Abstract

This paper contributes to the growing discussion on social networking sites and education, and addresses the following question: Given the challenges to school districts and the continuing increase in their use, what role do social networking sites have in teacher education courses? On the one hand, preservice teachers' use of these sites encourages them to become technologically "savvy" in ways that have been rare among teachers in the past. On the other hand, use of Facebook and MySpace pose issues and problems for schools. Framed by the results of an ethnographic study, the paper argues that Facebook has a place in teacher education. Specifically, this paper discusses two emerging but related themes on professional and cultural expectations and teaching. These themes have to do with Facebook and professionalism embedded in the broader topic of teacher professionalism and global issues on teachers' uses of Facebook within and outside the U.S.

Citation

Saunders, S. (2008). The Role of Social Networking Sites in Teacher Education Programs: A Qualitative Exploration. In K. McFerrin, R. Weber, R. Carlsen & D. Willis (Eds.), Proceedings of SITE 2008--Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 2223-2228). Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved August 10, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/27538/.

Keywords

• facebook
• social networking
• teacher education
• teacher education courses