If you have a bit of time this afternoon (or can multi-task in front of your computer), make sure you watch the 2-hour webcast of “The Facebook Phenomenon,” a panel talk organized by the division of Student Affairs at NC State University and scheduled to start at 2PM ET:
Facebook. MySpace. Friendster. These social networking sites and others dominate the culture of today’s college students, and remain a mystery for many faculty and staff who serve those students. Join us as we explore the “Facebook Phenomenon” and its impact on our students and our institutions. Those of us working in higher education – regardless of our role – can’t truly serve our students well unless we understand our students well. Taking time to learn more about Facebook will help us make sense about how our students are thinking, communicating, and making decisions.
While much of the current news surrounding Facebook focuses on issues such as privacy, security and questionable decision making by students, there are also those who believe that Facebook and other online communities are allowing students to network in positive ways. Both of these perspectives will be covered in the program.
In addition to its impact on individual students, institutions are responding to Facebook in a number of ways. Some have chosen to respond with changes in policies, student education, while others are still debating the issues. Present your questions to our panel of experts, who represent a wide array of experiences, research and opinions on this important topic.
While 4 out of 5 panelists are from NCSU, they include administrators, students and faculty members.
Admission to the webcast is free, but you need to register to give them an idea of how many people will be logging in. Once registered, you will even be able to ask questions via email or instant messenger (instructions can be found on the webcast page).
I’m going to do my best to watch it (but with webcasts, you never know…) and will share my notes with you. Please post comments below if you can attend to let us know what you learn from this event.