Facebook...in the Classroom?

According to statistics, there are over 500 million people currently utilizing the power of Facebook.  Additionally, users spend over 700 billion hours a month communicating, writing, sharing, and enjoying Facebook's unique applications.  Moreover, over 70% of Facebook's users are outside the United States ( http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics).

But...does it belong in the classroom?

I began a lesson with my own students where they were asked to create a Facebook page for a character from Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet.  While I gave the students a generic template from which to begin their page, I found that most students opted to manipulate the template to fit their character's needs and to add the appropriate information to their page that their character would probably include.  Adding friends, a quote, a nice picture, and some hot topics on their walls seemed like second nature to my students.  And I started thinking, they probably enjoy this Facebook activity because they are part of the statistics I shared above. 

Yes, it's true.  Teenagers - students - are on Facebook.  It is part of their daily lives.  It is so much a part of this generation's culture that those who do not use Facebook may seem...lost. 

But...does it belong in the classroom?

While I don't have the ability to bring live Facebook pages to my classroom, I can't deny the power that communicating with our own classmates and teachers, and communicating with students and teachers from around the world, could have on learning.  If used wisely, the possibilities for learning are endless.  If expectations of learning are set high, students will see the power of Facebook as a tool to enhance their learning...not just a tool to catch their friend's latest relationship status. 

In the end, bring it on!  Facebook doesn't seem to be going away any time soon, so why not enjoy the opportunities it affords us all.