Education and Tech Experts Release New Facebook Guide for Educators

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting today, educators around the country have a new online tool that will help them communicate better with their staff and students when it comes to social media.  Facebook expert, author, and mom of 8, Linda Fogg Phillips, has teamed up with two leading social media experts – BJ Fogg and Derek Baird – to create the Facebook For Educators Guide.  The guide, which is now available for free download in the Facebook Family Safety Center, will benefit all schools and have a positive impact on how students and teachers communicate.

The Facebook for Educators Guide aims to answer teachers' top questions about Facebook – from how to create school policies and the most appropriate tools to connect with students, to teaching parents how to reinforce lessons of 'digital citizenship'. Today's release comes as the proliferation of digital, social and mobile technologies presents students, parents and teachers with the potential for tremendous learning. This guide is designed to minimize the risks, while maximizing the benefits of social media in education.

"Educators throughout the country recognize that social media can have a transformative impact on how they connect with students and families," said Phillips. "Combining our collective knowledge of social media and our expertise working with teachers, we've created this guide to provide educators actionable advice on how to best communicate with students, parents and colleagues through social channels."

The guide provides teachers seven tips on how they can use Facebook more effectively in the classroom to enhance learning inside the classroom and beyond:

1. To help develop and follow school policy about Facebook
2. To encourage students to follow Facebook guidelines
3. To stay up to date about safety and privacy settings on Facebook.
4. To promote good citizenship in the digital world.
5. To use Facebook's pages and groups features to communicate with students and parents.
6. To embrace the digital, social, mobile, and "always-on" learning styles of 21st Century students, and
7. To use Facebook as a professional development resource

"By sponsoring this guide, Facebook will actively promote it to educators and parents alike," said Joe Sullivan, chief security officer for Facebook. "This guide will keep educators informed so they can help students be responsible citizens of the digital world and also provide educators new ways to use Facebook for the benefit of their schools, curriculum and their own professional development."

The Facebook Guide For Educators is available now for free download in the Facebook Family Safety Center, which can be found at www.facebook.com/safety.

About the Authors

Linda Fogg Phillips

Linda Fogg Phillips is the mother of eight children ranging in age from 12 to 27. She is a Facebook expert, author and public speaker. She has authored The Facebook Guide for Parents and co-authored Facebook for Parents: Answers to the Top 25 Questions. She is currently writing a Facebook curriculum for the Online Therapy Institute.

At schools and organizations across the country, Linda gives keynote talks and hands-on workshops. She has the ability to engage educators, parents, and students. She has been consulted about Facebook on ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN. On Fox News in Las Vegas, Linda is the expert for a bi-weekly TV segment about Facebook.

For more, see www.FacebookForParents.org and LindaFoggPhillips.com

Derek E. Baird, M.A.

Derek E. Baird is best known for his work in educational media, online community and understanding how kids, parents and teachers use the social web. He advises technology, education and media companies how to connect with youth on the web. He has conducted professional development workshops and designed social media and anti-bullying curriculum for teacher and corporate education programs in the United States, Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Derek has authored several articles and book chapters that have appeared in U.S. and international publications. He has taught educational technology courses at Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP).

For more, see www.debaird.net.

BJ Fogg, Ph.D.

Dr. BJ Fogg directs the Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University. A psychologist and innovator, he was the first to teach university courses about Facebook, including a course on Facebook Apps and one on the Psychology of Facebook.

Fogg has created a new model of human behavior that is changing how industry teams design products for everyday people. He has authored and edited books about how technology changes people's behavior. Fortune Magazine selected Fogg as a "New Guru You Should Know."

For more, see captology.stanford.edu and www.bjfogg.com.

About Facebook

Founded in February 2004, Facebook's mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment. Facebook is a privately held company and is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information, please contact Stacey Escalante, Publicist, Escalante Media Management, LLC. (702) 606-1115 or at [email protected] 

SOURCE Facebook