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The Facebook Papers

The Facebook Papers Photo

The Facebook Papers

March 14, 2011

The Facebook Papers has posted a note.

The Facebook Papers Structure
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The Facebook Papers

March 11, 2011

The Facebook Papers has posted a note.

Conclusion
The purpose of this project was to explore and document one approach for integrating social media--Facebook, really--into freshman writing. The assignment using Facebook was first given in 2006 and twice more through 2009. The assignment seemed to help students effectively...

Evelyn Photo

Evelyn Lauer

June 30, 2010

Evelyn Lauer has posted a note.

Student Technology Survey
I saw that you mentioned the technology survey I used with my first year writing students, and now use with my high school students. Here is the prompt:...

The Facebook Papers Photo

The Facebook Papers

July 20, 2010

The Facebook Papers has posted a note.

Observations
When we asked students to write about the ethos of a self as mediated through Facebook and to put that into a cultural context, we were not sure what we would find. We knew we were at an important sociotechnical moment. Across the three years of first-year writing students were asked to examine another person's online identity...

The Facebook Papers Photo

The Facebook Papers

April 9, 2009

These students identify ways students described each other during the past three years.

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Dean

April 9, 2009

James is fun-loving, sociable, and outgoing (p. 1) but friendly and shy (p. 3).

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Christine

April 9, 2009

Darrel is friendly (p. 1), interested in women (p. 3), and has a passion for football (p. 3).

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Charlie

April 9, 2009

Hannah is very friendly (p. 1) and open (p. 2).

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

April 9, 2009

One student drinks most days of the week (to protect the student's identity, I include neither the author nor the subject of study).

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

April 9, 2009

Three students "love to party."

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Jack

April 9, 2009

Dean loves music and the musical arts.

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Eileen

April 9, 2009

"I found Beth to be an optimistic young woman who appears to be going through something profound" (p. 3).

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

April 9, 2009

I'm interested in reading further to find out more about Beth's situation.

Mandy Photo

Mandy Grover

June 1, 2009

I'm a little surprised that there were only three student Facebook profiles that mentioned partying.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

June 10, 2009

You are not the first to respond that way. We focus heavily on audience, purpose, effect, and situation--rhetorical contexts: It becomes the authors' responsibility to describe their peer in a way that retains that person's integrity in public conversations. Of course, if you put that together with the concerns they express about how they could be perceived, it provides another explanation for why their claims could seem superficial.

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The Facebook Papers

June 3, 2009

While such claims may seem superficial to us, they may be informative from the perspectives of the students. This may speak to the level of detail at which students examine Facebook pages, the level it takes for them to decide about a person, and how they determine whether or not to connect.

It may also be that they know that the rhetorical task of the assignment was to maintain the integrity of their peers and, so, they provided safe answers in order to do so. It may also be that students identified enough with the assignment to adequately complete it but that they prioritized social connections over their academic identity.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 31, 2009

By the time they do in-class peer reviews for this assignment, they have already done them several times during the semester. At first students strongly resisted and even groaned. They don't want to share their work, they are not sure they have anything to say about another person's work, they didn't buy their book yet and, so, could not complete the assignment. The in-class feedback is generally quick and students make only a few comments. I'd like them to make more; however, their approach is likely better, as they already conducted thorough peer reviews as homework assignments.

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Jonathan Polk

March 31, 2009

Give me some more insight on how this is more beneficial.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 31, 2009

Students see more papers and, thus, more ways of thinking and more ways to approach the assignment. Perhaps they can more quickly synthesize to notice patterns of normal discourse.

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Jonathan Polk

April 3, 2009

So it actually seems like the comments aren't so much lessened, but more directed. What is the response to this difference?

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

April 6, 2009

At first students make fewer comments and those are not very directed. They write, "I liked it" and "good job." Even though they complain that other people give them vague or "not very helpful" feedback, they try to continue to comment in ways that support social more so than academic connections. In part, it is likely because providing peer feedback is new and, so, they do not have models from which to begin to engage in such academic discussions. As students have many conversations about APES, the unit topics, and elements of effective writing, and as they participate in more conversations, their peer reviews and conversations in class and their writing become more directed, and they become more engaged.

Mandy Photo

Mandy Grover

April 6, 2010

Students usually read and evaluate at different paces. Have you ever had anyone who needed extra time?

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Deb Balzhiser

April 6, 2009

Yes. However, they do not need it for this task, which is another reason the approach the students take is beneficial (thank you for pointing that out). Quantity does not matter but engagement does. Students pass along papers clockwise. If they already have a paper when they get a paper, they pass it to someone who is without a paper or someone about to finish a paper. This activity is done for a specific amount (often about 40 minutes) of time rather than for a specific number of papers. No one realizes how many papers others have read.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 31, 2009

The Facebook assignment came in today. They took them seriously, which I could tell from their drafts and careful attention to peer reviews. Often a number of students skip peer reviews. This time, only two people did not do them, one of which was absent on the day they exchanged paper drafts.

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Cohen

March 4, 2009

What if we don't have a Facebook account?

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 4, 2009

You don't need to have a Facebook account in order to do this assignment.

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Cohen

March 4, 2009

Am I the only one without an account?

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 4, 2009

*notes that no one else speaks up about not having an account*

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 4, 2009

There are other options for the assignment.

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Cohen

March 4, 2009

But you can't really know someone from a Facebook site.

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Cohen

March 4, 2009

If everyone else has one, I'll get one.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 4, 2009

I don't want this to be peer pressure. You do not have to get an account.

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Trent

March 4, 2009

But dude, it's totally cool!

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Cohen

March 4, 2009

In high school I refused to get a Facebook account. I don't want fake friends.

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Alex

March 4, 2009

You can only friend real friends, then.

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Cohen

March 4, 2009

But I don't need Facebook to talk to my friends.

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Stevie

March 4, 2009

You should do it.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 4, 2009

Again, you are not required to open an account or use the site.

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Stevie

March 4, 2009

You can always set up an account and then delete it later.

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Cohen

March 4, 2009

I'll do it. I won't post much.

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Cohen

March 4, 2009

Okay.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 4, 2009

Just gave the Facebook papers assignment to first-year writing. For the most part, class conversation resembled those from previous semesters. More students use privacy features now, but students generally have fewer concerns about friending a classmate. Here is one interesting exchange.

The Facebook Papers Photo

The Facebook Papers

September 12, 2008

We received helpful feedback from Kairos editors and reviewers. While they made many suggestions, two points need close attention. First, the fact that we found student papers to be boring seemed uninteresting and, perhaps, myopic. Second, they want to be clear that we followed our IRB guidelines.

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Deb Balzhiser

September 12, 2008

We didn't say the papers were boring. Well, we sort of said that but that was not the main point. If the main point did not come across, we clearly need to do some work.

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The Facebook Papers

September 12, 2008

The revision should not use the word "boring," or other such evaluative statements, unless students described them in that way.

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Jonathan Polk

September 12, 2008

That makes sense.

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The Facebook Papers

September 12, 2008

The revision needs to clarify that what is of interest about the claims made in the student papers is that they did not seem to match the analytical depth or skill that the same students demonstrated through their arguments in the same paper or that the class as a whole demonstrated during discussions. The revision needs to explain why that observation is of interest.

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Deb Balzhiser

September 12, 2008

We have worked through the IRB issues. As you know, that is what we spent this year doing. As we discussed last year, we only asked and will only ask for participation and informed consent after grades have been released. We are going to use pseudonyms and stock photos for student subjects. As researchers, we will not examine the students' actual Facebook sites.

Because we had to propose a new study, some of the data that we had could not be used. Some of the data could be used if we could find specific students and they agree to sign the new informed consent forms, but we have been unable to find some of them. With the new study, we have the opportunity to look at the assignment being used this year and next year.

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Kym

September 15, 2008

But I wanted my information, here! My name and my profile pic. My Facebook is public and I have more than 1000 photos and almost 1000 friends. I signed that agreement that said you would use it.

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Deb Balzhiser

September 12, 2008

Kym, I apologize that we are unable to use your information as you had hoped.

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Trent

September 12, 2008

That's lame.

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Deb Balzhiser

September 12, 2008

This may be in your best interest. It is the job of the IRB to look out for your interests. Let's talk more about this when you come by the office.

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Deb Balzhiser

August 1, 2007

ARRRGG!! The director of the IRB committee called me at home on Friday afternoon. We need to go back through the IRB process.

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Sarah McNeely

August 1, 2007

What?

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Deb Balzhiser

August 1, 2007

IRB rules and, well, Facebook has changed and because our research is not yet published we need to--and should--adjust our methods and submit a new proposal to the IRB.

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The Facebook Papers

August 1, 2007

That makes sense. It used to be that most of what was published on the internet was considered public, but posts to the internet were not and are not all public. The research community needed more complex ways of looking at mediated, networked communications.

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Jonathan Polk

August 1, 2007

I agree. What did they say?

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Deb Balzhiser

August 1, 2007

That isn't so clear. It started with "You cannot use Facebook" and ended with him muttering under his breath, "This is why we do not do research with students." Between the two statements were about an hour of questions and answers. Mostly, I asked questions and the IRB responded with, "that is a grey area." While the IRB had some concerns about studying uses of Facebook, their primary concerns were about using students, particularly current students, as subjects, which is complicated when introducing the variables that come along with studying Facebook.

I'm going to talk with them again. As of now, even if students gave written informed consent and even if they want us to use their names and photos, we cannot use them. We are not allowed to ask for student permission to use their papers or discussions until after course grades have been submitted. There is some information we can use in aggregate.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

I'm proud of the class today. They engaged in debates about privacy, social networking, and parameters of their assignment. All but one person talked, and even she seemed engaged, sitting forward in her chair and watching people talk. Usually she watches her shoes from behind the bill of her cap. Today she wore her cap backwards. Even Angie talked today. She almost never talks. Putting the responsibility for learning on the students can be powerful.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

You are now analysts. You will examine the assigned Facebook profile and determine three to five defining characteristics of that person. Part of your rhetorical task is to capture and maintain the character of your peer and then convey your findings to a public audience that is mostly peers but also includes people in positions to evaluate the person. In completing this assignment, as you have done with your previous papers, you will make claims, provide support, and explain the warrants. This assignment develops your research, analytical, and argument skills.

What do you think? What questions do you have?

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Jack

March 6, 2007

At least it is cool.

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Alex

March 6, 2007

We won't have to read.

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Charlie

March 6, 2007

Like about people in prisons or presidents. Or old people.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 7, 2007

Oh, you still have to read. Reading is integral. You'll read from your textbook, and, like the previous paper, you will have reading assignments for each class period. You will read your peers' papers.

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Sammy

March 6, 2007

It is still more interesting than other writing classes. This is cool.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 7, 2007

*notices them packing up in hopes that no one asks questions--they don't want to stay for the last two minutes*

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

When doing this assignment, you are not judging each other as in being judgmental. You are drawing conclusions based on data available at the assigned site or links posted there. All claims must emerge from data and in the papers all claims must be supported with evidence. For the assignment, a person could not successfully judge you as being a [fill in the blank] based just on wall posts or just because of photos. Authors must consider the range of data and then make observations.

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Sammy

March 6, 2007

What if we stop posting?

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

If you stop posting, people can analyze what is already there. The fact that you stopped posting would be part of of the data.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

By default people from campus can already see your profile, right?

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

*sees class members shake their heads*

*realizes this is not a "no," that it is a realization that everyone on campus might actually look at their profiles*

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Dara

March 6, 2007

My account is set to private.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

So if you do not have your profile set to private, and people on campus can already see your profile, wouldn't this assignment be asking you and others to do what they can already do?

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Dara, do you mind if someone in class friends you? Otherwise, instead of analyzing your page for the assignment the person assigned to you can analyze mine, or we can do something different.

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Dara

March 6, 2007

Someone from class can friend me.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 7, 2007

I wanted to ask about how they use or how other people use social networking sites.

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The Facebook Papers

March 23, 2009

There were power relationships at play. Even though Deb said students did not have to use Facebook or MySpace, the students were not aware of other options, such as opting for another assignment. It wasn't as though students were presented two options and then were allowed to choose one. Because Deb has the power to assign grades, because students have learned long before this class that that their role as a student is to follow the instructor, because only one option was presented, and because selecting an option different than their peers does not seem like a choice, students may not have believed there was really a choice--even if from Deb's perspective there was an alternate.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 23, 2009

All true. I could have made it more explicit that my questions were designed as catalysts for thoughts and discussions about uses of technology and not to coerce students into using Facebook. Intellectually and emotionally, telling students that I plan to confront their ideas and then doing so is different from confronting them without warning.

In the first scenario, students play out a script that seems to demonstrate their intellect and they can do so in detached ways: I say something, teacher asks a question from a different perspective, I show that I understand by adjusting my response even if I do not believe what I am saying.

In the second scenario, the confrontation is unexpected and, thus, there is at least a fraction of time from which the speaker (student or teacher) reacts with heightened emotion, and that reaction gives rise not to canned answers but a need to examine the more primal response. Therefore, while a different approach might have helped students understand the purpose of the assignment better or at a much earlier stage, it also might have sacrificed the spontaneity and honesty of those initial conversations. Each approach can be used for different needs.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 23, 2009

Our, or, errr, my comments are getting long. I'm between textual worlds.

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Jonathan Polk

May 20, 2010

It will be important for an instructor considering this assignment to plan for a student who doesn't wish to allow others to view his/her account, for privacy or personal reasons. While Deb's plan is to have that student evaluate her own account, power structures in the classroom could make such an arrangement problematic.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

June 1, 2010

Good point, Jonathan. I'll have to also consider additional changes based on changes up until that semester. Perhaps I will also have to consider if Facebook is the place to examine reading, writing, and identification.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Do those of you without Facebook accounts use MySpace?

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Sammy

March 6, 2007

I don't have a Facebook, so maybe I can do your Myspace.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

So three of you are going to analyze MySpace pages. Sammy, you said you would do mine. You are all okay with this? You are not required to use any of these.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

So you are good with this? Great. If you two exchange MySpace accounts, that would be good, and here is my MySpace Page.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Do you look at just one of these parts of Facebook when deciding if you want to be that person's friend?

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Darrel

March 6, 2007

Photos?

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Is that it?

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Darrel

March 6, 2007

Well, no, but they are most important.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

What about other people?

Mandy Photo

Stevie

March 6, 2007

We look at all of it, maybe starting with photos but "about me" and status. Oh, and friends, too.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

If you could see just the status, would that tell you about a person?

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Alex

March 6, 2007

Not really.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

What about just photos? Would just the photos tell you about that person?

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Kelly

March 6, 2007

They might give the wrong impression.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

So what do you do to learn about someone you just met or someone you are determining if you would like to meet?

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Kelly

March 6, 2007

Look at all of it.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

You do look at all of it or you think that is what I want to hear?

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Eileen

March 6, 2007

No, I look at it all really fast. Photos, groups, the wall. Everything.

Mandy Photo

Stevie

March 6, 2007

Yeah, all of it and if you are interested you look at more.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

This is good. Right now, you are all conducting analyses. This is the kind of "work" people will ask of you in your classes, for example. You will be asked to look at something in total, piece by piece, and in terms of its patterns or relationships. You'll be asked to describe it and those patterns in ways that help others recognize them (or, in many classes, to demonstrate that you understand them). You'll likely be asked to discuss what those patterns or observations might mean.

Our discussion tells me that most of you already know how to do this, and that is what you are doing in your papers. In this paper, you will look at patterns of what you see on a profile, make some claims about what you noticed, tell us those claims, show us the evidence of those claims (the details you gathered from the wall, status updates, photos, and the like), and help us see how those fit together based on what you saw (why the claims are warranted based on the provided support).

The Facebook Papers Photo

The Facebook Papers

March 6, 2007

It may seem irrelevant or irreverent to include in this webtext that a student was banned from Facebook; however, instructors need to be aware of this as a possibility if they plan to use social networking sites in the classroom.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

I've given this assignment three times, now. Two of the three times there was at least one student banned from Facebook.

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The Facebook Papers

March 6, 2007

When students indicate that they do not have Facebook accounts, they might be embarrassed if the instructor asks if they are willing to open an account. They may have had an account that they are now banned from using.

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The Facebook Papers

February 12, 2009

There are a number of ways to be completely or partially banned from Facebook, including the use of offensive language or posts. If a user sends too many messages or conducts too many chats within a short amount of time, that feature might be disabled for an hour or up to three days, longer depending upon the circumstances.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Does anyone else not have a Facebook account?

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Two others?

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Stewart

March 6, 2007

James wants to know what we do if we don't have a Facebook account.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Do you have a MySpace account?

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Jack

March 6, 2007

Someone asked what we do if they are banned from Facebook.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

You are not required to use Facebook or MySpace to do this assignment. We can do something else.

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Stewart

March 6, 2007

Yes, James has a MySpace account.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

When you meet someone new and see their Facebook profile for the first time, how do you determine who they are?

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Hannah

March 6, 2007

You see if you'd like them.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

How do you know if you'd like them?

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Angie

March 6, 2007

You look at their stuff.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

What do you look at?

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Beth

March 6, 2007

Photos.

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Jack

March 6, 2007

Yes, photos. Photos.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Is that it?

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Shelley

March 6, 2007

Groups.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Anything else?

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Sasha

March 6, 2007

Status.

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Eddie

March 6, 2007

People just join groups.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

What do you mean?

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Eddie

March 6, 2007

They aren't groups. It's not like people do something. They don't talk there. It's just to have that on your profile, to say you like that.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

What do you mean by "that"? "That" what?

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Shelley

March 6, 2007

That name, they wear that name.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Like a brand name?

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Sasha

March 6, 2007

Yes. Exactly.

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Dean

March 6, 2007

They like that. They want to be associated with it.

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Ellie

March 6, 2007

Friends. Not always to tell about that person but to see if anyone you know, knows them. Then you can see if you want to be friends with them.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

April 12, 2010

Everyone talked about the groups feature and how users joined groups in order to associate with them, but only two students used groups as supporting evidence for claims about their peers.

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The Facebook Papers

April 12, 2010

The students effectively analyzed uses of the "groups" feature within Facebook. Most group sites were not places to engage; rather, they were "worn" like a t-shirt. Facebook later distinguished between active groups from their newly added "Fan" pages, sites that users "like" in order to wear that page. When users click an "I like this" button, they announce to all of their friends and anyone with access to their wall that they like that page.

The Facebook Papers Photo

The Facebook Papers

March 6, 2007

By talking about the assignment the class begins to meet assignment objectives: Students are thinking about uses of social networking, especially their own.

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Christine

March 6, 2007

This makes me feel like I'm being Facebook stalked.

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Kym

March 6, 2007

So we're going to Facebook stalk each other?

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

*notices Kym throwing her hands in the air*

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

*hears "yeah's" with an intonation that makes them seem more like questions that need answers*

*sees some girls sit back and cross their arms*

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

*wonders if I spoke too soon*

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Do you normally feel that way when you use Facebook?

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Christine

March 6, 2007

No.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

How is this different?

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Christine

March 6, 2007

I'm setting my profile to "private."

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Christine, have you had it set to private before?

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Christine

March 6, 2007

No.

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Kym

March 6, 2007

People might get the wrong idea.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Kym, what do you mean?

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Kym

March 6, 2007

People might think I'm a lesbian.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Kym, is that a problem if people think that?

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Kym

March 6, 2007

My relationship status says that I'm married to Sylvia.

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Tisha

March 6, 2007

Yeah, girls say they are married to other girls so guys don't creep on them.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

So people can currently see your relationship status, photos, and posts. People can already decide that you are a lesbian because you are female and your relationship status indicates that you are in a relationship with someone that appears to be female. People can already look at your photos and see that, at least from body language and the captions, you are interested in men. Correct?

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Eileen

March 6, 2007

Right?

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

What difference does it make, then, to have a classmate "friend" you for three weeks?

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Tisha

March 6, 2007

Well, we're just talking with our friends.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

You may be talking just to your friends, but your campus can see and hear you. Is it possible for people, including faculty and staff, to draw such conclusions now?

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Eileen

March 6, 2007

But we don't think of it that way.

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Christine

March 6, 2007

Or they might think some girls are sluts, even if they're not sleeping around.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

*hears "yeah's"*

*sees nods from four female students*

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

You may not think of your posts as talking in public, but aren't your posts public?

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Why might people get that impression?

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Christine

March 6, 2007

Because of our pictures.

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Tisha

March 6, 2007

Yeah, we might have pictures at parties or with different guys.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Does having pictures with different guys or of you at different parties mean that you are a "slut?"

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Tisha

March 6, 2007

No, and I'm not one, but other people might think we are.

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

Just gave students their assignment to analyze a classmate's Facebook site and write a paper about that person based on their findings and to do so in a way that speculates about uses of technology in our culture.

Mandy Photo

Stevie

March 6, 2007

You mean we get to use Facebook for homework?

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Alex

March 6, 2007

Hey, we get to use Facebook for homework!

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

*thinks students seem surprised and look around at each other with smiles*

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Jack

March 6, 2007

Cool!

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 6, 2007

*sees that everyone seems cheery*

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

March 1, 2007

Deb Balzhiser has posted a note.

Apparatus, Peer Review & Self Evaluation
Two activities have been integral to learning in this freshman writing course: peer reviews and self evaluations. Each serves to enhance learning...

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

February 28, 2007

Deb Balzhiser has posted a note.

The Facebook Papers Unit Prompt
Here is the paper prompt for the Facebook paper unit...

Deb Photo

Deb Balzhiser

February 28, 2007

Deb Balzhiser has posted a note.

Context for The Facebook Papers Unit
Before looking at the paper prompt and unit schedule, it may be useful to understand where The Facebook Papers unit fits within the course...

The Facebook Papers Photo

The Facebook Papers

February 28, 2007

The Facebook Papers has posted a note.

Course Description, Objectives, & Standards
The department has a common syllabus for first year writing which includes a course description, objectives, and grading standards that all instructors must follow, including Deb in the course in which the Facebook assignment was given...

The Facebook Papers Photo

The Facebook Papers

February 28, 2007

The Facebook Papers has posted a note.

A Focus on Learning
Learning classrooms can look different than teaching classrooms. To demonstrate this point, Robert B. Barr and John Tagg (1995) shared an experience of a faculty member who was about to be observed...

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Deb Balzhiser

February 8, 2007

I approach freshman writing from within a learning paradigm. To understand an assignment in a learning paradigm means to understand how opportunities for learning are structured within the course and the assignment. To provide context for what students have begun calling "the Facebook paper," The Facebook Papers and I will discuss learning, the courses in which the assignment was given, and the assignment in a couple of notes: A Focus on Learning; Course Description, Objectives, & Standards; and The Facebook Papers Unit Prompt.

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Deb Balzhiser

February 8, 2007

In hopes of connecting the social and academic selves more explicitly and quickly, I've incorporated Facebook into my first-year writing class and will talk about that, here.

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The Facebook Papers

November 16, 2006

The Facebook Papers has posted a note.

What is a Residential College?
Because Deb lived in a freshman residence hall and because two of the three classes in which she administered the assignment were for Residential College, it may help to understand Residential College. At her institution, ResColl is designed in part to help students develop academic identities...

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Deb Balzhiser

November 6, 2006

Because I'm now a Faculty in Residence (and Interim Faculty Coordinator) for our Residential College program and because I live with them, I see students transition socially and academically. It seems that they need to establish themselves socially before they are comfortable fully focusing on academics.

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Deb Balzhiser

November 6, 2006

I'm living in the dorm with freshmen, and it all matters more.

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Deb Balzhiser

October 13, 2006

Deb Balzhiser has posted a note.

Writing, Culture, & Technology
I wanted to immerse in the writing spaces of Facebook before I ever saw it. After talking with Evelyn, I wanted to connect—identify—with others through the site and I wanted to connect— conceptualize—social networking within the history of print and cultural change...

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Deb Balzhiser

October 13, 2006

If students are that engaged with Facebook, I'm pretty sure I need to learn about it. If people are that invested in a writing technology, I know I want to better understand it. I'm going to post a note.

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The Facebook Papers

April 15, 2006

The Facebook Papers has posted a note.

Kenneth Burke on Unity/Identity.
This is the last note from Evelyn regarding her initial interest in this project. In short, Burke (1950) believed that people are born apart from each other and are, therefore, divided by biology and then by social class and hierarchies...

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The Facebook Papers

April 15, 2006

The Facebook Papers has posted a note.

On Facebook & Friends
This is Evelyn's note. Facebook is an online community that used to limit membership to college students, then to high school students, then to those with company emails, but currently, "anyone can join..."

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The Facebook Papers

April 15, 2006

The Facebook Papers has posted a note.

When MySpace becomes OurSpace: Student Identity & Facebook
This is Evelyn's note. "Facebook improved my social life," said Kelly, who went on to explain how excited she gets when people "request" to be her friend...

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The Facebook Papers

April 8, 2006

From her surveys and discussion with students, Evelyn notices that these technologies seem to be more than tools: They seem to be part of students' identities.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 4, 2006

Since our conversation, we are both still interested in freshman writers and their uses of social networking, so Evelyn and I want to explore ways it may be affecting our composition classrooms generally. More specifically, in this project we want to explore ways that social networking sites might be integrated into writing assignments. We want to focus particularly on assignments to be crafted within traditional courses or within those with common syllabi, such as those that emphasize essay and argumentative structures.

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The Facebook Papers

March 2, 2006

Deb Balzhiser joined Facebook.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 2, 2006

Evelyn has decidedly not joined Facebook.

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Mandy Grover

February 12, 2009

Why did Evelyn not join Facebook?

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Evelyn Lauer

June 30, 2009

I'm a high school teacher. I worried about old students tracking me down, and I didn't really get it--at all.

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The Facebook Papers

March 2, 2006

Deb and Evelyn realized that somehow the student relationships to this technology were different, and they became interested in finding out how such obsessions with this technology could be used in a classroom.

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The Facebook Papers

March 3, 2008

At about the time Evelyn and Deb began their project, administrators in higher education realized that they would have to adapt to serve a new population.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 3, 2008

Our campus began staff development sessions about the new students. Our Liberal Arts Council based their talks on the seven core traits of millennials identified in Millennials Go to College (Howe & Strauss, 2007): special, sheltered, confident, team-oriented, conventional, pressured, and achieving.

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Mandy Grover

April 9, 2010

Can you give me an example of how administrators have had to change to meet these needs?

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Deb Balzhiser

April 21, 2010

Our campus has been adjusting to new values, behaviors, and expectations. With increasing frequency, parents come to advising or other campus offices with and sometimes for students to which administrators responded by creating release forms students can sign so parents can legally take part in discussions that involve educational records.

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Mandy Grover

April 21, 2010

In Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives (2008), Palfrey and Gasser used the term "digital natives" to describe those people who were born into a world of fast-growing social technologies. Educators and administrators, who are primarily "digital immigrants," now have to understand that digital natives not only act in new ways, they think in new ways as well.

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Jonathan Polk

April 21, 2010

These new values, behaviors, and expectations are likely primarily a result of the so-called Millennial generation arriving full force in the academy. Paid employment among such teens has fallen from those of previous years, and recall that this is a generation that has grown up in an era that placed a high value on children. The idea that rules might have to be altered in order to allow for parents to attend if not outright lead counseling sessions with parents shouldn't surprise us; the Millennial generation is closer to their parents than Baby Boomers or Generation X were to theirs.

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The Facebook Papers

April 21, 2010

Educational records are protected by The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). If the student is 18 years of age or older, an institution cannot release information about educational records without consent from the student, not even to parents who pay the tuition. If students want to involve parents, they need to give permission. Each institution interprets the act for its campus. Our institution has release forms; other institutions forego signatures and assume that by students bringing parents to the meetings that students already grant access. More information on FERPA can currently be found at the website for the US Department of Education.

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The Facebook Papers

March 2, 2006

Deb first began to realize how obsessed students were with Facebook when she met Evelyn during a hallway conversation.

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The Facebook Papers

March 2, 2006

Evelyn began informal discussions with her students about their uses of digital technology. Student responses led her to a more formal survey that she gives to her students at the beginning of each term. The survey was designed to address topics such as how often students check their email, social networking sites, and their text messages.

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Deb Balzhiser

March 12, 2008

Responses from this survey were used only in aggregate based on three years of data. We did not compare answers by year.

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Evelyn Lauer

June 30, 2009

I'll post the prompt in a note.

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The Facebook Papers

March 2, 2006

Evelyn first learned of Facebook--and other social networking sites such as MySpace--when she asked her first-year composition students to analyze the use of technology in the United States by examining their own technological habits.