Both sites have been unblocked in a move by the school to give students a combination of more freedom and responsibility, much like the newly relaxed cell phone policy.
Principal Mr. Larkin is putting this new trust into students’ hands in hopes that classrooms make good use of these sites, like some teachers have already done. In terms of academic use of Facebook, he says, “We have not reached the tip of the iceberg in benefits.”
BHS has a Facebook page and Larkin felt the school was contradicting itself by putting up a Facebook page but not allowing students access to it.
Teachers have mixed feelings about Facebook. Some, such as Mr. Miller, find no educational purpose for it at all. Others, such as Mr. Woodbury, are happy to see it unblocked.
“It’s ridiculous to block Facebook,” Mr. Woodbury says. “All students know how to get past it. Blocking websites is setting us up to break a rule.”
Sophomore Monique Braga says, “Once one person knows the password, it spreads like wildfire.”
Even if they agree with unblocking Facebook, some teachers aren’t yet sure how they’ll use it. “We’re not using it educationally right now,” Mr. Woodbury says, “but there definitely are educational ways.”
Mr. Larkin has a list of “100 uses for Facebook in the classroom” that he is thinking about sending to BHS teachers, who he knows need time to adapt to the technology. “We have very strong teachers here and if there isn’t a way to use these technology tools here, it can’t be done,” he says.
Ryan Knox a sophomore agrees with the decision. “I think people do less work in class anyways, but they’re just going to hack into it so there’s really no point in blocking it,” he says.
On the opposite end sits Chris Coe, who says, “It’s all people do: play games and go on Facebook. Is there any educational value in that?”
Sophomore, Seth Hall sees it from both sides. “We have so much free time and nothing to do,” he says. “Obviously people are going to abuse it but for the most part [unblocking Facebook] is a good thing.”
Youtube, on the other hand, seems to have already found plenty of uses in the classroom. English teacher Ms. Graham used it to show a video to her freshman class about Emmett Till.
History teacher Mrs. Carey used it to show videos of World War II.
In terms of the potential distraction of Facebook and Youtube, Mr. Larkin says the problem isn’t the sites. “It’s not a Facebook or Youtube thing,” he says. “It just gives them two more options to get distracted.” Mr. Larkin is trusting that BHS students will make the right decisions to get their schoolwork done.
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