Facebook.com at
Diversity College
Hannah Brown
Jenn Christ
Gwen Schimek
Sara Sheikh
Advisor: Dave McKelfresh
Colorado State University
Diversity College: Overview of Issues
Why is this presentation important?
Based on recent negative events taking place on campus regarding the use
of Facebook.com, we, as an institution, need to focus on ways to ensure our
students’ safety and create a welcoming physical and online community.
Many students are unaware of current safety issues and appropriate
conduct and have no formal way of learning about them. We also recognize
that students need to be able to take responsibility to promote and maintain
this environment.
It is our duty to promote citizenship and integrity within our students. If we
are slowly becoming a global institution, we need to decide what messages
we want to send about our school and students’ reputation. We also need to
determine the universities responsibilities associated with one’s right to
privacy and duties to do no harm.
While it is impossible not to address online communities with the vast
number of students who are using this technology, we find we can offer
educational sessions that can help develop student awareness and strong
decision making skills.
Diversity College:
Facebook.com Proposal
In order to provide basic information regarding Facebook.com, we developed a
student presentation and tutorial for our students. As a campus that carries on
traditions, we must also start new ones when our institution is faced with a new
challenge—like the increasing use of Facebook.com.
In choosing to address this information, we found timing to be highly important.
Wanting to address students upon their arrival to this higher education institution, we
have determined orientation and signing in to the computer system as being two
times where we can easily access students to share information. In approximately 90
minutes, we hope to provide helpful hints, tips, and the advantages and
disadvantages of utilizing such online communities.
Recognizing the diverse needs of students regarding learning, we are choosing to
provide this information orally, visually, and in written format while utilizing as much
technology as possible. In creating an atmosphere demonstrating both wide numbers
of students and administrators dedicated to this topic on our campus, representatives
from Information Technology, the Division of Student Affairs, police, a local business,
and the student body will address this issue on a panel during orientation. It is our
hope that with this information, events such as what happened last spring will not
continue to happen on Diversity College’s campus.
Facebook.com Proposed Actions
• Orientation Session
– In August as students register for classes and
get acquainted with the university
• Online Tutorial
– Launched when a student logs onto the
campus network for the first time
ORIENTATION
Orientation Session Guidelines:
• 1 hour and 10 minutes
• Comprised of only students (no parents)
• Required for all students who go through
Orientation
Outline of the Orientation Session
• Purpose and overview of the session (3 minutes)
• Icebreaker small group discussion about Facebook (8-10
minutes)
• Bring discussion back to the larger group to transition to the
informational part of the presentation (5 minutes)
• What is Facebook and what can you do with it? (8-10
minutes)
• Panel Discussion and Q&A (25 minutes)
• Benefits of Facebook (5 minutes)
• Challenges of Facebook (5 minutes)
• Safety Tips (5 minutes)
• Closing reflection (3 minutes)
Let’s Talk about
Facebook.com
Presented by:
Student Affairs and DCPD
at Diversity College Orientation
Let’s Talk about Facebook.com
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Overview of Session
Brief introduction to Facebook.com
Purpose of this session
Why does Diversity College only focus on
Facebook.com?
Small group discussion questions:
• What have you heard about
Facebook.com?
• Are you interested in becoming a part
of Facebook.com? Why or why not?
• How many of you are on the high
school Facebook.com? What have
been your experiences with it?
Let’s discuss as a large
group!
Quick Facts about Facebook.com
• Facebook.com advertises itself as “an online
directory that connects people through social
networks at schools.”
• There are two Facebook.com sites; one for
college students, and one for high school
students
• Facebook.com does not exist for all schools;
however, they are “working on it”
• You can use Facebook.com to:
– Look up people at your school
– See how people know each other
– Find people in your classes and groups
Elements of Facebook.com
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Personal Profile
Groups
Messages
Photos
Events
Pulse
Search Function
• Birthday
Reminders
• Friends Pages
• Poke Option
• Wall Postings
• Privacy Settings
Why Join?
• Create your own profile and continually update it
as you get more involved with campus life
• Search for other students and stay connected
with one another
• Find and stay in contact with old friends
• Stay informed about and/or advertise events and
other happenings
• Make new friends
• Join groups with people of similar interests
• Be a part of a virtual community
Panel Discussion
• Panelists:
– Student Affairs Practitioner
– Information Technician
– DC Police Officer
– Local Employer
– 2 Students
• Sharing experiences with Facebook.com
– Are you on Facebook.com? Why or why not?
– What advice do you have for new students?
• Q&A for the panelists
Benefits of Facebook.com
• Engage freely, quickly, and easily
• Post pictures/photo albums
• Get help with homework and meet people in
classes
• Stay connected with advertising and messaging
• Provide your contact information for others to
view
• Build a social network
• Have fun
Issues Related to Facebook.com
• Unwanted solicitation
from marketers who buy
your name from
Facebook.com
• Privacy settings
• Stalking
• Harassment
• Surveillance
• Distraction
• Procrastination
• Creates a venue to
violate policies or laws
• Inappropriate groups
• Decreased involvement
and interpersonal social
contact
• Inaccurate information
• Identity theft
• False sense of security
When you arrive on campus:
Tutorial Session
You will be asked to go through a 20-30
minute tutorial focusing on Facebook.com
the first time you sign onto an on-campus
computer.
Closing Thoughts
• Think before you post!
– What do you want everyone to know?
– How will you act to protect your personal identity?
– How can you be proactive about your personal online
safety?
• If you have any questions, please contact:
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DCPD 555-5911
Information Technology Department 555-1234
Dean of Student Life 555-DOSL
Counseling Center 555-6789
Questions about the
Orientation Presentation?
TUTORIAL
Tutorial Session Guidelines:
• Must be completed before using Diversity College’s computer system
• It should take 20-30 minutes to complete
• Students must receive a “B” (8/10 correct answers) on the quiz at the end in
order to pass
Information about the Tutorial:
• Slides will be completed in order, and will not advance until all links are
activated
• Each quiz question will be asked on its own screen and will have bulleted
form answer options
• Score of quiz will be the final screen after quiz is completed
• All scores will be sent to a central database to be used for future
assessment
• An email address will be provided to which questions and feedback can be
sent
Welcome to Diversity College
The following tutorial has been
created to help you continue to be
safe at our institution. It has been
designed to introduce you to some
online methods of getting to know
the Diversity College community.
Getting to know online communities
• There are two most commonly used online communities:
– Facebook.com
– Myspace.com
• College students and high school students across the
country are utilizing these newly-created online
communities.
• This tutorial will introduce you to Facebook.com and
Myspace.com and share some ways to be members of
Diversity College community, yet continue to remain
safe.
• There will be a short quiz at the end. After finishing the
quiz (and answering 80% of the questions correctly), you
will be able to use the Internet and access your email
account.
Did you know?
• 42% of college students say they use the Internet primarily
to communicate socially
• Only 10% of college students use the Internet primarily for
entertainment
• Nearly three-fourths (72%) of college students say most of
their online communication is with friends
• Over two-thirds (69%) of college students said they are
more likely to use the phone than the Internet to
communicate socially
• College students are frequently checking their email, with
72% checking email at least once a day
• 85% of college students own their own computer, and 66%
use at least two email addresses
How can you join the
online world?
Facebook.com or Myspace.com
Differences between
Facebook.com and Myspace.com
Both Myspace.com
and Facebook.com
offer online
communities allowing
you to create your
own web page and
meet other people.
However, there are a
few distinguishing
characteristics
between the two.
Myspace.com
•Can search for individuals based on a
physical description
•There are several surveys you can fill out
to share information about yourself
•Other users can rank you based on their
impressions
Facebook.com
•Must have an email account with a
college that has subscribed to
Facebook.com to access
•Connects students through courses,
clubs, and similar interests
•Allows you to post photos to capture your
college memories
Why DC focuses on Facebook.com
The remainder of this tutorial will focus on Facebook.com for several
reasons:
– There is limited access to Facebook.com, since only individuals who have a
“.edu” or college/university-affiliated e-mail address can join.
– You can get help on homework from others in your classes. In addition,
through Facebook.com, you can make study groups, contact your TA,
borrow notes, or ask a question about a discussion that happened in class.
– You can find friends from high school. You can reconnect with your old
teammate or stay in contact with your best friend who is attending school
hours away!
– You can advertise for different events you have going on with your club or
student organization. Rather than paying to advertise in other places oncampus, you can send out an invite to the entire school.
– You can make friends. Find people who have similar interests or individuals
in your hall who are also addicted to Dawson’s Creek reruns every morning.
Basics about Facebook.com
• In September 2005, Facebook.com launched a
service for high school students
• It typically attracts 80% of a school’s
undergraduate population
• 60% of Facebook.com members log in daily, and
85% log in weekly
• Introduced by three sophomores at Harvard in
2004
• As of Fall 2005, the number of registered
members is estimated at 3.1 million at over 800
institutions
• 5,800 new members being added per day
Creating your Facebook.com Profile
You can choose any information you wish to include on your
Facebook.com page. However, when filling out the basic form,
there is some standard information you are asked to share.
You do not have to include any information you do not wish to
share. Most students share at least some of the following
information:
– name
– address
– phone numbers
– hobbies
– class schedules
– list of friends
– groups
– interests
Being safe on Facebook.com
• Placing your address and cell phone numbers – NOT a good
idea!
• Potential employers are checking you out before calling you
for an interview! Will they like what they see?
• Change your settings so that not everyone can read every
piece of information. Facebook.com’s default setting is “ALL
PUBLIC”
• Charges can be filed against you based on your
Facebook.com profile
• “Personal information makes you become an easy target.”
Officer McConnell from Diversity College
– Women and men could be stalked either by a “friend” or by a
person who could show up at your place of residence (based on
the information in your profile)
– Identity theft
– Click to read a recent television report
By choosing not to add some
identification elements and
changing your access rights, you
can be safer.
Chris Hughes, co-founder of Facebook.com,
said: “We’re confident that our members are
intelligent enough not to give out any
personal information that they don’t want to
be public.”
Creating your profile can be fun!
Challenges you might need to overcome
when using Facebook.com…
• Tempting distraction from school work and can be used
as a procrastination tool
• Decreases genuine human interaction
• Easy to get addicted and obsessed
• Fake and forgotten relationships
• Identity theft through personal information listed
• Anyone can view your profile, we often forget that
virtually anyone has access to view Facebook.com
profiles
• Potentially a stalker’s paradise
• Pictures of drinking
• Falling GPAs
• Could come back to haunt you
Facebook.com profiles
may contribute to and affect:
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Community responsibilities and respect
Self-representation and interpretation
Relationships with others
Roommate conflicts
Personal embarrassment
Worry and anxiety
Violating campus policies and state/federal laws
Threatening or dangerous situations
Candidacy for on-campus positions
Employers’ opinion of you as a potential
employee
Keep in mind the “reality” of relationships…
• Sarcasm – How often do things seem different when
they are said rather than read? Writing something your
friends know is a joke rather than something the general
public will know is a joke are two very different things.
When you are writing your profile, make sure to consider
who you are as a person and what implications are
associated with the words you’ve shared.
• Judging – People can quickly decide that you are only
the information that is in your profile. However, if you
were to write every piece of information that was
important to know about you, your profile would be 10
pages long! Make sure when you read other people’s
profiles, you know this is just the basics about them, not
everything there is to know!
“I am addicted to facebook!”
While there are a lot of positive measures
associated with Facebook.com, there are also a lot
of things to be concerned about. One thing that you
want to be aware of is Facebook.com addiction.
A UCLA student shared:
“I use it before I go to class, after class, and
sometimes even during class if I get a text message
informing me that I’ve been the victim of a poking
incident.”
Being online all of the time can affect things like your
GPA. Don’t spend your life on Facebook.com, utilize
it to stay in touch with friends, and not as your only
method of knowing people.
QUIZ
TRUE or FALSE:
1) Facebook.com is a university sponsored virtual community.
2) You can edit your privacy settings on Facebook.com.
3) You can make contact with people you have not spoken with in person via
Facebook.com.
4) It is safe to put your class schedule on your profile.
5) There is a Facebook.com for high school students.
MULTIPLE CHOICE:
1) Which is not a challenge to overcome when using Facebook.com?
a) Conveying clear messages
b) Becoming addicted
c) Lowering your GPA
d) None of the above
2) Of the following, which is not a good idea to include in your Facebook.com
profile?
a) Your favorite movie
b) Your cell phone number
c) A photo of you and your pet
d) Clubs you belong to on-campus
QUIZ (cont’d)
3) Of the following photo descriptions, which is not a good idea to have on your
profile?
a) A childhood photo
b) A photo while on a family vacation
c) A photo engaging in illegal activity
d) A photo of your favorite celebrity
4) Which of the following is not an option to post on your Facebook.com profile?
a) Your address
b) Your class schedule
c) Home video
d) Your interests
5) Who can potentially look at your profile?
a) Your family
b) Faculty and other Diversity College administrators
c) Future employers
d) All of the above
QUIZ (cont’d)
SURVEY QUESTION:
Do you intend to register for
Facebook.com?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Maybe
Feedback on the Tutorial
Planning the Orientation and
Tutorial Session
Things to keep in mind:
• Additional methods to further awareness
about online issues and safety
• Assessing the program outcomes of the
Orientation and Tutorial
• Faculty and staff implications when using
Facebook.com
• Budget
Diversity College:
Initiatives and Assessment
Ways to further awareness about Facebook.com issues:
• Gain multiple perspectives before launching the program
• Coordinate a Facebook.com safety program during safety week
• Place advertisements in the school newspaper about Facebook.com safety
• Design and display informational bulletin boards in residence halls and the student
union
Ways to assess our initiatives:
• Administer orientation evaluations for the session
• Assess student sign up rates on Facebook.com
• Run evaluative samples of randomly selected student profiles by looking at what tips
from the tutorial and orientation session they follow
• Re-conduct the exam in October to see if the percentage of questions correct
increases, decreases, or remains constant
• Survey students’ opinions in November on safety and satisfaction with Facebook.com
• Check in with current students and local employers in January about their
experiences with Facebook.com through focus groups
• Gage the campus environment throughout the year for other judiciary incidences
related to online communities
Diversity College:
Facebook.com Initiatives Assessment
• These programs need to be revisited and
reassessed at least once each semester.
• In an effort to stay current with these technologies,
we, as a Division, need to be aware of the
technologies our students are utilizing and inform
the task force.
• Until students no longer participate in these
technologies, we must continue to be proactive
about providing information through presentations
and other outreach activities.
Diversity College:
Using Facebook.com: Challenges and Benefits for
Faculty and Staff
Faculty and staff should keep in mind and seek understanding of the:
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Purpose of Facebook.com
Function and uses of Facebook.com
Benefits and costs for students use
Benefits and costs of utilizing Facebook.com as a faculty or staff member
• Faculty and staff can use it to work with students, clubs, and organizations they advise
• Facebook.com can help faculty and staff members maintain relationships with students
• Faculty and staff can utilize Facebook.com to keep a pulse on campus life
• Students may not understand why faculty and staff sign onto Facebook.com. Students
may feel the faculty and staff are spying on them, or they are friends with which they
can share anything, thereby discrediting their professionalism
• Students can put anything on their profile and may be personally offensive to faculty or
staff members
• Faculty and staff should be aware that their postings may affect their future employment
and tenure
• Faculty and staff have the responsibility to share with students that they are viewing
their profiles
Signing up for Facebook.com allows students to search and find them
Diversity College:
Using Facebook.com: Challenges and Benefits for
Faculty and Staff
Judicial implications found within student Facebook.com profiles
• How can this information be used legally?
• What are the consequences of the students who post illegal
actions?
• What can be done with the information found on
Facebook.com?
• Is there a responsibility to “police” Facebook.com to see what
students are doing?
• What happens when students report other students, using
Facebook.com pages as evidence, especially in regard to
Greek or Residence Hall Conduct Boards?
• Do Facebook.com profiles demonstrate student behavior (i.e.
when a student comes for a judicial hearing, should
Facebook.com interests be considered?)
Diversity College:
Proposed Budget Estimations
• Tutorial design and launch - $500 (including
technician employment time cost)
• Orientation session - $250
– In-house technician, rental fees, energy, and
handouts - $200
– Employment time cost - $50
• Taskforce employment time cost - $450 (time
cost taken from day-to-day job functions)
Research and Lessons Learned
• The entire process of exploring the needs of our
community and the benefits Facebook.com has to
offer has been enlightening, for example:
– Issues identified were not previously known or discussed
collaboratively
– Common needs of and services for students across many
departments were learned
– Virtual communities can ease students’ transitions into
college
– Facebook.com sells its members names and contact
information to marketers
Additional Questions?
References and Resources
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Hurst, K. (2005, February 16). "Warning: You too could be addicted to facebook." Daily Bruin. Retrieved 12 February
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Myspace. (2006). "Myspace: A place for friends." Retrieved 12 February 2006 from http://www.myspace.com
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Chronicle of higher education. Retrieved 4 February 2006 from http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i20/20a03801.htm
Read, B. (2004 May 28). Have you 'facebooked' him? The chronicle of higher education. Retrieved 6 February 2006
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