Back To School Tips For Facebook Use

Lunchbox, check. School supplies, check. Making Facebook upkeep a part of the back to school routine for parents and teachers. What?

As students head back to school in the coming weeks, here are a few of our own tips, and some suggestions from Facebook, and  to help keep accounts safe online.

Know the rules

Make sure you know your school’s policy for Facebook use before opening an account.  Make sure your students are over the age of 13, and that you notify parents and get their permission before reaching out to students.

Create friend lists

Teachers can create a friend list called “students” and adjust the privacy settings to control exactly what students will see.  For example, you could allow students to see your basic information but not allow them to see your tagged photos or wall posts by your other friends.

Engage using groups

Teachers can leverage the Facebook group function for a specific class or project, and invite students to join. This will provide a way for students and educators to discuss relevant topics on a platform students love. There’s a discussion board where students can share thoughts.

Share content

Use the Facebook wall within the Facebook group to share content such as news clips, interesting articles, websites and videos.  Then ask your students to do the same.

Discuss online safety

Teachers can be a valuable resource for students by talking about what is appropriate online behavior, including keeping passwords private, never talking to strangers online, and treating others respectfully.

Teachers, Facebook has a page for educators that will keep you up to date with tips and tricks for using the platform.

Know your teen’s friends

Just as in real life, you want to know who your kids are hanging out with, the same is true on Facebook.  Help your kids set up their privacy settings, and make sure that only their friends in real life make it on their Facebook friends list.

Get curious

If you don’t know how to use Facebook, ask your teen for some pointers and create your own account.  That way you can understand the experience, and why it’s so important to your child’s life.

Report anything bad

Reporting to Facebook is anonymous and links exist throughout the site. Watch for and report content that you would want removed — you can learn more about this by visiting the help section on the site. Know where to go when you find inappropriate contact has been made.

See the big picture

Help your kids understand the long-term implications of their posts. What they share online today can come back to haunt them when they are applying to colleges or looking for work.

Do your homework

Encourage your teens to share the blogs and web sites that they read with you.  Do a regular Google search on your teens’ name, phone number and address. You’re not invading their privacy, but finding out what kind of information about your kids is showing up in the public domain.

What do you think of these back-to-school tips for Facebook use?

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Government offers careers advice through Facebook

By Joe Lepper
Tuesday, 16 August 2011

The government has launched a Facebook campaign offering young people advice on finding work, amid widespread concern over cuts to careers advice services.

Called the 7 Day Jobs Challenge, the campaign is aimed at 18- to 24-year-olds and in particular those who are awaiting their GCSE and A-Level results.

The Facebook page includes daily tips on finding a job and celebrity experts will be on hand to answer questions and be involved in daily discussions. Those involved include The Apprentice winner Michelle Dewberry and Reggae Reggae Sauce creator Levi Roots.

This latest campaign comes as criticism against government plans to overhaul careers advisory services for young people mounts.

Earlier this month, the government’s advisory group on careers services said plans to transfer responsibility for face-to-face careers advice for young people to schools without transferring funding equates to a £200m annual cut for careers advice services.

Meanwhile, a recent report by the University of Derby, called Careers Work with Young People: Collapse or Transition?, stated that the government’s plans are having a “disastrous” effect on careers advice services.

Last summer, university and college leavers increased the number of young people in that age group claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance to 301,000.

In launching the campaign, employment minister Chris Grayling said: “We are also creating around 250,000 more apprenticeships and have introduced the Work Programme to put young people at the front of the queue for all the vacancies that employers are looking to fill.”

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