Kevin Brookhouser

Like many other schools, we have a firm social network policy that prohibits teachers from accepting Facebook friend requests from students. I get it. The notion of teachers and students being Facebook friends makes most people uncomfortable. If one of my students sends me a request, I reject it until he graduates. The notion of teachers and students being Facebook friends makes most people uncomfortable. Naturally, when teachers get a similar notification in Google Plus, they also may feel that same uncomfortable impulse. However, there is no “reject” button when G+ notifies us that a student has added us to his circles. So what does it mean? It depends on how you use Google Plus. I have a Google+ account but I never post anything Poor Google+, most people don’t use it very much. If you’re not in the habit of posting articles, photos, or status updates to Google+, welcome to the very large I-don’t-use-Google-Plus club. If you’re a member, you have NOTHING to worry about. Your...

For their 20% project, Jackie, Jessica, Julie, and Tori decided to work together to produce a curriculum to teach best Facebook practices to seniors at The Carmel Foundation. "Having a super fun [time] teaching people to use Facebook at The Carmel Foundation --- at The Carmel Foundation" After weeks of developing slides, resource materials, and an outline, the day came to take over the computer lab at TFC. Over a dozen eager participants showed up. The group covered topics such as creating a secure password, making sure private posts stay private, and maintaining general Facebook etiquette. They even taught me (a long-time Facebook trainer) about the "Only Me" feature in the status window. I'd never noticed it, but users can treat the Facebook timeline as a personal journal, but, as the students urge, "You can't forget to select 'Only Me' or your personal journal will go out to all your friends!" The staff pleaded the girls to...

Below are some slides I'm using to present to York School parents. Most of my talk will be about Facebook safety and based on this great resource from Common Sense Media .

A recent article in Business Insider has many people on the internet justifiably concerned. In essence, if you're logged into Facebook, Facebook is collecting your browsing data. To be fair, many web services do this as well, but among all of the corporations who do, Facebook is the one I trust the least. If you don't want Facebook collecting your data, there are two very simple solutions.  This guy is in charge of the company that is watching you. Photo by Elaine Chan and Pricilla Chan released with a Creative Commons License Don't use Facebook. According to The Onion, only four people in the world actually enjoy using Facebook . If you're like me and you're not yet ready to quit Facebook, then here's a very simple way to prevent Facebook from collecting your browsing data.  Download Chrome . With Chrome open, click "File" > "New Incognito Window." Log in to Facebook.  Keeping Facebook in a separate incognito window...

Dear Students and Parents of the York School 10th Grade Class, I hope you all had an adventurous and energizing summer. I wanted to write to introduce myself and let you know a little bit about one of the unusual projects we’ll be taking on this year in English III. In 2011 we began The 20% Project in English III. This is a major project-based-learning assignment that spans the entire school year and encourages students to pursue a creative interest they would otherwise not experience in our academic program at York. Before I get into the details of the project, I want to explain why we’re asking students to participate in this activity. For over 20 years a trend in education has been gaining momentum that suggests the role of the teacher ought to shift away from an industrial model where the teacher stands in the front of the classroom to dispense knowledge through lectures, and the students sit to consume the information. Rather than being the “sage on the stage...

Photo licensed for reuse by mahalie on flickr According to my Facebook news feed this morning, last night was St. Patrick's Day, and it looks like some folks had a good time. Other folks? I don't judge. Much. Not long ago young people could mostly escape indiscretion's ephemera. Now, we all leave a permanent digital footprint, whether we want to or not. Even if your students have mastered Facebook's arcane privacy settings (they probably haven't) anything posted digitally can be duplicated again, again, and again. Students today need to know that the web holds all kinds of personal information that college admissions officers and employers access and use to make judgements. This "digital footprint" can help them or hurt them. Managing an online reputation is much more than avoiding cameras at parties. Students also need to know that they must present themselves as an authentic good citizen. Some may go so far to argue that an empty digital foot...