{"id":245,"date":"2009-04-20T14:00:47","date_gmt":"2009-04-20T21:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/blog\/?p=245"},"modified":"2009-04-20T14:00:47","modified_gmt":"2009-04-20T21:00:47","slug":"using-the-internet-for-your-home-school-group-part-2-facebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/2009\/04\/20\/using-the-internet-for-your-home-school-group-part-2-facebook\/","title":{"rendered":"Using the Internet for Your Home School Group (Part 2: Facebook)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, we talked about how to use email<\/a>\u2014specifically distribution lists\u2014to help you communicate with other home schoolers (and groups of people in general). This week, we\u2019re going to look at how to use Facebook to boost your home school group\u2019s online presence.<\/p>\n

Now, I just realized I wrote half of this article without even thinking to define <\/strong>Facebook. So I\u2019m going to pause for a paragraph to explain exactly what I\u2019m talking about. Facebook (aka \u201cThe Great Social Experiment\u201d) was started by a young Harvard student\u2014now a young Harvard dropout\u2014in his dorm room. It quickly caught on among college students nationwide (we got it at John Brown University in 2004, just a couple of years after it started\u2014it\u2019s that <\/em>new). Today, Facebook caters to more than just college kids wanting to talk to friends; it\u2019s a multi-billion-dollar corporation that appeals to families, businesses, non-profits, missionaries, marketing firms\u2014anybody and everybody who wants to stay in touch with friends, sell a product, or attract followers to their philanthropic cause. In the last year, businesses have begun stepping up their Facebook presence, because they know it\u2019s a good way to market themselves without spending an arm and a leg on Superbowl ads or primetime TV spots. You and your home school group can put it to use for this same purpose, albeit on a much smaller scale.<\/p>\n

That said, I\u2019ll move on to exactly how <\/em>Facebook can help you.<\/p>\n

Now, I don\u2019t know much about your home school group; some groups do field trips, seminars, and classes with students; some have monthly meetings; some are just loosely-based internet-groups that barely have any personal contact. Regardless, the activities your group takes part in are going to affect whether or not Facebook is going to be useful to you. Here are some tips to help you determine if this is something your group can use:<\/p>\n

First, does your group have members (parents or children) who use Facebook? If the answer is \u201cYes,\u201d then you can proceed.<\/p>\n

Second, does your group take part in at least one or more group-related activities (electronic or otherwise) each month (excluding summertime months or holiday seasons, perhaps)? If so, then you can definitely use Facebook.<\/p>\n

Third, do you and the other members of your group want a fast, convenient way to communicate with the whole home school group?<\/em> Think about this one for a second. I\u2019m not talking about the kind of communication that\u2019s quickly resolved with a phone call from one person to one other person; I\u2019m talking about open discussion with the entire group\u2014like conversations about curriculum providers, announcements about activities and events, and dialogue about anything and everything related to home schooling. If so, then Facebook can help.<\/p>\n

Fourth, do you ever need a quick way to notify people about home school issues? Some people only need this type of tool once or twice a year\u2014like last March, when we were sounding the alarm about a bad home school bill that the legislature was considering. This is one of those things that, when you need it, you really<\/em> need it. Tools like Facebook can make this a breeze.<\/p>\n

Finally, do you want to promote your home school group to other home schoolers in your area? Chances are somebody in your group has a friend or family member who home schools, but is not a part of your group. Facebook can help them become acquainted with your group before deciding whether or not they want to join.<\/p>\n

If you answered \u201cyes\u201d to one or more of these questions, Facebook is for you.<\/p>\n

OK, so you\u2019ve established that you want to use Facebook. Now what?<\/p>\n

Well, the first thing you need to find is a person who knows how to use Facebook. If this person happens to be you, great; if this person happens to be your 12-year-old nephew, that\u2019s nothing to be ashamed of. Regardless, find someone who knows Facebook, and get them to help you.<\/p>\n

Next, establish what you would like to be able to do with Facebook. This may be a little tricky if you\u2019ve never used Facebook before, but I\u2019ll try to help. Use the following checklist to determine which uses appeal to you:<\/p>\n

[] I want to post some static information about our group.
\n[] I want to limit who can or cannot be part of our Facebook group.
\n[] I want our Facebook presence to be somewhat generic\u2014more of a place where fans of home schooling can meet rather than something specifically for our group members.
\n[] I want to be able to write summaries for events we\u2019re holding, invite Facebook users to them, and find out who plans to attend and who does not.
\n[] I want a combination of generic and interactive information about us on Facebook.
\n[] I want to be able to update our information regularly.
\n[] I want to be able to send mass updates (i.e. messages) to people on Facebook about what our home school group is doing.
\n[] I want to post regular messages in chronological format.
\n[] I want non-Facebook users to be able to read content we post to Facebook.<\/p>\n

If you only checked the first four items off the list, then you want to set up a Facebook Group. If you checked any other items, you should consider setting up a Facebook Page.<\/p>\n

Facebook Pages (aka \u201cPublic Profiles\u201d) are more interactive and can do most of the things on the list above very effectively, but they tend to require more maintenance. Facebook Groups are little more limited, but also lend themselves to use a more \u201cset it and forget it\u201d format. Pick the one that meets your needs, but understand that Facebook Pages\u2014while very easy to set up\u2014do require a slightly-more-tech-savvy user (don\u2019t worry, though; I really believe anybody can get a Facebook Page going in a matter of minutes if they just take a moment to read the instructions Facebook provides).<\/p>\n

Alright, so you\u2019ve decided what type of Facebook presence you want (Group or Page); now it\u2019s time to get down to business. Get your tech-savvy helper, if you have one, find a computer, and go to http:\/\/www.facebook.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first thing you need is a Facebook account. If your assistant has one already, use it. Otherwise, set one up; it doesn\u2019t take long, and is a very straightforward process.<\/p>\n

Alright, now begin setting up your Group or Page. For Groups:<\/p>\n

For some reason, Facebook\u2019 developers have decided to make it hard to find the page that lets you make groups. Go to http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/create.php<\/a>. It has the forms and instructions you need to get started.<\/p>\n

Fill out the form on this page, and click \u201cCreate Group.\u201d Remember: This information is going to be very static, and is somewhat difficult to change.<\/p>\n

Invite your friends on Facebook (i.e. the other members of your home school group) to join the group you just made.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re done!<\/p>\n

For Pages:<\/p>\n

Once again, the place to get started is not easy to find. Here is a link to it: http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/create.php<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You need to establish what type of page you want to create (local, business-related, etc.). Remember that Pages are much easier to edit later, but it\u2019s easier to get it right the first time.<\/p>\n

Follow the instructions on the pages that follow; you\u2019ll need to publish your page before anyone can see it. Once it\u2019s published, it will appear on Facebook\u2019s search engine, so if someone searches for \u201cCrossett Home School Group,\u201d your page will show up (provided your part of the Crossett Home School Group).<\/p>\n

There are plenty of ways to deck out your Facebook Page, but I don\u2019t have room to cover them all here. Suffice it to say there are more than enough websites out there that can help you; Google is your best friend, here. Get on the search engine, type \u201cFacebook Page Tips and Tricks,\u201d and see what you get.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a (very) cursory overview of Facebook and its uses for home schoolers; next week we will consider blogging, and other forms of social networking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, we talked about how to use email\u2014specifically distribution lists\u2014to help you communicate with other home schoolers (and groups of people in general). This week, we\u2019re going to look at how to use Facebook to boost your home school group\u2019s online presence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[50,14,51],"class_list":["post-245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-tech-support","tag-technology","tag-using-the-internet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246,"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245\/revisions\/246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arkansashomeschool.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}