduct a teacher inquiry/action research project in order to determine its effect on my teaching practice and on the way students and colleagues experience the course and the technology. I am a digital immigrant teaching a class full of “digital natives” (Pendergast, 2007, p.15). When I started teaching in 1985 I used film projectors and a Gestetner machine to “roll” assignments and typed recipes. I now show YouTube video clips, print worksheets using a photocopier, and word process student handouts that are scanned and uploaded to Facebook. Both my students and I use hand held devices like iPhones, smart phones and iPods to access social media and information. I have embraced new technology, much like my students have, but it isn’t something that I was born into. Rather, I have emigrated to the new technology. I believe my teaching needs to change and embracing technology is something that is critical in order for me to improve both my practice and student achievement. There are a number of observations and questions that have arisen as a result of my classroom use of Facebook: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 8 1. Students are able to access to course content outside school hours via Facebook:How will access to course content outside school hours affect students who areoften absent or undesignated learners?2. Students have access to different methods of curriculum delivery via Facebooksuch as visual content and fostering communication: How may Facebook enhancestudent learning?3. There has been an increase in First Nations, marginalized and designated studentengagement as well as parental involvement: How may the use of Facebook, todeliver curriculum, continue to engage these students and increase parentalinvolvement?Background to the Study In October 2011, George Abbott, then British Columbia’s Minister of Education, announced Personalized Learning as a provincial educational goal: “The world has changed and continues to change and in order to keep pace we need to shift the way we look at teaching and learning” (Abbott, 2011). He suggested an answer to improve student engagement is the effective use of new technology. His plan required personalized learning for every student, quality teaching, learning, flexibility and choice, high standards and learning empowered by technology (Abbott, 2011, emphasis added). Although he didn’t specifically mention social media such as Facebook, it is a popular use of technology. The Home Economics Integrated Resource Package, the mandated curriculum for Home Economics in the province of British Columbia also supports the use of technology. For example, The Home Economics Foods and Nutrition 8 to 12 IRP states: When planning instruction and assessment in Foods and Nutrition 8-12 teachers should provide opportunities for students to develop literacy in relation to information and communication technology, FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 9 (emphasis added) sources and to reflect critically on the role of these technologies in society (p.14). Although social media such as Facebook isn’t specifically mentioned, it could be classified as “information and communication technology”. As Home Economics educators we are encouraged to “embrace digital culture, technology and globalization” (Pendergast, 2007, p.15). However, very little research has been done on the use of Social Networking Sites, specifically Facebook in Home Economics Education. In a literature search, I could find only one current article (published since Facebook has become available) that researched technology and Home Economics teaching, and social media was not even mentioned (Redmann & Kotrlik, 2009). Why Facebook and Home Economics? As a curriculum area, Home Economics “facilitates students to discover and further develop their own resources and capabilities to be used in their personal life” (IFHE, 2008). Since its inception, Home Economics has reacted to the ever-changing cultural norms and educational philosophies of the day. In their British Columbia Teachers Federation paper on Home Economics, Smith and de Zwart (2010) state “Home Economics education is the only subject area that focuses on everyday life and meeting basic needs” (p.17). They outline three areas of need in the paper: the increased concerns of the eating habits of Canadians, the impact of poor parenting practices and the impact of financial illiteracy. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the educative and preventative value of Home Economics is essential to human happiness and well-being. Moreover, obesity; lack of financial literacy; work and life balance; environmental FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 10 concerns; poverty; lack of cooking skills; emphasis on consumption rather than thrift; are areas only Home Economics addresses. (Smith, 2009). Regardless of the delivery, Foods and nutrition courses provide the only opportunity for students to learn hands-on food preparation. This hands-on approach is recognized as the most effective way in changing behavior (Smith & de Zwart, 2010). Home Economics classes include problem-solving, critical thinking, co-operation and effective communication. Home Economics education influences family and interpersonal relationships. There is no other school subject that is as powerful in its ability to change understandings and practices of students. Home Economics education is a different kind of knowledge and if we are to accomplish change then we must work together with others that have a similar outlook (Peterat, 1983). Home Economics, by nature, is transdisciplinary (Brown, 1993; McGregor, 2007). Its delivery is as diverse and multifaceted as the teacher and the students in the classroom. Since its inception, Home Economics has reacted to the ever-changing cultural norms and educational philosophies of the day. Like many other subjects it has transitioned from its humble, but essential, educational beginnings to today, tackling the “big issues” facing students, communities and nations. Historically, Home Economics was firmly rooted in social issues: family life, health and hygiene, and the rights of women and children (Smith & de Zwart, 2010). Clearly Home Economics classes have been and continue to be a catalyst for change. In addition to providing hands-on learning as a means of changing behavior, Home Economics classes provide the opportunity to deal with some of the most pressing problems of everyday life such as parenting, financial literacy, health and food literacy, homelessness and poverty, and generally the complexity of family life. FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 11 Parenting is arguably the most important role in developing members of society and impacting society at large, yet the preventative nature of Home Economics classes is not recognized in this role, as it is an elective course within the Province of British Columbia. The culture of parenting is constantly changing (Daly, 2004), and in many places, parenting courses are advocated as necessary. Could an on-line delivery system of Home Economics curriculum via Facebook of Home Economics foster inclusion and participation within the parameters of a caring education system? Could we look past the prescribed learning outcomes IRP for guidance on what to teach, and consider ways to look at the big picture and put things into perspective? The “big picture ideas” would create a curriculum that changes due to larger social conditions and collective forces – power, culture, ideology and politics. If, as educators, we are able to take up the challenge to make the knowledge relevant and meaningful, we would be making Home Economics education more critical, emancipative and transformative. To do so, we must “connect learning to public life and link knowledge to the operations of power” (Giroux, 2004, p.77). While some may see this move as deviating from the formal curriculum as developed in the IRP, it is a step towards teaching the students the value of social change and the way it affects their daily life. We must challenge our students to expand their horizons while enabling them to make their own informed decisions. Finally, the education system does not meet the needs of all students. There are many vulnerable students, such as those with Aboriginal heritage or those living in poverty or those whose family life is in crisis who find the typical course of classroom style studies difficult to complete. FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 12 The development of authentic Home Economics pedagogy delivered via Facebook; by teachers has the possibility of enabling this. Aoki (2005) writes about metonymic moments that offered perspective for him on the quest to find the discursive site of living pedagogy; "the site between representational and non-representational discourse is the site of living pedagogy" (p.429). It is that term “in-between” that characterizes Aoki’s use of metonymic. It is a space to explore the complexity of the lived curriculum. Like Aoki, I consider this as I continue to use Facebook, and more specifically “Facebook friends,” to reflect on teaching a pedagogical relationship. I seek not only to understand the impact of the educational use of the social media, Facebook but also to examine it critically. The main concern of interpretive inquiry is to “make something clear that was previously unclear or incoherent, to make sense out of everyday action, and understand cultural phenomena by bringing meaning structures into full human awareness” (Hultgren, 1989, p.58). In Home Economics, inquiries based in critical theory ask what research can do to change existing educational and social inequalities and to create curricula and pedagogy that are more socially just (Brown, 1989). McGregor (2012) contends that twenty-first century home economists are working on issues of sustainability, empowerment, human security, human rights and responsibilities, peace and non-violence in homes and communities, as well as on human and social development to augment economic growth and development and technological progress, all with a focus on individuals and families as the cornerstone of civilization. FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 13 The Pros and Cons The use of Facebook in education is not well understood. Some argue for its use and others disfavor it. Part of the problem is the lack of solid empirical research regarding the value of popular social media, such as Facebook, in education. There is a plethora of information under the general categories of: using Facebook, appropriate teacher use of Facebook, Facebook Apps for learning, how to use Facebook in the classroom and Facebook tips for teachers. Yet there are few scholarly peer reviewed articles written about the potential of social media in education and fewer studies have specifically addressed its role in pedagogy. Since I started to use Facebook in my classroom practice I have become increasingly interested in understanding this phenomenon. How has it impacted my teaching practice? How do my students view it? What are the positives, the challenges and the concerns? Can I improve on its use? The literature on the topic was not helpful. I decided that I needed to conduct my own research on my practice. There are many pros to using social media. These include but are not limited to: • Its ease of use and the fact that it is free. There are a plethora of resourcesavailable on learning how to use and if all else fails, ask students to helpfacilitate the setup• Many students are familiar with and like the technology and it is used by manyof them already• Curricularly and pedagogically, it has the potential to become a learningnetwork with both structure and flexibility and courses can be tailored to meet avariety of learning styles• Students can become part of a leaning community, be re-engaged and help topromote critical thinking. Moreover the positive effect on student-teacherrelationships could lead to more effective student engagement and successFACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 14 Cons to using Facebook must be addressed, these include: • A heightened disconnect with the real world and increased “screen time”• Inappropriate posts• There is a need for personal and professional separation• Nefarious use by pedophiles (Couillard, n.d.).Terms and Definitions The following are key terms used in this study. Badge: An image that enables you to promote your Facebook page or profile on places other than Facebook, such as your website or blog. Badge items contain selected information from your Facebook account, such as your name, photo, and email address. Events: A feature that enables you to organize meetings and other gatherings. Friends: Facebook members who have accepted friend requests from you or vice versa. Groups: Provide an outlet for small groups of people with shared interests to communicate or collaborate. Anyone on Facebook can create groups. Administrative settings allow members to be approved by other members, and privacy settings give the option of making the group public, private, or secret. “Like” button: Enables people to indicate what they like on Facebook. People can like pages and content that their friends post. When a user likes a page, that page is listed in his/her profile and may appear on his/her wall or news feed. Notes: Function like blog posts on Facebook pages. You can design who will see your note, save it as a draft, and edit it; you can also export external blog posts to Facebook using this feature. FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 15 Page: The “profile” or information that administrators communicate information to people who choose to connect with them (by “liking” the page). Profile: Displays user information, interests, wall, photos, notes, friends, and more. Privacy settings allow users to set which information is visible to certain people. Tabs: Enhance the structure of your profile page by organizing different sections of information. Tagging: Enables you to identify people in photos, videos, status updates, and notes. To tag a person or page in a status update or comment, place the @ symbol before his/her name. Wall: A section of every Facebook profile where status updates, comments, and posts are shared (Edwards and Edwards, 2011, p. 3). Conclusion The purpose of this study is to explore the ways that Facebook can be used in Home Economic education. It is assumed that, if it is effective, its use could be adopted by other groups of teachers interested in improving their practices. This paper consists of six chapters, references and appendices. Chapter 1, introduction, sets the context and provides an overview of the study and provides a definition of terms. Chapter 2, literature review, identifies my proposal, summarizes the available literature and identifies the gaps that my study will fill. Chapter 3, research question(s) and methodology, outlines my research questions, methodology and data collection. I provide a chart outlining the various research paradigms and modes of inquiry and how my research can be viewed from the various methodologies and inquiry models. Chapter 4, data analysis, I describe my use of Facebook in my practice, summarize my findings, FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 16 confirm, elaborate and synthesize my data, linking my information to the literature review or lack thereof. Chapter 5, summaries, limitations and conclusions, outlines key findings, what I have learned by doing this study and outlines the implications for curriculum, teaching, teachers and students, as well as, exploring limitations to the study and suggestions for further research. Chapter 6, reflections, is my personal thoughts regarding the transformative process. FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 17 CHAPTER 2 Literature Review Introduction In February of 2014, Facebook celebrated its tenth year of existence. It has exploded on the internet and is being used personally, professionally and in business. Educationally, its uses are just starting to be discovered and developed. Literature for this review was gathered by scavenging information on the internet. Terms such as Facebook and Education were the broad search term used. I was able to locate a few scholarly and peer reviewed articles, mostly for the use of Facebook at the post-secondary level. There were no articles to be found involving Facebook and Home Economics Education. In most of the articles information regarding social media and Facebook in particular seems to cluster around the following themes: definition, uses, and just recently “formal, non-formal and wider applications.”(Fordham and Goddard,2013). Defining Social Media Boyd and Ellison (2007) define social network sites as: Web-based services that allow individuals to: (1) Construct a public or semi-public profile within a boundedsystem, (2) Articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection and (3) View and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site. (p. 211). 18 FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOMFordham and Goddard (2013) define Facebook as “a social utility that connects us with the people, brands and organizations we care about” (p.2). Moreover they state “Facebook’s mission is to make the world more open and connected” (p.2). Fordham and Goddard attempt to describe how Facebook can be used in classrooms as a tool for learning and what the potential is for improving and enriching the leaning outcomes for students. According to Mayfield (2008), social media share most or all of the following characteristics: participation, conversation, community, openness, and connection. Examples of Social media include but are not limited to: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr, iTunes U, Second Life, and MySpace. Boyd and Ellison (2007) provide a useful time-line of launch dates of many major social network sites. They note that the first site, Six Degrees, was opened in 1997. This was followed by many sites whose names are not that common such as Live Planet, 1999, MiGente, 2000, Cyworld 2001 and Friendster 2002. By 2003, the number of sites increased dramatically, from one to three a year to five or more per year. The first Facebook for high school networking appeared in 2005 and by 2006 it was available to anyone in North America with internet access. Social networking is, therefore, a relatively new phenomenon but the statistics indicate widespread use. Most articles suggest that users number in the hundreds of millions (e.g., Boyd & Ellison 2007; Selywn, 2009; Tiryakioglu & Erzurum, 2011). To date, there are over a billion registered users of Facebook and the number continues to increase. FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 19 Increasingly the prominence of social networking sites in the lives of learners of all ages has prompted educators to explore using sites such as Facebook in their teaching (e.g., Kuh, 2007; Selwyn, 2009; Tiryakioglu & Erzurum, 2011; Towner, VanHorn, & Parker, 2007). Jin, Wen, and Gough (2010) contend that social networking is transforming the nature of learning as a social practice in a collaborative environment. They describe Facebook (www.facebook.com) as …a peer-relationship-based social network that allows users to create personal profiles and build up social relationships with other users by uploading various media such as photos and videos. It aims to expand audiences, promote upcoming events and give users a feeling of belonging. (p. 141). According to Lepi (2012), teachers use Facebook and YouTube more than other forms of social media. Fordham and Goddard (2013) state “by May 2013 there were 1.1 billion people using Facebook around the world, helping to make it a tool rich with potential for learning” (p.2). Using Social Media There is no common agreement about the use of Social media in education. In a literature review, titled, Facebook: The Pros and Cons of use in Education, Couillard (n.d.) identified the following arguments in favour of its use: ease of use, positive effect on student –teacher relationships, increasing student involvement with classroom material and tailoring courses to a variety of learning styles. According to Couillard (n.d.), those who are more cautious express concern regarding “heightened disengagement, alienation 20 FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOMand a disconnection with the real world” (p. 9); student resistance to academic use of social media; privacy issues; too much teacher disclosure; and on-line predators as previously mentioned in Chapter One as a “con” for using Facebook. Despite the negatives she concludes, “with time and the right technique, Facebook could become a valuable tool for the educational system” (p. 12). Potential uses for Facebook in education include: contacting students, providing graphic organizers, to network, to get class notes, to set up meetings and to create study groups (Towner, VanHorn, & Parker, 2007), for improving communication skills, to enhance participation and social commitment, to reinforce peer support, and ensure realization of education based collaboration (Tiryakioglu & Erzurum, 2011). Kuh (2007) discusses several ways in which to engage non-mainstream (i.e. low-income, First Nations) students in postsecondary education and to help them succeed. These include providing students with opportunities to: connect with friends on a meaningful level, receive prompt feedback on academic questions or performances, use their peers as mentors, derive enjoyment from being part of something larger than themselves, encounter diverse perspectives, and apply what they learn in formal schooling to tackling meaningful problems in their everyday lives. Lepi (2012) suggests that the main uses of Facebook can be classified as: connect – communicate and collaborate between and among teachers, students, and parents; notify – event schedules, assignment due dates, reporting, sharing class news; teach – post assignments, attach supplementary materials, links, and the like; and curate – manage, oversee the site. In an extensive review of 36 empirical studies of students’ and teachers’ use of Facebook, Hew (2011) reported, “very few education-related activities on Facebook were FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 21 found” (p. 668). Greenhow and Robelia (2011) similarly found few empirical studies that have looked at school-age young people’s patterns of participation in social network sites from an educational and new literacy perspective. Their study showed that high school students use social networking for support for school tasks doing such things as “asking questions about instructions or deadlines, planning study groups, broadcasting or requesting educational resources from the network, …gathering project materials, brainstorming ideas, sharing written work, and exchanging feedback” but there was no indication of its use as a pedagogical tool in education (p. 1148). Most of the research on use of Facebook in education has been conducted at the post-secondary level. For example, Madge, Meek, Wellens and Hooley (2009) surveyed first year students’ use of Facebook and informal learning. Jones and Healing (2010) also surveyed first year undergraduates. Both studies found that while use of social media has increased dramatically in students’ lives, it hasn’t been used much for learning. Selwyn (2009), who also investigated undergraduate students, concluded that social media neither enhanced nor eroded students’ learning (p. 157). This would indicate neither a positive nor negative effect on studies, but rather reflected individual usage. The research at the public school level is uneven. Andersson, Hatakka, Grönlund, and Wiklund (2013) in a Swedish survey found that social media use makes students less social, that weaker students are more likely to get distracted, and teachers lack strategies for tackling the problem. On the other hand, Greenhow and Robelia’s (2011) research on low income high school students’ use of social networks is much more positive. According to their research, “Students used their online social network to fulfill essential social learning functions, meeting a range of interpersonal needs, including validation FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 22 and appreciation of creative endeavors, peer support from current and former classmates, and targeted help with school-related tasks” (p. 1153). They concluded that, emergent technologies hold great promise and challenges for transforming educational research and practice” (p.1156). Fordham and Goddard (2013) consider Facebook as “a vital tool for teaching and learning in the 21st century and for making education more social” (p.2). Additionally, they believe as it is already used in many colleges and universities globally, it can be “a Swiss Army Knife” (p.2) meaning a plethora of tools in the learning of students both within and outside of the classroom. As technology changes so rapidly, “Facebook is in an excellent position to support the way young people, teachers and other educators collaborate, access and curate new learning” (Fordham and Goddard, 2013, p.2). Moreover, they describe the possibility for enhanced teachers’ professionaldevelopment that can expand beyond the walls of their classrooms. Fordham and Goddard (2013) provide the following table to describe how Facebook can be used in teaching and learning. Facebook in Teaching and Learning (Table 1.1) Formal learning Non-formal and out of school hours learning Wider applications Creating a Timeline or Facebook Group to support the teaching of and curriculum subject Creating a space and platform for homework and revision resources Running debates on topical issues and hot issues in the media Organizing a sports team or after school club Pastoral care-making new pupils feel at home at school or college Creating and designing digital making activities including App creation Organizing teacher meetings or other A communication tool and ‘broadcast account’ with parents and the community Enabling language students to converse with exchange partners overseas Engaging hard to reach learners in school/college and through online learning Providing inspiration in life FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 23 Peer tutoring and support A research tool to post, share ideas, videos and resources Creating groups in schools to make life easier for teachers and staff professional development activities Informal support from friends (likes) for projects and other activities Uploading social and video podcasts to students/peers Creating private groups for teachers across a faculty or federation of schools/colleges/universities skills and enrichment subjects Teaching digital skills for young people and adults Engaging young people in youth and community settings Enabling students to socialize and make friends Adapted from “Facebook in teaching and learning: Facebook Guide For Educators,” by I. Fordham and T. Goddard, (2013). The Education Foundation, p.5. Fordham and Goddard’s Facebook Guide for Educators (2013) looks at the way Facebook can be used as a tool to: • Support subject teachers across the curriculum• Support out of school hours learning• Encourage informal social leaning• Enable easy communication between students, teachers and parents• Support the development of digital citizenship skillsFacebook Guide For Educators: A Tool For Educators (Fordham & Goddard, 2013, p.13-16) includes fundamental information for getting started with Facebook includinginformation on: • Who can join Facebook?• Facebook’s culture• Personal and professional information• Creating pages and GroupsFACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 24 • Privacy tools• Composing posts• Using lists• Viewing buttons• Activity log• Timeline review• Solving problems• Blocking people• Facilitating Facebook at your school-simplifying the processConclusion Fordham and Goddard (2013), suggest every institution is different, yet these authors have found openness toward digital technologies and have learned a great deal about introducing a new platform such as Facebook (p.16). This information clearly indicates the necessity for further research in the area of using Facebook in schools. Furthermore, there is a gap of both quality and quantity of the evidence in relation to using Facebook in the Home Economics classroom. There is a growing controversy over the use of Facebook in education; some argue for its integration and others disfavour it. I believe that the main reason behind this controversy is the lack of solid empirical research about the overall value of not only Facebook but with all other popular social networking in education. Finding literature that provides specific examples regarding Facebook’s use in the area of Home Economics is non-existent thus providing a both a starting point and need for new research in this area. Therefore, in Chapter 3, I will outline my research project that was aimed to fill the gap in the Home Economics Education literature regarding the use of Facebook in teaching and learning. FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 25 CHAPTER 3 Research Questions and Methodology Introduction The literature review in Chapter 2 revealed that there was a significant gap in the Home Economics Education literature. There was virtually no research on the use of social media, specifically Facebook, available. Since I had been using Facebook in my Home Economics courses at the Middle School level, I felt it was an appropriate and timely topic for me to address. Statement of the Problem Research regarding the value of popular social media, such as Facebook, in education in general and in Home Economics education in particular is difficult to access... There is a plethora of information under the general categories of: using Facebook, should teachers use Facebook, Facebook Apps for learning, how to use Facebook in the classroom and Facebook tips for teachers. But, there are few scholarly peer reviewed articles written about the potential of social media in education, and fewer studies have specifically addressed its role in pedagogy. Research Question(s) Since I started to use Facebook in my classroom practice I have become increasingly interested in understanding this phenomenon. How has it impacted my teaching practice? How do my students view it? What are the positives, the challenges FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 26 and the concerns? Can I improve on its use? And so on. The literature on the topic was not helpful. I decided that I needed to conduct my own research on my practice. My main research question was: How has using the social media Facebook in my Grade 7 and 8 Exploratory, and Grade 9 Elective Foods and Nutrition courses influenced my teaching practice? Sub questions were: 1. In what ways have I used my professional Facebook page in myteaching of Foods and nutrition courses?2. What is the students’ perception of the use of my professionalFacebook page as part of the Foods and nutrition courses they aretaking?Methodology and Conceptual Framework Marjorie Brown states, “[A]ny good piece of research is significant in that it contributes in some important way to knowledge” (Brown, 1989, p.259-266). It is within this general standard for research in Home Economics that I framed my inquiry. I characterize my research as teacher action research. Mills (2003) provides the following definition of action research: Action research is any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers to gather information about the ways that their particular school operates, how they teach, and how well their students learn. The information is gathered with the goals of gaining insight, developing reflective practice, effecting positive changes in the school environment and on educational practices in general, and improving student outcomes. (p. 4) FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 27 Action research is conducted by teachers and for teachers. It is small scale, contextualized, localized, and aimed at discovering, developing, or monitoring changes to practice (Wallace, 2000). I am encouraged by the reflexive nature of the process and specifically the “empowerment of individuals through collaboration on projects” (Creswell, 2008, p.598). Action research can impact teachers’ improvements in the area of instructional practices (Graham, 2007). I have come to define action research as process by which educators work together to look at their practice with the intent on making improvements. In order to successfully conduct action research it is necessary to be clear on the possible implications for improving teaching practice and affecting change. There is clearly the need for strong administration participation and teamwork with respect to action research. Throughout my study I communicated regularly with administration at my school. They knew what I was doing and fully supported my use of Facebook in the classroom and the research I was conducting on its use. Having these considerations established for my inquiry was most encouraging. One underlying issue I feel paramount is for staff members to try new ideas and be unified in their willingness to change instructional practice for the betterment of both their students and themselves. Regardless of the type of social media that is used by individual teachers to deliver course content, the process of collaboration will be transdisciplinary, insofar as being a step in the right direction towards a more holistic and integrated approach to teaching. As I have mentioned previously I view my research as both interpretive and critical inquiry as I sought to understand the impact of the educational use of the social 28 FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOMmedia, Facebook but also to examine it critically. To conceptualize how these two research paradigms will inform my research project I created Chart 1. Chart 1: Question/Research Paradigms/Modes of Inquiry/ Positivist ~transmissive emphasis *factual/transmissiveInterpretivist ~ sense-making emphasis *interpretive/transactionalCritical Theory ~social emphasis *factual/transactional Deconstructivist ~reflexive emphasis *critical/transformationalQuestion What is the relationship between Facebook use and students meeting the learning outcomes for Home Economics classes? How is the pedagogical use of Facebook understood by teachers and students? Whose interest does using Facebook as a pedagogical instrument in Home Economics instruction really serve? Why should we believe in Facebook as a pedagogical instrument for instruction in Home Economics courses? Reality Reality is objective and “found” Reality is subjective and constructed Reality is subjective and constructed on the basis of power issues Reality is ultimately unknowable; attempts to understand it subvert themselves Truth One truth Many truths Truths are many and constitutes a system of socio-political power “Truths” are socially constructed systems which contradict themselves Discourse Discourse is structured and transparent reflecting reality Discourse is dialogic and creates reality Discourse is embedded in (and controlled by) rhetorical and political Discourse is by nature inseparable from its subject and is radically contingent and vulnerable FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 29 purposes (IRP?) Truth/knowing What is true? What can we know? What is heuristic? What can we understand? What is just? What can we do? Is there a truth? What constitutes truth? World View Knowing the world Understanding the world Changing the world Critiquing then changing the world Communication Communication as transmission Communication as transaction Communication as decision-making Communication as challenging the nature of communication Adapted from “A Chart of four contemporary research paradigms: Metaphors for the modes of inquiry,” by L. Sipe and S. Constable, (1996). Taboo: The journal of culture and education, p.153-163. Data Collection and Transformation As a teacher, I monitored my use of Facebook as I normally would when implementing a new teaching approach by surveying students in my Foods 7, 8 and 9 classes at the end of each exploratory rotation or course. I kept a journal of “critical incidents” (Newman, 1987, 1991; Tripp, 1993) related to my practice. I kept records of student attendance and performance as standard reporting practice. In addition I: • Surveyed most of my students in my Foods 7 and 8 classes at the end of eachexploratory rotation or course as standard reporting practice • Interviewed students, 5 grade 9 students, at the end of the school course after gradeshave been submitted • Discussed and recorded the use of Facebook with other teachers at the school who arewilling to be involved as “critical friends” • Analyzed the activity on my school Facebook siteThis provided both qualitative and quantitative data from many sources, sometimes described as mixed methods (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004), in an effort to achieve FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 30 triangulation, which gave me a more complete picture of the overall impact of using Facebook as a pedagogical tool. I teased out general themes: to connect, to notify, to teach and to curate in addition to formal, non-formal and wider applications related to the research questions and my teaching practice. My data analysis summarizes my findings, confirming, elaborating and synthesizing my data, linking my information to the literature review or lack thereof. This will be presented in Chapter 4. CHAPTER 4 Data Analysis Introduction In Chapter 3, I developed a statement for my action research, also called teacher inquiry, outlining my research question, sub-questions and methodological framework. I started using Facebook in my professional teaching practice during the teacher job action in the spring of 2012. The feedback from both parents and students was encouraging. In December of 2012, when students were not able to access course content utilizing the hard drive in the media center due to technological issues, I decided to upload the assignment onto my newly created Facebook site. The result was the start of my teacher inquiry project, Facebook in the Home Economics Classroom. In Chapter 4, Data Analysis, I will explain first how I used Facebook in my teaching practice, then how collected my data. After that I present my data analysis and a discussion of the findings. How I Use Facebook In My Classroom As a facilitator of learning, I aim to create a vibrant, comfortable, student-centred and enriching learning environment. I foster skills in my Home Economics classes that include problem-solving, critical thinking, co-operation and effective communication. As well, I am flexible in adapting and modifying learning outcomes, materials and instruction to meet the individual learning needs of my students. The current Integrated Resource Package (IRP) for Home Economics 8 to 12, which is the mandated curriculum document for this province, suggests that it is the only course that brings together both the theoretical and the practical (praxis) to develop an understanding of the interdependence of everyday living (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 4). Furthermore, Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 32 implementation may vary to meet the individual needs of the students. As outlined in the IRP, I strive to have my lessons reflect current food trends with respect to both global and local food production, nutrition and changing lifestyles, while at all times respecting both differentiated and 21st century learning. Moreover, I utilize technology, social media and on-line learning in my lesson planning to meet the needs of a technology-enthralled savvy group of Y generation individuals (Pendergast, 2007). Like Fordham and Goddard, (2013, see p.21-22).) to date I have used Facebook in many ways and they are listed below. I have also used Lepi’s (2012) four categories of use (connect, notify, teach, and curate) to categorize the use of each: • To “flip” my classroom. Students are able to practice recipes at home and work ahead on projects. Then, students can upload pictures of recipes completed at home. (teach) • To “post” examples of student projects (teach) • For absent students to prepare recipes and demonstrate a proficiency in the learning outcomes for Foods 9 (teach) • To post undated information (notify) • To let students know upcoming assignments, projects and information (notify) • As a study guide (teach) • To keep in touch with past students (connect) • To stay in contact with students in the International Student program (connect) • As a translating tool for ESL students (teach) Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 33 • To provide major project based classroom assignments (teach) • To upload, step by step, pictures of recipe methods to be used by other teachers in their classes; specifically vulnerable and designated students (teach) • To post “how to” instructions and videos for a textile course (teach) As you can see my primary use has been to teach. This contradicts Hew’s (2011) claim that “very few education-related activities on Facebook were found” (p. 668). All of my Facebook applications were directly related to my teaching practice. Moreover, the potential for increased educational uses changes and develops with continued use. Outline In order to better understand the impact of using Facebook in the classroom, I gathered data during and at the end of the 2013 school year. Data collection and the analytical framework for data analysis flow out of the theoretical and mythological framework of the inquiry (Smith, personal communication, June 2012). By utilizing both an interpretive and critical approach in my research design, I used the following for data gathering purposes: • course evaluation surveys; a survey given to my students as part of my regular course evaluation practice (Appendix B) • journal entries; a hand written journal, transcribed, with “critical incidents” (Newman, 1987, 1991; Tripp, 1993) and their significance as related to my use of Facebook in my teaching practice (Appendix C) • student interviews regarding my professional Facebook page; students were asked to provide feedback related to my Facebook page (Appendix E) Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 34 • taped interviews with critical friends/colleagues or learning partners. I discussed and recorded the use of Facebook with other teachers at the school who were willing to be involved as “critical friends” (Appendix G) • the Facebook Page. I reviewed the information as posted on my professional Facebook page. I used a mixed methods approach to my data collection (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). I included both qualitative and quantitative data. Creswell (2008) states, “the strength of this design is that it combines the advantages of both quantitative and qualitative data” (p. 558). Data Collection Related to Course Evaluation Surveys In the 2012/13 teaching year, I taught three Foods 7 exploratory rotations, five Foods 8 exploratory rotations and two Foods 9 full year elective rotations. Most of my grade 9 students stayed for the entire year, however 13 students out of a total of 50 students left after the first semester to be involved in the second semester drama production. These 13 students were replaced with new students from other electives and I had taught all of them previously in Grade 7 and 8. All 13 students who left participated in the survey questionnaire. These 13 students that were surveyed represent 26% of the Grade 9 students in Foods 9. In the 2012/13 school year there were 92 Grade 7, 123 Grade 8 and 134 Grade 9 students registered. These figures were obtained by looking at Student Achievement Data Exchange (SADE) records. Throughout the year I administered a Course Evaluation Survey that included questions about having a Facebook Page for the course at these Middle School grades. (For sample questions from the Course Evaluation, see Appendix B). The students in each Grade 7 and 8 exploratory Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 35 rotation and 13 Grade 9 students participated. Participation was strictly voluntary and although students did not need to put their names on the paper, many students did want their surveys recognized by name. Some students chose not to fill in the survey at all and some students were not able to participate because they were not at school during the administration of the surveys. Seventy-nine out of a possible ninety-two Grade 7 students participated giving a response rate of eight-six percent. One hundred out of a possible one hundred and twenty-three Grade eight students participated giving a response rate of eighty-one present. Because of the time frame of the study, I was only able to survey the 13 Grade 9 students who switched courses in mid-term. So, their data cannot be generalizable since the sample is small. However, I included them here to determine whether there is any pattern of use established through the grades. In total, 192 surveys were administered throughout the year. Grade 7 Survey Results. In Grade 7, 47% were friends of the Facebook page so a little less than half the class were using the Facebook page. Most students accessed the page by using their phones and iPods but some also used school computers to check for status updates on their person Facebook pages. When students were asked what they used and what they liked about the Facebook page the responses varied: • 31.5% said reminders • 26 % said recipes • 10% said they used it to look at pictures • 2% said homework/assignments Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 36 • less than 1% reported using it to complete home studies (flipped classroom) and “stay organized”. The most common use was to check reminders. In the reminders section, I included: updates about what we were going to do in the upcoming week, what extra ingredients could be brought into class and notifications for homework assignments etc. This was perhaps the most important because Grade 7 is the first year out of elementary school. Students often struggle with the routines of Middle School and having so many different teachers and courses etc. . Students commented that: It kept me up to date, organized and prepared for class I used it for reminders for what we are doing in class and to ask questions, it kept me organized I uploaded photos of what we were making in class before I made it in class-I love cooking and being able to practice and work ahead The next most common was “recipes” which leads me to believe that at least a quarter of the class was preparing some of the food items made in class at home. Another comment that appeared quite frequently was “I liked checking out what the grade 8/9’s are doing and what we are doing next class.” This may indicate that having the Facebook page could be useful in attracting students to the senior courses. In elective areas such as Home Economics keeping enrollments up is always a concern. When asked, “What could be improved about the Facebook page”, 23% respondents said, “no improvement was needed” the remainder of respondents “didn’t know” or simply left the question blank. Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 37 Only 7% had family members who were friends of the Facebook page, family members included: parents, siblings and cousins. When asked to write any other comments regarding your social media and Facebook use, many students replied they found the slowness of the school’s Wifi and internet issues prohibitive. This finding will be discussed further in the limitations section of the paper. Grade 8 Survey Results. In Grade 8, 63% were friends of the Facebook page. Most students’ accessed the page by using their phones and iPods but many also used school computers to check for status updates. Answers to what they used and what they liked about the Facebook page were for: • 9% said reminders • 10% said recipes, • 6% said to look at pictures. Comments included: “I liked being able to find recipes to make at home for me and my family” “I like that it is a teachers [sic] FB page” and “It is so useful.” There appears to be a discrepancy between the comments and the survey answers about use. Certainly there appears to be a sharp decline in the use of reminders in comparison to the Grade 8 results but more students are using the site so it begs the question, what are they using it for. When asked, “What could be improved about the Facebook page,” all respondents said, “no improvement was needed.” Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 38 Only 1% had family members that were friends of the Facebook page. At the Grade 8 level, family members were not identified. Grade 9 Survey Results. In Grade 9, Foods and Nutrition classes are an elective as opposed to an exploratory course that every student is required to take. There were only 13 Grade 9 surveys collected. I had 50 Grade 9 Foods students; therefore 26% of all students in my Foods 9 classes participated in the survey. I was unable to administer the survey to all of the Foods 9 students because I had to wait until marks were submitted to administer the surveys and I wanted to focus on my student interviews rather than just surveys. Of the 13 students surveyed, all were friends of the Facebook page. • 69% said reminders • 62 % said recipes • 38% said they used it to look at pictures • 15% said homework/assignments • 7% reported using it to complete home studies (flipped classroom) Many of the Grade 9 surveys indicated both reminders and recipes as the main use for Facebook. A significant comment was: • I like the recipes at my fingertips, if I want to bake something we’ve made I look at the pics [sic] and do it. • I would like daily status updates rather than the weekly status update that I was providing. Albeit a smaller sample size, these results are consistent with the Grade 7 results for usage. It is unknown why the results for the Grade 8’s percentages were so low, perhaps Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 39 the Grade 7 and 9’s were more thorough in answering the questions, or perhaps they had more time to complete the survey. None of the respondents had family members as friends of the page. All but one of the respondents said “no improvement” was needed to the Facebook page and the one student who suggested an improvement was to indicate, “they would like reminders daily rather than weekly.” Journal Entries Journal entries were made when I deemed the incident to be significant. I will highlight a few entries and others will be referred to throughout the chapter Facebook or a Blog? Casual conversations with my students revealed some pertinent information. One student replied, when queried about the possibility of my developing a blog for my Foods courses most emphatically, “I wouldn’t use it, stick with the Facebook page, we are teenagers, make it easy, we don’t want to work hard for anything” Having worked with teenagers for 28 years this statement resonated with “straight from the heart” truthfulness. Teenagers want their lives simplified. They do not want to have to log into a blog to find out information, they want it fast and instantaneously, much like the speed in which they can access any information in their daily lives. Heartfelt Remarks. As a teacher of a cumulative Home Economics program I strive to have students increase their “hands-on” food preparation techniques in addition to developing healthier eating habits. The following comments were heartfelt because they complement the basic fundamental principles of my Foods and Nutrition program: • Facebook helped me quite a bit in Foods 9 Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 40 • I love that recipes are right at my fingertips • It is really useful to have when you are at home on your own Students used my Foods Facebook page because they are familiar with the Facebook format; they are on Facebook all the time with their friends so checking the Foods page is easy. Another format that they are not familiar with would probably not get as much use. Educational Purposes. I recognized any Facebook posts that were for obviously educational purposes. This would be in the form of a particularly “liked” post or if the post was going to be something that I used in my classes. When you click “like” on a Facebook Page, you are making a connection. Your like will appear on your timeline and may also appear in your news feed. An example of this was when a student transformed a Grade 9 recipe, making it gluten free and posting the results (January 13th 2013). We were able to evaluate the results as a class after having accessed the information easily on the Facebook page. This is an example where students used the site for educational purposes and I was able to subvert the like feature for my own purposes. Another educational use of Facebook was when a student (February 28th 2013) asked if “I could post a reminder about “Rainbow Week”, diversity awareness, on my Facebook page because her leadership class was sponsoring the event.” It was recognized that it would be effective means of communication with the most students because so many of them were friends of the Facebook page. This is significant because students recognized the connectedness attached to my Facebook page. Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 41 Unintended Uses of Facebook One of the most noteworthy journal entries, (April 24th 2013), was that of a potential lifesaving post. I had checked my Facebook page during our April staff meeting. I mentioned casually, that one of my students was going to be away, as stated in his status update, because he had been diagnosed with chicken pox. This revelation enabled our school counselor to warn the parents of a student diagnosed with Crohn’s to keep their child away from school. If this student had contracted chicken pox while on a new experimental drug it could have been fatal. This is an example where the safety of students outweighs the caution of its use in schools. The intimacy and immediacy of Facebook cannot be overlooked, nor can how it contributes to “connectedness.” A number of studies (Freeman, King, Pickett & Craig, 2011: Kendall, 2003; Mcreary Center Society, 2009), show that social support of connectedness is important in promoting the health of young people. Absentee learners. Once my Facebook page became used for teaching, I chose to allow a student [referred to here as “HB”] to submit her final summative evaluation for Foods 9 via Facebook. This student rarely attended class but was capable of passing if she could demonstrate a proficiency of the prescribed learning outcomes for the course. HB completed a comprehensive practical examination and sent the pictures and written evaluation to me on June 19th 2013. She received 60% on the examination, and passed the course receiving 58.6% overall. First Nations students. Historically, for many of our schools’ First Nations population, school is a struggle. Generally, these students do not meet the criteria for a Ministry designation and Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 42 therefore receive no additional educational support. Typically they are reluctant learners and attendance is sporadic at best. As a staff, we have discussed, developed and implemented many initiatives for these students. Visitors and staff alike have noted that many of our students attend school for breakfast and lunch and to wander the halls, skipping classes and socializing. We have created a welcoming comfortable environment where the students feel safe, but little else. This has been the norm during my current teaching practice. I am part of a frustrated, dedicated staff that tries to make a difference and yet still does not see any measurable progress. Moock (2001) writes of “reaching out to those students that sit on the fence” (p.59), and how she tried different things to motivate students. This is an illustration of how it is common for teachers to try different methods to reach vulnerable learners and motivate them. I was surprised how vulnerable learners responded so well. Was it because of relationships that have been established on Facebook, connectedness or as Payne (2005) articulates in A Framework for Understanding Poverty, “that for the impoverished, people are the most prized possessions”? (p. 42). When you accept someone as a friend on your Facebook page you are making a connection with them and indicate publically that you are friends, that you are part of a group or collection. This moves the teacher-student relationship outside the classroom walls. Moreover, what is there about the distancing through Facebook, or the immediacy, or the feeling of being part of a modern generation that is so appealing to First Nations students in particular? I have many friends on my Facebook page who are First Nations students. After analyzing the data on my Facebook page I can state that my First Nations students are prolific users of Facebook. Two of my First Nations students, who are friends of my Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 43 Facebook page, post status updates throughout every day, and many others message me on a regular basis outside of class time. I am encouraged by this communication. I have also received pictures of meals and recipes, posted on my Facebook page, from my First Nations students both past and present. To date, after 18 years in my current teaching position, I had never received home study correspondence from any of my living “on reserve” students. I had only received the rare home study information, hand written, by those students living off reserve and in foster care. I am overwhelmed with a sense of encouragement from these little, shared interactions. I am non-native and most schools with high First Nations student populations in British Columbia have very few First Nations teachers. As a non-native teacher I am very sensitive to their socioeconomic problems, the history of colonization and residential schools. My approach is to make my classroom and my Foods program as open and accessible as possible. I hope that all students, including those with aboriginal backgrounds, will be successful in my courses. Since I have made a commitment to confidentiality and anonymity I can't name the band or the location of my school but at the end of the school year I received a communication from DA, our resident elder and Aboriginal support worker, Huy tseep q’u siiem, Huy tseep q’u Thank you so much to the staff for the wonderful memories that I will take with me now and forever. The change from when I attended this school as a young First Nations student to its present is like night and day, which amazes me continuously and I appreciate each and every one of you so very much for all your hard work and dedication to this profession. Now I don’t want to leave! In friendship Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 44 My research was not "on" First Nations students specifically, my research was on the use of Facebook in the Classroom and some of the students who were in my classroom were of First Nations Heritage. The Ministry of Education actually keeps records of the number of First Nations students in each school by way of SADE, Student Achievement Data Exchange. I was not labelling these students; they are already labelled in the school system. Giroux (2004) has us consider that “learning is a performative practice embodied in the lived interactions among educators, audiences, texts and institutional formations” (p.61). When looking at the use of Facebook by First Nations students and Aboriginal support staff, the positive results have been most encouraging. As it turned out, the information was significant as a sub-group and it was worthy of mention in my findings. Student Interviews After receiving behaviour review ethics board approval, BREB, (Appendix A) I handed out Pupil Assent forms to a number of Grade 8 and Grade 9 students so that I would have Parental Consent as they are minors, to ask them additional questions (Appendix D) about their use of Facebook in my Home Economics classes. The time frame was tight, interviews were conducted after both marks had been submitted, and before students finished the year and began summer break. After the permission forms were received, I drafted a schedule of interviews and invited students to come into my classroom and conducted the interviews. Students were offered a nutritious snack and beverage as part of the process. All interviews were recorded on my iPhone and transcribed verbatim (Appendix E). Initials have been used to maintain anonymity of the participants. Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 45 Five student interviews were conducted. All interviews were conducted with Grade 9 Foods students, all were female and 1 student was in both my Foods 9 class and in my Advisory. These interviews nicely complemented the low survey numbers from Grade 9 students and provided a better picture of the use of the Foods Facebook site by students in this grade. All students interviewed had been a friend of the Facebook page since its inception, for them this was in Grade 8 and 2012. All of the interviewed students had become a friend of the page in Grade 8 because this is when they first received a hand held device or cell phone that was Wifi enabled. Facebook will only work when there is access to the internet via Wifi. General Facebook Use. The typical ways in which students used the page were: homework/assignments, home studies (posting pictures), recipes, status updates and reminders. What they found to be most useful were the status updates and reminders. Students said: the status updates remind me of what is going on during the week we were able to access this information outside of class time The data indicates that the importance of updates and reminders are high in Grade 7, low in Grade 8 and high in Grade 9. This may be due to either Grade 9 Foods is an elective, rather than an exploratory or perhaps just an anomaly in the data. JE indicated the need for other teachers to start a Facebook page, “if other teachers, even academic courses used it, that would be ok because then you could contact the other teachers by messaging then if you’ve forgotten something. Several students were appreciative of the ease in which they could message me outside of class time: “is so Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 46 quick and easy.” This type of teacher-student contact is in contrast to traditional methods by which students can access their teachers. Toward a Paperless Classroom. One student appreciated not having to “use paper.” At the senior level, students have recently professed how a course “like this could be accessed on iPads and how much less paper it would be.” As schools and teachers try to establish a more environmentally sensitive outlook, students notice how a paperless classroom fits in nicely with a reduce, reuse and recycle philosophy. A way to involve family in school. One student’s “mom” was also a friend of the page and her younger sister did friend the page when she entered Grade 7. Having a parent “get the same information” was helpful to this student. One student’s older brother was perhaps still a friend of the Facebook page, he was in Grade 11 at the time of the interview, but she was unsure. As students’ progress through school parents become further and further removed from courses of study and what is happening in school. Through Facebook they can observe, “What’s going on” rather than e-mail the teacher, look at grades on a report card or snap shot of a child’s progress through an interim report. Traditional reporting contains none of the personal interaction that Facebook does. It is simply an effective way for parents to become and remain involved in their child’s education. Furthermore, these parents that are friends of the Facebook page can suggest course selection requests; ET, March 7th 2013, “you should use Facebook to promote Textiles so it gets offered next year as a course.” Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 47 No improvements required. Four of the five students interviewed could not really suggest improvements to be made to the Facebook page, sighting “it was really good the way it was.” One did suggest “she used if for homework assignments and had contacted me through a message that “I don’t have to use paper and to just email you my homework…it was simple and environmentally friendly.” This leads me to believe that they were all comfortable using the format because they had been friends of the Facebook since Grade 8. Technological barriers. None of the respondents felt there were any barriers to using Facebook, except poor internet and Wifi at the school; this is perhaps due to the fact that they often used Facebook at home. Poor internet and Wifi access is the biggest deterrent to using Facebook and is consistent throughout the data collected Continued friendship. None of the respondents planned on “unfriending”, choosing to not be a friend, of the Facebook page when they leave Middle School and continue their education at the high school. I often receive messages from past students as well as International students on my Facebook page. This reinforces connectedness that has been established and discussed throughout this chapter. Finally, the information contained in the interviews is encouraging and albeit on a smaller scale, the information as transcribed replicates the data as discovered while surveying my Grade 7 and 8 classes. Students like using Facebook as a useful tool in their classes. Discussion with Critical Friends Staff interviews, also to be known as critical friend interviews, were those staff members who were willing to share their thoughts and experiences of using Facebook in Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 48 their practices (see Appendix F & G). After signing Teacher Consent forms, the interviews were conducted after students had finished their courses in June and there was some free time available to get together and discuss pedagogical and curricular uses of using Facebook in their teaching practices. I interviewed five staff members, two male and three female. Two were resource room teachers, one an exploratory/elective teacher like myself, one an Intensive Behaviour Intervention Teacher (IBIT) and one administrator. Staff was selected, for the most part, because they starting using Facebook in their practices after I had begun to do this and were encouraged by the results and usefulness and because I wanted an administrative perspective. Why use Facebook? JR, an administrator, considers the use of Facebook in my practice to be a “wonderful idea,” “I love the interaction of it and the feedback we get is very positive.” As discussed earlier, it is important to have support from administration when conducting teacher inquiry. Since I conducted this interview my school, with the blessing of administration, has started its own Facebook page with the purpose of providing information and making connections with students, staff, parents and local community. My second interview was with MB, an elective teacher. She started her own professional Facebook page after many conversations with me about its use. She started using Facebook in her practice: because all the kids are on it and it is the best way for me to communicate with them it is the most effective way for me to communicate with them as they always check it Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 49 it isn’t one more thing for them to do as they check it frequently parents were able to see all the things that we were doing in my classroom Things that worked well and were positive for her were the ease of use and how so many students were already using it. She really enjoys the connectivity and collaboration that we shared through developing Facebook pages in our classrooms “it’s a good idea for teachers to get good ideas from other teachers.” A third interview was with KA, an Intensive Behaviour Intervention (IBIT) Teacher. He started using Facebook in his practice because he “found it the easiest way to stay connected with 3 or 4 of my parents who were constantly changing phones so it was hard to reach them by phone but they were always on the internet.” This is a significant finding because, historically, many of our alternative students can never, be contacted through traditional means, either telephone or standard mail. Like other respondents KA was able to identify possible curricular uses for Facebook in his practice. One final thought for him was “kids are on it all the time, even when they aren’t supposed to be.” This resonates with an “If you can’t beat ‘em you might as well join ‘em” attitude. Two of my interviews were with resource room teachers. BH taught with me at my present school and TR used to teach with me, but now teaches Special Education classes, including Lifeskills Cooking at a small elementary school in our school district. Some of the most interesting findings with these “special needs” groups are how these Special Education teachers are using the information on my Facebook page to enhance the curriculum of their students. In December of 2012, I started uploading albums to the Facebook page of recipes and step-by-step photographic representation of the recipes. Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 50 Both BH and TR used these resources in their practices. BH stated that “many of her students are cognitively challenged; therefore, it’s hard for them to retain information.” Furthermore she was able to “chunk” information, provide concrete information, practice hand-on activities repeatedly and after that, be able to participate with other students in Foods class. Both BH and TR commented on how visual instruction is so important for this group of students. TR, “Pictures – pictures were huge.” TR works with students on the autism spectrum and moderate to profound physical disabilities; students with behaviour designations and learning disabilities and a variety of other needs. Many of her comments praised the visual components of Facebook: using Facebook took away that barrier of reading, and it gave them a snapshot about what they were doing by being able to look at the picture and matching it up I think that was huge for them as it provided the visual support and if they weren’t sure about something they could go back and look again. TR was appreciative of being able to go back and revisit recipe steps; “we had an iPad set up in the school so we could flip back and forth between the photos to see what was going on.” Furthermore, “it also gave them a sense of different jobs they could be doing depending on whose turn it was to do what that week.” This is an indication of how Facebook can organize students who lack organizational skills. TR also found it useful for safety instruction, “it was really pulling those functional Lifeskills into something that was meaningful to the students”. The uses of Facebook with those students in special programs and identified with designations is worth exploring further. Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 51 Professional barriers to using Facebook. The professional barriers described by JR include “problems of the control of information when it is out there on the World Wide Web.” This concern is addressed by only posting unidentifiable pictures on my Facebook page. Only under the rarest of circumstances, and with administration’s permission, have I posted student pictures where students may be identified. The need for increased professional development was identified especially at the district level. Developing protocol for use by teachers and the need for personal and professional separation was discussed. I was made aware, by Administration, that once these protocols are developed at the district level, information would be distributed from administration to staff. MB did not encounter any problems or barriers with its use; she said that it “was convenient and easy.” When asked if she would make any changes, she thought that “increased updates were warranted” and “using Facebook to archive information, like power tool safety, information that is used regularly in her classes.” MB has both a personal and professional Facebook page and the information is never linked. As with other respondents, KA had a separate personal and professional Facebook page. One of the barriers to his Facebook use was contextual. As with most digital media, the text is flat, he said “you don’t necessarily know if a parent is angry….you can’t get the context, whereas, if you were talking to them you would be able to better discern what they were saying and how they were feeling about it.” Facebook Page Analysis A Facebook page is difficult to analyze, information is constantly being updated and can be edited. Just because a student did not “like” a status update does not mean that they did not benefit from or use the information in any way. Some students indicated that Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 52 they saw and read the information and then scrolled down to the next post that they received. I am sure, as both the surveys and interviews indicate, they appreciated the information notwithstanding. I was encouraged by the increased completeness of assignments from students when students were reminded via Facebook to do so. Furthermore, in October 2012 and 2013, all students passed their term examinations. It is difficult to say whether or not this was due to the study guide being posted on Facebook as a “note” as some student received paper copies of the study guide. The social aspect of social media. When I went back and looked at all of the posts and messages on my Facebook page, the posts that received the most “likes” were not curricular in nature, they were social in nature. The most “liked” post was a picture of the school’s hockey team. I have an excellent camera and generally have it with me for all school functions. I was asked to take a team photo at the annual inter-school match. It was necessary to receive permission from administration to post the picture of the team. The other 2 most popular posts were, like the hockey picture, generalizable to the student body as a whole and not just students currently enrolled in my Foods courses. These posts were “wishing everyone a Merry Christmas” and a picture of a congratulatory ice cream cake purchased for my Advisory class at the end of the 2012/13 school year. Facebook is “social” media – so it appears as the social aspect of it should not be overlooked, it can contribute to class climate, social cohesion, increasing connectedness to school, all of which create a better learning environment. Pedagogically, using Facebook in my practice is transmissive, sense-making, social and reflexive in nature. Students can choose to friend the Facebook page or not. Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 53 Furthermore, they can use the information contained on the page, as they want to as they see fit. Areas for Further Research During the process of completing my data analysis, I began to consider how powerful social media, Facebook, is not only for all my students but also specifically for my First Nations students. There has been the suggestion that I could utilize Facebook to create an on-line learning environment for our First Nations students. What if those reluctant learners, who attend irregularly or perhaps continuously sit in the office for in school suspensions, were able to receive classroom instruction on the priority learning outcomes of home economics classes? Furthermore, by providing on-line course delivery via Facebook, would students be able to meet a greater number of learning outcomes for their other courses? Through my post graduate coursework through the University of British Columbia I have come to recognize that First Nations research participation could be prohibitive but there is no current research available that combines Facebook, First Nations and home economics education or any education for that matter. Home Economics instruction naturally requires teachers to identify cultural issues for students to facilitate understanding (Aitkenhead, p. 217). That being said, a continued inquiry through action research appeals to me on many levels, as I would be able to gain further insight into my own practice by utilizing the “teacher as expert” nature of the methodology. There are possibilities within this initiative that will be culturally significant to our First Nations students. This could be made possible within the scope of Home Economics learning outcomes. Learning through Facebook enabled me to look beyond the classroom setting. Once again I must consider Payne (2005) “it is the hidden Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 54 rule of the support system, in poverty, people are possessions, and people can rely only on each other” (p.23). For me this is the epitome of delivering course content and developing authentic relationships through social media and specifically my Facebook page. Giroux (2004) explores the ways in which “culture functions as contested sphere over the distribution and regulation of power, as well as how culture places a central role in producing narratives, metaphors and images that determine how people think of themselves and their relationship to others” (p.62). DISCUSSION Since most of the research on use of Facebook in education has been conducted at the post-secondary level (Madge et al., 2009; Jones and Healing, 2010; Selwyn, 2009), it was useful for me to investigate its use at the Middle School level and in Home Economics classes. When looking at the percentages of my formal surveys some students found the Facebook page to be useful. Student interviews were likewise positive in the use of Facebook. Moreover, my journal entries indicate positive Facebook experiences and the possibilities for use in the future. Interviews with colleagues describe how Facebook can be used in other classes. At the Grade 8 and 9 levels there were no improvements suggested for the Facebook page. Many of the Grade 7 and Grade 8 answers were similar yet there were fewer Grade 8 replies. This could be for any number of reasons, the most likely of which was lack of time to complete the survey. My student interviews indicated a desire for more teachers to have their own professional Facebook page. There was a significant increase in Facebook use from Grade 7 to Grade 9. This could be due to the fact that Grade 8 seems to be a year in which many students received cell phones and were Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 55 allowed to have access to Facebook. In retrospect, many parents of Grade 7 students seemed to be leery of Facebook and were not using Facebook themselves. To enlighten parents, I had given a presentation of my Facebook page during the September 2013 “Meet the Teacher” night and invited parents to become friends with the page if they did not allow their children access to Facebook. Five parents attending did in fact “friend” the page after the presentation. Initially I used Facebook to connect with students and parents, to notify them of events, post assignments, and oversee the site. As I became more proficient using Facebook, I started to use it to post assignments, videos, and supplementary materials. This was essentially providing classroom curriculum via an alternate method. I could teach (Lepi, 2012), anywhere and students, as long as they had an Internet connection or Wifi access could learn. When I started to upload recipes and step-by step picture methods to the site other teachers started to use my Facebook page in their own practices. In the short time I have been using Facebook I have received more Facebook messages from students and parents than emails since I started using school district email account. Moreover, many of the messages could be considered social in nature rather than curricular and I am encouraged by the positive relationships that have transpired between my students and me. CONCLUSION My core motivation for the undertaking of this inquiry was to identify the impact of the use of social media, specifically Facebook as a teaching tool. My findings were: • My main use of Facebook was as an alternative mode of teaching. Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 56 • Facebook use increases through the grades as students become more accustomed to its use with the two most popular uses being receiving notices (notification) and the recipes (teaching) • Facebook is a way to reach out to vulnerable students. • Students view the social component of Facebook just as important as the curriculum component. • Effective communication and connectedness with all stakeholders is the most profound effect of using Facebook. • Administrative support is one key component of starting a professional Facebook page. • There are many yet to be discovered uses of social media and Facebook in particular. • Poor school computers and slow wireless limits the potential of students using the site during school hours. Most students access Facebook from their own devices and at home. • Privacy is a concern. However if Facebook is used so that student anonymity is maintained these concerns can be minimalized. My main research question was: How has using the social media Facebook in my Grade 7 and 8 Exploratory, and Grade 9 Elective Foods and Nutrition courses influenced my teaching practice? My data analysis described the ways I have used my professional Facebook page in my teaching of Foods and Nutrition courses and my students’ Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 57 perception of the use of my professional Facebook page as part of the Foods and Nutrition courses they are taking. I anticipate that my study will help fill in the gap in the literature about the educational use of social media at the Middle School level. This teacher inquiry benefited my own practice and by making it public, it has the potential to inform the practice of others. The limitation is that this is a small case study in a specific subject area and may not easily be generalizable to other educational contexts. That being said, my use of Facebook, has established for me an optimistic sense of renewal, excitement and opportunity. My research forced me to re-examine the what, where, when and how’s of education. In Chapter 5, Summary, Limitations and Recommendations I will describe in further detail what I learned during my inquiry, implications for curriculum, teaching and students. CHAPTER 5 Summary, Limitations and Recommendations Introduction In Chapter 4, Data Analysis, I explained how I collected my data, provided my data analysis and described my use of Facebook in my teaching practice. In Chapter 5, Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 58 Summary, Implications and Recommendations I will further discuss my teacher inquiry, Understanding the Use of Facebook in the Home Economics Classroom: what meanings is has for education, teaching and learning, what were the strengths of my research and what were the possible limitations? Additionally, I will identify areas for further research. Summary and Implications of the Study Overall, the core motivation for the undertaking of my teacher inquiry was to identify the impact of the use of social media, specifically Facebook, as an example of using technology in education and how it has influenced my teaching practice. I attempted to identify the possibilities of its use, as well as the challenges and barriers. I believe my study will help fill in the gap in the literature about the educational use of social media at the Middle School level and specifically the use of Facebook in the context of a Home Economics classroom. My teacher inquiry, Understanding the Use of Facebook in the Home Economics classroom, was conducted to provide me with a better understanding of the use of social media in my teaching practice. This will benefit my own practice and, by making it public, it has the potential to inform the practice of others. My research is limited, as it is a small case study in a specific subject area, and may not easily be generalizable to other educational contexts. In the spring of 2012, I launched my professional Facebook page so that students and parents could access course materials during the teacher job action. At the time, feedback was significant; it was both positive and encouraging. For example, parents said: “they appreciated course work being available so that their children had something Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 59 to do during the strike.” Students said, “they liked not missing out on labs and being able to practice at home.” Likewise, the results of this study were also positive. The results of my student surveys and student interviews indicate simply that students like being able to use Facebook as an extension to regular classroom activities. This included: reminders, recipes, pictures, homework and assignments. Survey research shows that as students move through the grades and become more accustomed to its use, they use the Facebook page more frequently. The interview data indicated that they joined the page in either Grade 7 or Grade 8 and they use Facebook either “about the same or more than they used to.” Additionally, students hoped that other staff members would be encouraged to start professional Facebook pages. My conclusions were: • Facebook use increases through the grades as students become more accustomed to its use. • Facebook is a way to reach out to vulnerable students • Students view the social component of Facebook just as important as the curriculum component • Poor school computers and slow wireless limits the potential of students using the site during school hours. Most students access Facebook from their own devices and at home • Privacy is a concern, however if used so that student anonymity is maintained these concerns can be minimalized • Effective communication and connectedness with all stakeholders is the most profound effect of using Facebook • Administrative support is one key component of starting a professional Facebook Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 60 page • There are many yet to be discovered uses of social media and Facebook in particular Using Facebook in my practice provides me with an alternative mode of pedagogical delivery that of social media. At the same time, it enables me to have my lessons reflect my curricular, pedagogical and personal teaching goals with respect to current food trends, global and local food production, nutrition and changing lifestyles. For example, I have posted the pages of local markets, the amount of sugar in popular beverages, contests for Earth Day and healthy snack ideas. Finally, if, as a curriculum area, Home Economics “facilitates students to discover and further develop their own resources and capabilities to be used in their personal life” (IFHE, 2008), it makes sense that the use of new and popular technologies like social media, and more specifically Facebook, be encouraged as an extension of traditional classroom instruction. Significance of the Research Home economics education has long been criticized for its technical, “how to” focus due to its hands on practical nature (Brown, 1980). Many have advocated moving beyond the technical instrumental mode to including communicative action and critical thinking (Brown & Paolucci, 1979; Brown, 1980). Brown and Paolucci (1979) articulated the following mission statement, which has been broadly accepted in the field: The mission of Home Economics is to enable families, both as individual units and generally as a social institution, to build and maintain systems of action, which lead to 1) maturing in individual self-formation and 2) to enlightened, Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 61 cooperative participation in the critique and formulation of social goals and means for accomplishing them (p. 23). Facebook as a curricular and pedagogical extension of classroom activities offers much potential for expanding communicative action (Montgomery, 2008; Laster, 2008), in particular, as that is the whole emphasis of social media. The key concepts of social media – participation, openness, conversation, community, and connectedness - all speak to the development of communicative action described by Brown (1980) as including “development of competence in ordinary language, interpretations of the world…in the use of language to reach understanding” (p. 85). Using social media such as Facebook is supportive of using differentiated learning in the classroom. Differentiated instruction is based on the belief that students are unique “individuals who differ according to personal interests, learning styles, and levels of readiness; therefore, teachers should plan for, develop, and adjust curriculum, instruction, and assessment according to student variance” (Rich & Gajda, 2006, p. 287). In this study it was a vulnerable group, the First Nations students, who responded the most to Facebook as a method of differentiating learning. Limitations of this Research Project. While this study yielded some positive results for using Facebook in the Home Economics Classroom, the limitations of the study must also be addressed. Most notably, the study consisted of only five student volunteer interview participants and five staff volunteer interview participants. These staff members were interviewed as “critical friends” during the data collection phase cycle. This number of sources might not be Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 62 considered a powerful data set despite the consistent results. Moreover, all participants volunteered to be part of the study. It is not possible to say exactly why the participants chose to volunteer. Perhaps, in the case of student volunteers, it was simply a continuation of the relationships that had been developed over three years of Home Economics instruction and no further examination is warranted. The possibility exists that staff volunteers chose to be participants because they enjoy working together in an environment where improvement to teaching practices are encouraged and supported by administration. I have also considered that my enthusiasm for Facebook as an educational tool that I shared with students and staff and the “buzz” created by its use by both students and staff was encouragement for staff and students to become volunteers. Perhaps, as stated previously, it was simply my personal motivation and positive relationships that I developed with my students and over the years that made volunteering possible. I have also considered that both staff and students might also have participated out of a feeling of obligation, friendship, or simply because their friends participated. Finally, there may be equally enthusiastic students who did not participate because they had something else to do during the time of the study. I have considered that using Facebook, conducting teacher inquiry and reporting on the process has encompassed not only my teaching practice but also the learning of my students. From the transmissive toward the reflexive curricular orientations, using Facebook has the potential to fulfill all of the systems of action of the mission of home economics. I have seen this potential in my practice and reported my findings in this paper but because the potential future uses for Facebook as a pedagogical and curricular tool are not yet known there are possibilities yet to be explored. Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 63 Recommendations for Further Research Facebook use has enabled me to build teacher-student relationships that go beyond the walls of the regular classroom setting. A surprise in my research project was the positive response of First Nations students to the use of social media to support classroom learning. Further research on whether this is the case in other schools would give valuable insights into how to address the issue of lack of success of aboriginal students in the public school system. It would also be useful to understand why and whether there is a relationship to the systemic racism within the school system and their choice to use social media to participate in preference to a classroom setting. Moreover, as I only used Facebook in Foods and Nutrition classes it would be interesting to see if it applies to other disciplines of Home Economics like Textiles and Family Studies classes. Furthermore my study involved only elective classes; no mainstream academic classes and teachers were involved. I considered only Facebook in my study and not newer or alternative forms of popular social media like: Whisper, Twitter, Pinterest, Flickr, Snapchat and Linkedin etc. Furthermore, I did not consider what would happen if the popularity of Facebook wanes as its novelty wears off. Finally, what I describe as expanding my curriculum outside my classroom does not require Facebook; it can be done in many other ways too. There are central points to consider about social media; that it is accessible outside school hours – that it treats all students equally and does not discriminate (unless they do not have a home computer, iPhone or other hand held device) but does it really replace face to face relationships with students? Conclusion By utilizing Facebook in my teaching practice and conducting inquiry-based research on Facebook in the Home Economics Classroom I attempted, as a novice Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 64 researcher, to transform my practice and the way I approach curriculum and pedagogy. It has been a process by which I am able to satisfy my obligation to seek to improve the learning situation, not only for myself, but also for my students. My teacher inquiry project, answered for me: How do we as educators transform, when Education is essentially a political act set in Ministry developed IRP’s by subject and grade level? Years of transmissive only education, the regurgitation and memorization of facts, has stifled critical thinking and restricted education from being a reciprocal act. Transformative education enables both teacher and student to learn from each other, thus nulling power positions that may exist in the classroom. McGregor (2004) had an epiphany after she began to examine “power relationships in society” (p.7). By giving up some power in my practice and allowing students to have more say and choice in their education, I have enabled students to move from an instrumental-technical focus to a more transformative-emancipatory focus. Furthermore, by acknowledging these power relationships take place, I, like McGregor, feel that I have been able to make a profound difference in the lives of my students who were in turn able to take an active role in developing transformational curriculum. Additionally, like McGregor, I now refer to students as “co-learners” (p.10). Chandler (2012) writes, “[E]ducation possesses a certain mutuality in its communal experience, that it requires all the participants to have a voice” (p.8). What then could impinge on transformative possibilities? Chandler suggests that the very politicians and capitalists who are responsible for transformation of education are motivated by their desire to assure their position in politics and less by the opportunity to make learners the primary concern (p.6). My final thought on this comes directly from Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 65 the Home Economics (2007) IRP that states, “Schools have the responsibility to ensure that all Prescribed Learning Outcomes in this curriculum are met; however, schools [Teachers] have flexibility in determining how delivery of the curriculum can best take place” (p.19). In Chapter 5, Summary, Limitations and Recommendations for further Research, I outlined and explored how Facebook has the potential to transform existing educational situations both curricularly and pedagogically. I am enthusiastic that all participants had greater input into the inquiry process, potentially leading to an improved educational experience for all stakeholders. My teacher inquiry, Understanding the Use of Facebook in the Home Economics Classroom, gave me the opportunity for the continued informing and transforming my practice. In Chapter 6 Reflections, I will further the dialogue about the teacher inquiry process, what I learned about myself as a teacher, learner and the educational process. Furthermore I will continue the discussion about the goals and purposes of education, where I come from and where I want to go. CHAPTER 6 Reflections Introduction In Chapter 5, I summarized my teacher inquiry, Understanding the Use of Facebook in the Home Economics Classroom, including the implications and recommendations for further study. In Chapter 6, I will reflect on the process – What I Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 66 have learned while conducting my inquiry including information about myself, being a teacher and learner and about the educational process. Furthermore I will discuss where I have been and where I plan on going. Serendipity In October 2011, I listened to George Abbott, then the B.C. Minister of Education, when he said, “We need to shift the way we look at teaching and learning” (Abbott, 2011). I realize now that I can conceptualize the philosophical underpinnings of my teaching practice to include the way in which I look at students, learning, knowledge and teaching. I no longer view students as passive learners to be filled with knowledge from their teachers. Rather they are active participants and self-decision makers who through informed, critical and reflexive instruction, become change agents for society. Learning is no longer one way with student experiences being of no consequence. Learning is a multi-way experience. It flows from teacher to student through hands-on experiences that are transformational and life changing. Knowledge is both objective and subjective. Accumulating information is both factual and theoretical, ultimately being applied to real life situations. My job is not only being a teacher as informant but also that of facilitator and equal participant. Participating in the Human Ecology and Everyday Life (HEEL) cohort makes me feel good about what I do and what I do for a living. I can and do make a difference in the lives of my students. Educational practice has changed, as has educational research; both are dynamic. Background I consider myself an old dog learning new tricks. I could have simply finished my career in the same fashion that I have for the last twenty-eight years and been Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 67 comfortable with the process. I started teaching in 1985. For the past 18 years I have taught Home Economics at the same middle school. During this time, I have questioned what is teaching, how I can be a more effective Home Economics teacher, what I can do to be more involved in my teaching practice, and how I can make a difference in the lives of my students. Like many of my colleagues I have come to question what education is of the most value for my students. Home Economics is, historically and by nature, contentious. It is a female dominated profession, sometimes undervalued within both public schools and post-secondary institutions, and clearly needed now more than ever. Despite the aforementioned, I have come to appreciate that Home Economics Education is perhaps an instrumental course where both teacher and student can make connections leading towards a transformative experience. Christensen and Aldridge (2013) remind us that making a difference is always the goal with transformation. They define transformation as “teaching children to care and make a difference in the world while simultaneously trying to make a difference in the world” (p.10). Curriculum is both political in nature and a social praxis. By examining my teaching practice, formal and informal curricula as well as examining hidden curriculum, I have looked critically at my practice and posed the question “whose interests are being served?” The intent of this chapter was to explore and document part of my transformational experience over the past three years and by doing so, critically self-reflect on the philosophical underpinnings and scaffolding of my teaching philosophy. What is the Transformative Learning Experience? Aoki (2005) writes about metonymic moments that offered perspective for him on the quest to find the discursive site of living pedagogy; "the site between representational Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 68 and non-representational discourse is the site of living pedagogy" (p.429). I considered using Facebook in my teaching practice as a metonymic moment, enabling me to reflect on my pedagogical perspectives in my teaching practice. McGregor (2004) suggests that we teach who we are. I am from a white upper-middle-class family that values education and work and knows the importance of both. This is my lived curriculum. My reality is at the opposite end of the spectrum from my multi-generational, poverty-afflicted students. I no longer question how my personal history has influenced the direction I take in my teaching practice. I now see many possibilities within the educational system, and specifically using Facebook, that will bridge the gaps with many of my students including my First Nations students. This is now my daily teaching reality. Aoki has us consider acknowledging absence as it can "open ourselves to discourses beyond" (p. 427). As previously stated, I want and hope to make a difference in the education and lives of my students, all of my students. To me this is the essence of teaching, what it means to educate or be a teacher. I believe throughout the Human Ecology and Everyday Living (HEEL) program I have been able to conceptualize my practice. Moreover, upon self-reflection I consider my lesson plans are a blended mixture of instrumental (technical), communicative (teacher as facilitator) and transformative (emancipatory), and I now consider myself a “co-learner” (McGregor, p. 10). Home Economics is always changing, like social media it is a fluid process and responsive to societal changes. One of Facebook’s greatest strengths is its practice of adding new features and information to its site; like a transformative teaching practice, this not only attracts new users and also makes sure existing users do not become immune to its charms. Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 69 Further Thoughts About Transformative Pedagogy Throughout the HEEL program I have made many connections. I have taken my reflective practice to a whole new level over the course of this program. I am no longer just looking at the surface, what was good or bad, but deeper into my teaching. My personal transformational philosophy now parallels that of Linda Peterat (2013) “it really does need to get out of the head, we need more community based learning that involves students in real embodied, social, consequential actions that lead to learning and transformation.” (Peterat, cited by deZwart, 2013). Moreover, “educators can enrich each other’s work by sharing findings around attempting to (re) create sustainable societies in their own communities” (Lange, p. 16). I realize I now have both practical and academic experiences and that I am able to create a new vision for my practice that includes epiphanies I have experienced along the way. I have internalized Bullough and Pinnegar’s (2001) thoughts that reflective practices promote insight and interpretation, are about problems and issues that make someone an educator. Today, I see transformative possibilities everywhere. I have the skills and knowledge, what is needed now is action to make it happen. I understand that a transformative practice begins with improving the life that I live and that small changes in my life affect those around me both in my classroom and beyond. Where To Next? By completing this graduating paper I am filled with an optimistic sense of renewal, excitement, and opportunity. The challenge for me is to sustain that optimism amidst the variety of pressures that lurk beneath the surface of the educational system. There are pressures from society, government, our communities, our employee groups, Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 70 parents and their children; this makes working within the system both interesting and challenging. It is the constant requirement that we do more with less. Classroom expectations remain high, despite resources being insufficient to meet those expectations. Driven by technology changes, students now have the ability to learn what they want, when they want to, with whomever they want, as long as they have access. This creates an enormous push against a system of education that is steeped in time and place learning. This also creates a tension for teachers to let students create their own learning experiences while still delivering the expected curriculum. Much has been said and written about the need for education to fundamentally change to a personalized learning environment for students. My personal perspective on this is that there are indeed forces that are forcing us to re-examine the what, where, when, and how’s of education and that we should not be fearful but, instead, hopeful. We all want the best for our students and by utilizing social media including Facebook in our classrooms; we can build in choice and flexibility in our instructional practices. The result may be that we can meet the needs of a much larger number of our youth than we currently do. This cannot be seen as anything else but positive. Today, the look of the classroom has changed. To the casual observer, what goes on inside a classroom looks the same, but it is outside the classroom where things are different. Education is beginning to shift away from the teacher and on to the student. The teacher role is shifting to more of a facilitator of knowledge acquisition, rather than the deliverer of knowledge. It requires a different skill set for teachers, learning to be comfortable with uncomfortableness. Instead of having total control of the learning that takes place in the classroom, they need to be more flexible and adaptable to the learning Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 71 needs of the students, and how they may demonstrate that learning. In 2012 I started using Facebook in my teaching practice and I have never looked back. My pedagogy has transformed with the use of social media. I have experienced increased engagement with my curriculum, communication and authentic relationships with students, parents and colleagues. By utilizing Facebook in my Home Economics Classroom I have been able to expand my curriculum outside of my classroom. Paul Ramsay, former BC Minister of Education, when queried about social media and education said, “it strikes me as a wonderful tool but it expands roles of teachers and educators way beyond a classroom in all sorts of formats and all sorts of subjects” (Ramsay, 2013). Yes Mr. Ramsay, yes it does. REFERENCES Andersson A., Hatakka M., Grönlund, A. & Wiklund, M. (2013): Reclaiming the students – coping with social media in 1:1 schools, Learning, Media and Technology, DOI:10.1080/17439884.2012.756518 Aoki, T. (2005). Spinning inspirited images in the midst of planned and live(d) curricula. In W. F. Pinar & R. L. Irwin, (Eds.), Curriculum in a new key (pp. 413-423). NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 72 Boyd, D. M. and Ellison, N. B. (2007), Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13: 210–230. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (nd). Social network sites: definition, history and scholarship. (Master's thesis, University of California). Brown, M.M., & Paolucci, B. (1979). Home Economics: A definition. Washington, DC: American Home Economics Association. Brown, M.M. (1980) What is home economics?Minneapolis, MN: Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Minnesota University. Brown, M. M. (1989). What are the Qualities of Good Research? In, F. H. Hultgren & D. L. Coomer (Eds.), Alternate modes of inquiry in home economics research, Yearbook 9, American Home Economics Association, (pp. 257 - 297). Peoria, IL: Glencoe. Brown, M. (1993). Philosophical studies of home economics in the United States: Basic ideas by which home economists understand themselves. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, Bullough, Robert V. & Pinnegar, Stefinee. (2001). Guidelines for quality in autobiographical forms of self-study research. Educational Researcher, 30 (3), 13 – 21 Chandler, W.L. (2012). A reflection on "Transformations". Interdisciplinary Humanities,29 (2), 5-13. Christensen, L. M. & Aldridge, J. (2013). Teaching for transformation. Critical Pedagogy for Early Childhood and Elementary Educators, 71-83. doi 10.1007/978-94-007-5395-2_10 Couillard, C. (nd). Facebook: The pros and cons of use in education. (Master's thesis, university of Wisconsin)Retrieved from http://clairecouillard.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/9/8/5198042/research_paper_tcs_701.pdf Creswell, John W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Daly, K. (2004). The Changing Culture of Parenting. Ottawa, ON: The Vanier Institute of the Family. Dewey, John. (1944) Democracy and Education, New York: Macmillan Company. p.167 Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 73 Edwards, P., & Edwards, S. (2011). Social Media. (J. Zaczek, Ed.) USA: BarCharts, Inc. Fordham, I., & Goddard, T. (2013). Facebook Guide For Educators. Retrieved from www.ednfoundation.org: http://www.ednfoundation.org George abbott mla shuswap. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.georgeabbott.ca/ Giroux, H. A. (2004). Cultural studies, public pedagogy, and the responsibility of intellectuals. Communication and Critical/Cutural Studies 1(1), 59-79. Graham, P. (2007). Improving teacher effectiveness through structures collaboration: A case study of a professional learning community. RMLE Online: Research in Middle Level Education, 31(1), 1-17. Greenhow, C. & Robelia, B. (2009). Old Communication, New Literacies: Social Network Sites as Social Learning Resources, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14, 1130–1161. Hew, K. F. (2011). Students’ and teachers’ use of Facebook, Computers in Human Behavior 27, 662–676. Hultgren, F. H. (1989). Introduction to interpretive inquiry. In F. H. Hultgren & D. L. Coomer (Eds.), Alternate modes of inquiry in home economics research, pp. 37-68. Yearbook 9, American Home Economics Association. Peoria, IL: Glencoe. IFHE. (2008). Home Economics in the 21st Century Position Statement. Retrieved September 2011 from the International Federation for Home Economics website: http://www.ifhe.org/ Jin, L., Wen, Z. & Gough, N, (2010): Social virtual worlds for technology‐ enhanced learning on an augmented learning platform, Learning, Media and Technology, 35(2), 139-153 Johnson, R.B. & Onwuegbuzie, A.J. (2004). Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come, Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14-26. Jones, C. & Healing, G. (2010). Networks and locations for student learning, Learning, Media and Technology, 35:4, 369-385 Kendall, P.R.W. (2003). An ounce of prevention: a public health rational for the school as a setting for health promotion. A Report of the Provincial Health Officer. Retrieved from: http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/pho/pdf/o_prevention.pdf Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 74 Kuh, G.D. (2007). How to help students achieve. Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(41). Lange, E. (2012). Is Freirean transformative learning the Trojan horse of globalization and enemy of sustainability education? A response to C. A. Bowers. Journal of Transformative Education, 10 (3), 3-21. Laster, J. (2008). Nurturing Critical Literacy through Practical Problem Solving, Journal of the Japan Association of Home Economics Education, Vol. 50/No. 4:http://www.kon.org/publications/critical-science-paper.pdf Lepi, K. (2012). 25 Ways Teachers Can Integrate Social Media Into Education. http://edudemic.com/2012/07/a-teachers-guide-to-social-media/ Madge, C. , Meek,J. , Wellens, J. & Hooley, T. (2009): Facebook, social integration and informal learning at university: ‘It is more for socialising and talking to friends about work than for actually doing work’, Learning, Media and Technology, 34(2), 141-155. Mayfield, A. (2008). What is social media. U.K: iCrossing. Retrieved from http://WWW.SXC.HU/PROFILE/NICKWINCH > McCreary Centre Society (2009). A Picture of Health: Highlights from the 2008 British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey. Retrieved from http://mcs.bc.ca/pdf/AHS%20IV%20March%2030%20Final.pdf. McGregor, S. (2004). Transformative learning: We teach who we are. Kappa Omicron Nu Forum, 14 (21). Article 4 McGregor, S. (2007). Consumer scholarship and transdisciplinarity. International Journal of Consumer Studies 31(1), 487–495 doi: 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2007.00599.x McGregor, S. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.consultmcgregor.com/home_economics_philosophy.php Mills, G. E. (2003). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall. Ministry of Education, Province of British Columbia (2007). Home Economics: Foods and Nutrition 8 to 12 Integrated Resource Package 2007 Home economics – Study and teaching (Secondary) (2007) Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 75 Montgomery, B. (2008). Curriculum Development: A Critical Science Perspective, Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 26(National Teacher Standards 3), 1-16. Moock, Rebecca. (2001) Reaching out to the Kids who Walk the Fence, pp. 59 – 69, in Peterat, L & Smith, M.G. (Eds.) (2001). In-forming practice through action research, yearbook 21. Peoriq, IL: Education & Technology Division, American Association of Family and Consumer Studies and Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. Newman, Judith M. (1987). Learning to teach by uncovering our assumptions. Language Arts, 64 (7), 727-737. Newman, Judith M. (1991). Interwoven Conversations: Learning and Teaching through Critical Reflection. Toronto: OISE Press. Payne, R. (2005). A framework for understanding poverty. Highlands, TX: aha! Process inc. Pendergast, D. (2007). Teaching Y generation. Journal of the HEIA [Home Economics Institute of Australia] 14 (3), 15-21. Retrived from http://www.heia.com.au/images/Journal14/jheia14-3-3.pdf Peterat, L. (1983). Family Sudies: Transforming Curriculum, Transforming Families. In J.S. Gaskell & J. Willinsky (Eds.) Gender in/forms Curriculum: From Enrichment to Transformation (pp. 174 – 190). Ontario: OISE Press. Ramsey, P. (Guest) (2013). Education matters:social media and education [Television series episode]. In Palmer, V. (Executive Producer), Voice of BC. Victoria,BC: Shaw. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/user/VoiceofBC Redmann, D. H. & Kotrlik, J. (2009). Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers' Adoption of Technology for Use in Secondary Classrooms, Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences Education, 27(1), 29-45. Rich, B., & Gajda, R. (2006). Differentiated Instruction. In F. W. English (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Leadership and Administration (p. 287-290). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Retrieved from http://sage-ereference.com Schultz, B. D. (2010) Informal Curriculum. In C. Kridel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of curriculum studies (pp. 475-476). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Selwyn, N. (2009). Faceworking;exploring students' education-related use of facebook. Learning, Media and Technology, 34(2), 157-174. doi: 10.1080/17439880902923622 Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 76 Smith, Gale. (1991). Home economics as a practical art: Preparing students for family life in a global society. THESA Newsletter 32 (1), pp. 13-15. Smith, Gale (2009). Unexamined Food is Not Worth Eating, Proceedings of Canadian Symposium X Issues and Directions for Home Economics/Family Studies Education, Saskatoon, SK. Smith, G., & de Zwart, M. L. (2010). Home Economics : A Contextual Study of the Subject and Home Economics Teacher Education. Teacher Inquirer, Retrieved from www.bctf.ca Smith, M. G., & Peterat, L. (2013). Small assignment chart [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from https://www.vista.ubc.ca/webct/urw/tp0.lc5116011/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct Stoller, E. (2009). 100 ways you should be using facebook in your classroom. Retrieved from http://www.onlinecollege.org/2009/10/20/100-ways-you-should-be-using-facebook-in-your-classroom/#.T_L59rt-TX8.gmail Stoller, E. (2012). 100 ways you should be using facebook in your classroom [Updated]. Retrieved from http://www.onlinecollege.org/2012/05/21/100-ways-you-should-be-using-facebook-in-your-classroom-updated/#.T_L6NVc8Pds.gmail Tiryakioglu & Erzurum, (2011). Use of Social Networks as an Education Tool. Contemporary Educational Technology, 2(2), 135-150 Towner, T., VanHorn, A., & Parker, S. (2007). Facebook: Classroom Tool for a Classroom Community?. Conference Papers -- Midwestern Political Science Association, 1-18. Tripp, D. (1993). Critical incidents in teaching: Developing professional judgment. New York: Routledge. Wallace, M. J. (2000). Action research for language teachers. New York: Cambridge University Press. APPENDIX A BREB Certificate of Approval Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 77 Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 78 APPENDIX B SAMPLE OF COURSE EVALUATION SURVEY QUESTIONS Social Media and Facebook in the Quamichan Classroom Please answer the following questions: 1. Have you used the “Media Centre”? Yes No 2. What did you use the “Media Centre” for? Check all that apply Assignments Homework Research Enrichment activities Facebook or other social media Word processing Listen to music Play games 3. How did you use to access the Media Centre? Check all that apply School computers in the learning commons School computers in the classroom Smart Phone iPod iPad Other (list) 4. Are you a “friend” of the Quamichan Foods Facebook page? Yes No 5. What do you use the Quamichan Foods Facebook page for? Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 79 6. What do you like about the Quamichan Foods Facebook page? 7. What could be improved about the Quamichan Foods Facebook page? 8. Are any of your family members also friends of the Quamichan Foods Facebook page? Yes No If yes, who are they? 9. Use the following space to write any other comments regarding your social media and Facebook use at Quamichan: Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 80 APPENDIX C INQUIRY TIMELINE AND FACEBOOK JOURNAL Gayle Abbott-Mackie Inquiry Time Line/FACEBOOK Journal Date Event Significance/Reason for Inclusion 1982 Gayle Abbott graduated from High School and attended the University of Victoria • Education and teaching chosen as a career path 1985 Accepted into the Saanich Internship Program • Completed an eight month teaching practicum, including Life skills 6, 7, 8 with SL as Sponsor teacher /mentor 1986 First teaching assignment .33 Royal Oak Middle School Foods 6,7,8 • A very successful year, many happy memories • Gained experience in field, and taught Home Economics classes since 1993 Full time Foods/Textiles Q Middle School • Experienced teaching in a multi diverse socio-economic school student population • Q is approximately 30% First Nations students and many simply abhor school • Many students are modified yet have no official ministry designation • Many students live in multi-generation poverty 1995 CAPP introduced as a mandatory Career and Personal Planning course for K-12 in all B.C.schools • Introduced K-12 Province with limited in-service or professional development • Many resources borrowed from Foods/Family Studies as learning outcomes are similar • Schools scrambled to implement program and meet learning outcomes 1998 July History of Education Course Q. “Dr. G where do you see FN education in the future”? A. “I believe the pendulum is starting to swing, this is because we have been doing it badly or perceived to be doing it badly for over 100 years, so [hand gesture] here you do it now” (Personal communication July 1998) • This was significant and I have never forgotten the conversation • Despite many staff and district educational initiatives the FN students are still not meeting grade level learning outcomes in all/most subject areas • Attendance, office referrals and suspensions disproportionately correlated with FN students 2005 Ministry of Education introduced HACE • Replaced CAPP • Little or no in-service • Teachers shared resources/planning of lessons 2007 March Second IMAC Computer Lab (30) • Q School has access to two computer labs • 48 desktop computers • Most classrooms supplied with desktop computer(s) • Support room, resource room and library given Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 81 additional computers • Two laptop carts made available for students/staff (2009) 2008 July District literacy Plan introduced Goal 1: To improve success for each student Goal 2: To support literacy programs and services for those most in need K—12 • Using technology and on-line course delivery could potentially help meet the goals as set out in the plan 2009 Professional Learning Community (PLC) Time implemented district wide • Learning outcomes were prioritized for all subject areas and grade levels • Developed family of schools • Collaborative instructional and assessment practices implemented 2011 Accepted into Masters program, on-line, through UBC Human Ecology and Everyday Life • Provided Home Economics Educators across Canada with meaningful Professional Development • Provided with an opportunity to increase understanding of the subject area • Developed increased awareness and advancement of the discipline (UBC, 2011) • Experienced “technology phobia” due to on-line/technology learning curve • EDCP 500 enabled me to develop discourse regarding educational research praxis • Developed epistemology and ontology regarding methodology 2011 Smart board purchased through the Mitchell Odyssey Grant • GD, Science 8-9 teacher spent August learning how to use Smart Board • Limited Pro-D available 2011 Summer School-wide Wi-Fi capability added to all SD 79 buildings • All students and staff given school wide universal access to internet and resources through computers, iPod’s, and cell phones 2011 Sept PLC School focus: ~Differentiated learning • Team leaders developed an action plan for differentiated learning, however implementation was sidelined due to teacher job action 2011 Oct THESA Conference: ~ Pro-D “Digital Cameras in the classroom” • Gained renewed enthusiasm for technology use in my classroom • Received portable projector in classroom 2011 B.C Education Minister George Abbott Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 82 Oct announced Personalized Learning. “The World has changed and continues to change and in order to keep pace we need to shift the way we look at teaching and learning” 1. Personalized learning to every student 2. Quality teaching and learning 3. Flexibility and choice 4. High standards 5. Learning empowered by technology (George Abbott B.C. liberal website, 2011) • Sounds magical • Like CAPP, funding and in service is unknown • Considered possible theme for graduating paper 2011 Nov Discovered “Dragon Dictation “ App and shared with advisory students • App that you can download for free • Record speech then App converts it to text • Text can then be e-mailed • Unbridled enthusiasm that I have shown a technological procedure to teenagers in grade 9 • Many students continue to use App 2012 January Discovered JT blog/online platform through THESA list serve “Feel free to check out my blog… I use it to post recipes, worksheets, and all updates for my classes”? (T, 2012). • Considered using a blog to post prioritized learning outcomes “Foods packages/units” for reluctant learners in Q • Students on “in school” suspensions would be able to work on these while being supervised by Administration or Aboriginal Support Workers in a small group setting on their phones, school computers or new iPods 2012 Feb Implementation Day Team Leaders collaborated using iPads acquired through Mitchell Odessa Grant • Consider making iPads accessible to students who needed them throughout the day 2012 Feb 3 “High tech may be everywhere but how’s it doing in the Valley’s public schools”? (“School Board asks” 2012). • The findings of this report could potentially be used in my graduating paper • 85% of Q’s technology is over 5 years old 2012 Feb 14 QF Facebook page is launched • Generated interest/traffic • Most grade 8’s on board • Many “likes” for Star Wars/Grocery Wars Cartoon parody • Students complete home study assignment during stick it campaign and post results 2012 Feb 15 “No one wanted to talk about aboriginal education and in that sense we’ve made huge strides. We still have a long way to go…But it will eventually happen”? (“First Nations numbers 2012”) • Projected increased numbers of First Nation’s would mean even greater number of students without designations affecting class size and composition • Many undesignated students have FAS (D), IBIT, chronic health issues, live in extreme multi-generational poverty, and lack Lifeskills • Need hands on practical skill development especially in the area of Home economics, Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 83 including foods, textiles and family studies 2012 Feb 16 “Mr. Abbott, where is the money coming from for this technology integration?” (Palmer, 2012) • Did not answer directly the question re:”Where is the money coming from for this technology integration”, instead he answered “there is a wonderful program called computers for schools that will put computers in any school” • Schools do not want old cast off computers that are too hard to maintain • Again, grandiose ideas with no real direction or funding for implementation 2012 Feb 17 “Chief A was touring the school and had stopped in the classroom for a look at one of the two pilot courses in First Nations culture and language that are now being offered at the school”(“Chief checks out, 2012”) • Funding available for pilot programs • Q has offered Hul’q’umi’num language for a number of years, reluctant learners still do not engage/meet learning outcomes in a regular class setting 2012 Feb 17 Personal correspondence CM “By the way, I wanted to let you know how wonderful it’s been with Ryan being in cooking 9. He’s always gravitated towards liking to cook (his dad is a Chef by trade). What’s even better though, is that my extremely picky eater is starting to experiment with food. Eating it, and trying things different ways i.e. The homemade French fries. So thank you. You’ve been a positive influence to both of my kids” (Personal correspondence Feb 17, 2012) • I have hundreds of such letters/correspondence from parents (now recycled, after 27 years some things must be let go) who are appreciative of the skills their children learn in Foods 7, 8 and 9 • Conversely there are FN parents and students who abhor everything about school, myself included. 2012 March Sticket line conversations with colleagues gave time for reflection on ideas for action research, using technology, student participation, FN success and on-line learning Parents, “thank you for providing something for our kids to do during the strike” Students, “I really liked being able to cook while we weren’t in school, we won’t miss out on anything this way” • Many colleagues considered being part of my action research group • Excitement regarding Q Facebook page 2012 June Correspond with DA ADMIN Aboriginal Education 2 new computers installed in the “leaning commons” located in the library • Increase FN student success rates • Correlated with district literacy plan • Graduating paper/considered action research/focus group/pilot project • Additional space made available for supervised, small group computer access December 2012 Aha moment~students unable to access Media Centre hard drive. All digital assignments loaded up as albums on the Q F FB page. • Most students able to access information • Rep. hockey players able to do assignment on smart phones at tournament as arena had Wi-Fi Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 84 Facebook Journal Decide to change the focus of my Graduating paper to Facebook in the Home Economics Classroom September-June FB albums being used by B H for resource room ‘designated’ students • Interview B ‘critical friend’ 21/12/12 MP Luncheon Evaluation • “Doing luncheon this way moved me from anxious to confident” • inquiry/research Jan 7/13 Block H dem. and FB album Butterfly Sponge Cakes “ Block A dem. only Butterfly Sponge Cakes • dem. and FB reinforcement = best results Jan 13/13 TW Butterfly Sponge Cakes = Gluten Free Butterfly Sponge Cakes Jan 15/13 *E.A “best gravy ever, where can I get the recipe” GAM ‘friend’ FB page • FB school community including E.A’s IDEA *use survey monkey to have students vote for labs * • Transformative learning=more student choice Jan 18/13 K A (IBIT) teacher and J (E.A) looking for JT as she should have been in class. GAM “she’s on her way to school as posted on FB” • K starts FB page for IBIT students • Interview Kim ‘critical friend’ Jan 19/13 A P “might have to use pastry stuff as part of baking unit” • Teacher collaboration • sharing IDEA *SB to use FB recipe albums with Korean International Students *Foster communication *ESL implications Jan 25/13 Canada Cookie Idea-SB Jan 25/13 Start to use FB albums with PeMath9 students • no demonstration • FB photos and recipe only • OBSERVATIONS • S, only second time this month in class and smiling • R&C-too much help from temp E.A (D, regular EA is away) • All groups ‘talking’ • I was able to circulate/facilitate • Meaningful feedback “does your measurement look like the picture”=comparisons • Refer to steps in recipe=reading • Talking to me and each other=comparing and evaluating Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 85 • All successful • Question “who wants to cook more this way?” • 100% hands up =YES Jan 27/13 Visit TR • introduce FB albums for use in elementary resource room classes Jan 30/13 Block rotation -p/time students still able to participate in Foods courses Feb 1/13 Feedback CL re: Blog “I wouldn’t use it, stick with the Facebook page, we are teenagers, make it easy, we don’t want to work hard for anything” -“I can check the pictures/recipes if I want to make something even if I am no linger in Foods” “Should I get TWITTER? NO, FB is public but Twitter is personal” (IDEA that FB has parents as FRIENDS whereas Twitter does not)” FB request for Bundt pans=positive Feb 4/13 ‘AE” new Japanese International student She has FB “Friend QF, have a look at the albums and see what we do in class” Sat Feb 9/13 *AM (FN) posted a picture of pancakes that she made and shared with her niece. • Positive communication/relationship building Feb 12/13 *AE posted on FB how apprehensive she is re:school/poor English -reply from friend “Canadians are compassionate and thoughtful” Feb 14/13 Facebook page celebrates 1 year anniversary -many “happy birthday wishes” Feb 14/13 ESL student (Korea) JL -friend FB and showed FB page -*able to converse via translator • communication Feb 15/13 CC ADMIN ‘we have a FB page, 1000friends, it is used for information only” • I am using FB for curriculum • Interested in how it could potentially used for D.L. (distance learners/sides/map) to get exploratory/elective credits • DISTRIBUTED LEARNING IMPLICATIONS • Possibility for smaller schools i.e. C to offer courses that they can’t offer • ***On his daily “walk about” C sees FN in library using Wi-Fi Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 86 Feb 16/13 Introduced to KW by LS • discussed Symposium and how I’m using FB • she “asked if she could friend FB page” • K provides in home support 2x/week to brain injured 57 year old woman • Has a hard time finding appropriate recipes and they are often too hard to follow • Baking is her clients favorite thing to do • Hopes visual FB albums will work • FOLLOW-UP Feb 23/13 AHA use FB for promoting Critical Thinking • TRANSFORMATIVE- • Take a hike to the grocery store • Count #pop/chips vs. green leafy vegetables and compare Feb 28/13 BH “can I use the YOUR FB page to remind students of Rainbow Week march4-8”? March 5-7 Students using phones to give feedback on Cultural Food Influences (research assignment) • A and Z sent feedback via FB • Asked “Did you like handing in/doing your assignment of FB”? answer a resounding “yes, we should be able to do it more often and in other classes” March 7 ET (parent and FB friend) “you should use FB to promote Textiles so it gets offered next year as a course” April 17 Posted a survey for favorite new Peanut Butter • Not many responses • Bad time for post (my prep. During school day and students not supposed to be on FB) • “WHAT IS THE BEST TIME TO UPDATE STATUS”? evening/weekend April 19/13 E.A. parent/student (sp. Needs) can send FB message that “their child will be away” • Great for communication/organization April 24/13 PROFESSIONAL FB page potentially saves a life • Staff meeting checking FB page • Announce that JR has chicken pox • SB(counselor) OMG just today I was talking to a parent whose child is taking a new drug for Crohn's and getting chicken pox could be fatal • All parties and children’s hospital contacted April 30/13 School Lockdown (gang related) June 19/13 Changed name from QF to MF K R “I’ll message you on FB” Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 87 HB FINAL PROJECT sent via FB and pictures • Transformative learning • learning focus • active learner • teacher guided • learning from each other • discovery under guidance • learning from the reactions of other people • collaborative environment • relying on guidelines • diversity/flexibility/*choice • openness/sharing • learning by others encourages • mistakes learned from • learning by problem solving • involving students in making decisions • focus on processes • emphasis on the application of information • many teaching strategies • multiple ways to gather evidence of learning • connections to the community (and globally) • teaching as designing authentic, engaging learning activities • emphasis on understanding and changing societal conditions that impact the welfare and well-being of individuals and families locally and globally Adapted from: Smith, M.G. (2013) Comparison of Transmissive vs. Transformative Approaches Chart FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS K & C S farm to be donated to C Land Conservancy Dual track course • Agriculture (VIU) • Biology 11/12 • Food Studies 11/12 • Based on Sardis Sec. School model Agriculture in the curriculum July 2013 • Transformative (teacher/student) • Multi-grade • Holistic Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 88 APPENDIX D SAMPLE OF STUDENT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Student Interview Protocol/Questionnaire Tell me about the ways that you used the Quamichan Foods Facebook page. When did you become a friend of the Quamichan Foods Facebook page? What aspects of the page did you find the most useful? Did you have any problems accessing the page? Did you use it more at school or at home? Why was that? Are any members of your family also members of the Quamichan Foods Facebook page? What could be improved about the Quamichan Foods Facebook page? Can you think of any other ways that you could use Facebook for school? Will you continue to access the Facebook page after you have left Quamichan? Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 89 APPENDIX E SAMPLE OF STUDENT INTERVIEWS Interview with BH Grade 9, June 11th 2013 Foods 9 Gayle: Please tell me about the ways that you the use the Quamichan Foods Facebook page? BH: I’ve used it for homework assignments that we get in class. I put it on my iPhone or iPad and then just sent it to you through messages so I don’t have to use paper and sometimes I don’t have paper and pen. It is simple to just email you my homework. Gayle: So it was easy and environmentally friendly? BH: Yes Gayle: Now I know that you have messaged me before. How was that for you? BH: Well it is really easy if I have a question or any reminders to tell you – it is so quick and easy just to message you. Gayle: Right and I think you messaged me on the weekend and at night - out of school times too. BH: Yes Gayle: So that was good and it worked out well for you? BH: Yes Gayle: Excellent. So when did you become a friend of the Quamichan Foods Facebook page? BH: I think the beginning of grade 8 – the beginning of last year. Gayle: Are you using it more now or about the same? Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 90 BH: I think I’m using it more now because in Foods 9 we get more writing assignments that I can do and message to you. Gayle: What aspects of the page did you find the most useful? BH: The reminders and the status updates on Sundays for the upcoming week. Because then you know what you have to get done and what you are going to do in the upcoming packages. Gayle: It kept you organized? Did you have any problems accessing the page? BH: No, I don’t think so. Gayle: So you were able to get on the Wifi at school? BH: Sometimes the Wifi at school isn’t perfect. Sometimes you can’t get on any internet at school. Gayle: Did you use the Facebook page more at school or at home? BH: At home. Gayle: Why was that? BH: Because once I’m at school I think I would know what we are already doing and if I’m at home I can check to see what I need to finish or what to complete and what we will be doing the upcoming week. Gayle: OK. Are any members of your family also members of the Quamichan Foods Facebook page? BH: No. Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 91 Gayle: What could be improved about the Quamichan Foods Facebook page? BH: I think it is actually pretty good. I can’t think of anything right now that needs to be changed or upgraded. Gayle: Your attendance is really good and you are always at school. I was thinking that maybe even more assignments for people who were sick or didn’t come or were away on holidays. Could you see yourself using that for keeping up with your homework? BH: Yes if I was away for a holiday or something it would be good if what we did in the previous class could go up on status or something. Gayle: Can you think of any other ways that you could use Facebook for school? BH: If academic teachers for academic classes – say a Science teacher could put on what we are doing that week and what assignments we need to hand in and if we had a test or something. Gayle: For reminders and things: BH: Yes Gayle: So you would like it if your other teachers were more involved? BH: Probably. Gayle: Will you continue to access the Facebook page once you’ve left us at Quamichan? BH: Yes Gayle: You think so, what for? Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 92 BH: I don’t see a point of unfriending it. I don’t know actually. Gayle: Sometimes it’s good to look at things that you’ve done before and be a little bit nostalgic, I remember doing that and all the memories of the Christmas Luncheon. BH: Yes Gayle: Thanks a lot BH for giving me your time. Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 93 APPENDIX F SAMPLE OF “CRITICAL FRIEND” INTERVIEW PROTOCOL Critical Friend Interview Questions Can you tell me your name and how we know each other? Why did you start using Facebook in your practice? Tell me how you started using Facebook in your practice? What worked? What didn’t work? Were there any problems associated with its use? What are your perceptions of how students used Facebook? Do you think they liked it? Will you continue to use it in your practice? Will you make any changes to the way you use Facebook in your practice in the future? Can you think of any other ways to expand Facebook use in your teaching practice? Would you recommend using Facebook to colleagues? Will you remain a friend of the Mackie Foods Facebook Page? Why? Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 94 APPENDIX G SAMPLE OF “CRITICAL FRIEND” INTERVIEW Interview with TR July 11 2013 Gayle: Please tell me your name and how we know each other? TR: My name is TR and I met Gayle in Sept of 2005 when I was hired as a part – time French Teacher at Quamichan Middle School. I was there until June of 2010. I got the opportunity to know her as a colleague and as a friend and I toc’d for her quite a few times over the years. Gayle: Why did you start using Facebook in your practice? TR: My Facebook use is probably a little different. I worked a lot of years as a Special Ed teacher at a small elementary school in Lake Cowichan and I used Gayle’s Facebook page to show my Lifeskills Cooking groups what we were going to make, the steps that we would take and what we needed because it provided them with some really good front loading and it also provided them with a lot of visual support and reminders as we were cooking. Gayle: Tell me how you started using Facebook in your practice? TR: OK – I had a personal Facebook account for years and I actually deleted that because I found that it just wasn’t very useful and when I heard that Gayle was using Facebook for her foods classes at the school, I took the idea back to my staff and told them my friend is using it and this is what she is doing, and some of our teachers actually started classroom Facebook accounts. So I was able to say to them “can you put this on the Facebook page”, and “remind them this is coming” and I need to send a message to so and so. I used it as a communication tool to show my Lifeskills Cooking group what we would be making and also gave them some ideas of what they might want to learn how to make by seeing the finished product. It gave them that whole “thinking with the end in sight” and I think they really enjoyed getting to see what we could do and what they were capable of doing. Gayle: Finished Products – what worked? TR: Pictures – pictures were huge. I was working with students on the autism spectrum and moderate to profound physical disabilities, students with behaviour designations and Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 95 learning disabilities and a variety of other needs. It let them see – it took away that barrier of reading or___ - and it gave them a snapshot and them being able to look at the picture and matching it up – do you have that – well let’s check- how many things are in the picture, how many things do you have out on the table. I think that was huge for them as it provided the visual support and if they weren’t sure about something they could go back and look again. Whereas if it were doing a live demo or if it was following a recipe, it is a little more tricky to confirm your steps once you’ve put everything in the bowl. This way we could go back – we had an iPad set up in the school so we could flip back and forth between the photos to see what was going on. It also gave them a sense of different jobs they could be doing depending on who’s turn it was to do what that week. So, this person is doing this, what is that person doing? It was also useful for safety things as well. It was really pulling those functional Lifeskills into something that was meaningful to the students. Gayle: Excellent. BH, our Resource Room Teacher said that demonstrations were just way too fast-paced for some students and she had talked about the visual as well. What didn’t work? TR: For some of the students that I worked with, they are very routine and rule bound. So we had to spend a lot of time talking – ok in this picture it might look like this but we don’t have this so we are going to use this instead. That was really specific to the group of students that I worked with. The other thing that would have been nice and it could have been up there and I just didn’t find it – is for certain techniques that there is a little video clip so if you were kneading – this is actually what it looks like because for some of the students it was hard to just look at the picture and put the directions together. Some of them have difficulties with processing speed and understanding language so that would have been helpful for really specific techniques to have a video image and then they could watch it. Gayle: So an expansion activity perhaps? Were there any problems associated with its use and one of the things that comes up is technology? You said you used an iPad? TR: Our school had purchased some iPads for the primary teachers and one of them chose not to use it. My Administrator offered it to me for my use. So that was really convenient. The day before we cooked I could put the iPad out and say this is what we are doing. What are the things that we need? Whose job is it going to be to do that? It would have been really nice to have a projector. Just so that it was bigger and it wasn’t four or five people crowding around a small iPad to see what was going on. A projector would have been really helpful. Gayle: To make it larger? Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 96 TR: Make it larger Gayle: Did you have any problems with the internet being out? TR: No, I didn’t. I think our school recently had some new routers installed and we happened to be close to one of them so that wasn’t a concern. Gayle: So what are your perceptions on how students use Facebook? TR: Working at an Elementary school is a little bit different. It was a K-7 school so I don’t think the majority of our younger students had Facebook accounts. I definitely know the older ones do. I think they use it mainly as a way to connect with their peers. I also know that some of our teachers, like our kindergarten teacher, a grade 2/3 teacher and a grade 4/5 teacher started Facebook pages more to communicate with the parents of the students rather than the actual students. I think if I had been in a secondary setting, they would use it more to find out what was going on in their classes, upcoming events and assignments because it is an easy way for them and it is something they are on frequently. Gayle: Do you think your students liked it? TR: Using the Facebook page? Gayle: Yes TR: I think they really did. I think they liked checking to find out what were things that kids their age could make. I think it was also nice for our kids in grade 7 to think – ok when I go to high school this is what the room might look like because we talked about the setup of a foods room because we don’t have that in a K-7 elementary school. These are some of the things that I might get to make next year, so I was able to talk them through about things that they might get to make in Grade 8 and I also think it was nice for them to see that ok – if those kids are able to do that and they look my age that this is something that I can do too. I think they really enjoyed looking at the pictures of food and it was sometimes things that they never had before but they were interested in it. They really enjoyed the pictures – they weren’t really interested in reading much but looking. The visual got their attention for sure. Gayle: Running head: FACEBOOK IN THE HOME ECONOMICS CLASSROOM 97 Will you continue to use Facebook in your practice? I know you are no longer at your Elementary school but you are going to be out and about in various schools next year. TR: I’m not sure how using Facebook will fit into my next positions but I still think I’m going to keep it at the fore front of ways to incorporate if possible because I think it is a easy way of communication and I think we have to remember that it is just a different way of communication. It might not be what we are used to but if we want to connect with our students we have to connect using what they are using. Definitely if I was a classroom teacher I believe that I would put up a Facebook page as a communication tool for both students and parents. So I will just have to see what this year looks like for me and if I can incorporate it I definitely will. Gayle: OK – that answers whether you would make any changes to the way you use Facebook. It really depends on your students and where you are going to be. Would you recommend Facebook to colleagues? TR: Absolutely and in fact I did. It was a great way for them to share photos of a field trip they were on but also remind to them “don’t forget we are going to transfer beach on Friday” “remember to pack, x, y and w in students backpack” or scholastic book orders are due this Friday. I think for parents if you don’t already have a smart phone you might have a tablet or something that you can easily access Facebook on. It’s a quick check – it’s not onerous but you know what is going on. It makes it accessible to a variety of families. Gayle: Excellent. Will you remain a friend of the Mackie Foods Facebook page? TR: Of course. Gayle: Why? TR: I like what’s up there. I like even looking for recipes for myself. There are a few recipes I demo’d when I was in for you that I still make today and I think that there is more than what you can do with it than just making them. In my new position as an English Language teacher I think even just reading recipes is an important lifeskill and sharing that with students is really important and I think it’s becoming a little bit lost amongst the current generation. I think this is a good skill to do with any learners. Thanks TR.
Graduating Project
eng
Unreviewed
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Graduate
University of British Columbia. EDCP 590
Investigating the use of Facebook in the home economics classroom
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