Last summer, Syracuse University grad student Matthew Werenczak was student teaching at a middle school when a black member of the city’s Concerned Citizens Action Program said city schools should hire more teachers from historically black colleges.

Werenczak, who is white, expressed his feelings about the comment on his personal Facebook page. Among other things, he said, “Just making sure we’re okay with racism. It’s not enough I’m busting my ass tutoring in the worst school in the city, I suppose I oughta be black or stay in my own side of town.”

Werenczak says that when school administrators found out about the posts, they forced him from the program.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) then went to bat on Werenczak’s behalf. In a letter to Syracuse’s chancellor, it accused the school of violating a student handbook provision that says students have a right to express themselves as long as they don’t violate the school’s code of student conduct.

The letter also said the school broke a promise to provide fundamental fairness before imposing formal disciplinary sanctions.

FIRE urged the school to take corrective action.

Apparently, Syracuse listened. FIRE said that within hours after it took action to publicize the case, school officials readmitted Werenczak.

Have a comment? Please add it below.

A new study by Varsity Outreach reveals that 79% of schools use Facebook in their admissions process – up 13% from last year’s polling. The results are based on responses from 150 surveyed schools.

The social network has become the most important social media option for admissions offices. Specifically, 89% call it “very/somewhat important” to their recruiting, compared to the runners-up, YouTube (70%), blogging (50%) or Twitter (43%).

However, there are still a few hold-outs resisting serious Facebook use. The top reasons:

• Not enough resources to support an admissions-specific presence, and
• The institution already had an adequate university-wide presence.

While 74% of respondents said they use a combination of Facebook applications. The most popular apps:

• Pages (81%)
• Groups (71%), and
• Personal Profiles (45%).

How are schools getting the word out about their Facebook pages? Overwhelmingly, the answer is Email Blasts, which rated a “very/somewhat effective” score of 97%.

Check out the full white paper here, then discuss it in our comments section, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

When Kaplan Test Prep first began asking college admissions officers whether they check applicants’ social networking pages, about 10% said they did. That was in 2008.

For Kaplan’s 2011 survey, the number jumped to 24% — and that number is probably low, since many respondents said that while they did not personally check an applicant’s page, others in their office did.

What red flags are admissions officers looking for? Vulgarities in blogs, photos showing alcohol consumption and “illegal activities” were cited as common offenders. About 1 in 10 of respondents said they found something online that hurt an applicant’s chances of getting in.

Should reviewing an applicant’s Facebook page be a part of the admissions process? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

While enrolled as a student in the University of Minnesota’s mortuary-science program, Amanda Tatro talked on Facebook about “dissect[ing] Bernie” and wanting “to stab a certain someone in the throat.”

The off-campus posts didn’t go over too well with school administrators, who gave her a failing grade in the course and imposed other disciplinary sanctions.

Tatro sued, claiming violation of her free speech rights.

She lost. The school’s student conduct code applies to off-campus conduct that adversely affects a substantial university interest and indicates the student may present a health or safety threat. Although Tatro said the posts were “intended to be satirical,” the university reasonably concluded they constituted threatening conduct.

Tatro also clearly violated an anatomy-laboratory course rule that says “conversational language of cadaver dissection outside the laboratory should be respectful and discreet.”

The court also pointed out that the program relies heavily on donors and their families, and that Tatro’s actions caused funeral directors and donors to question the university’s professionalism.

Cite: Tatro v. University of Minnesota.

Did the court get it right? Tell us what you think — and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

Facebook use may be the most inessential social networking service available to students, according to a preliminary study of 84 students at the University of Pennsylvania.

The study split students into groups and prevented them from using either their email, texting, cell phones, Facebook or instant messaging services for one week. At the end of the week, they were asked what they had done to compensate for the ban, and what they thought of the different tools.

Interestingly, the students didn’t do much to compensate for the loss of Facebook, or use Facebook as a substitute for another banned service. The reason: Facebook friends aren’t necessarily “real” friends.

Students banned from texting compensated by calling more frequently and vice versa, because those are the preferred communications tools with their closest friends. They preferred contacting acquaintances using Facebook – and considered only 16% of their Facebook friends to be their real friends.

The survey also asked students to name “fair compensation” for going without each service for a week, and found they would accept:

• $99 for losing email
• $85 for losing texting
• $73 for losing cell phone calls
• $44 for losing Facebook, and
• $27 for losing instant messaging.

These results raise questions about how – and why – people use social networking. Share your thoughts below, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

Launching later this year, the app will pull data from a user’s Facebook profile to track grant, scholarship and loan opportunities. It was designed by Devin Valencia, winner of the “Get Schooled” College Affordability Challenge, and developed through the Clinton Global Initiative University, MTV, the College Board and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The app doesn’t just use the Facebook info to create a customized list – it also gets users’ friends involved, tapping them for assistance. As a related service, it will provide tutorials on subjects from filling out paperwork to choosing how much debt to assume.

Studies say that upwards of two million college students don’t apply for the nearly $70 billion in federal financial aid, and 2/3 of students think applying for financial aid is difficult.

Is this a great way to use social media, or a privacy issue waiting to happen? Share your thoughts in the comments section, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

Researchers observed how 279 students used electronic media and communication (including Facebook, myspace and other social networking tools) to determine links between technology use, narcissism and the development of moral judgment, then followed up with surveys to determine their self-perceptions.

The main finding wasn’t much of a surprise: students who used technology specifically to promote themselves and gain popularity came off as narcissistic – especially those who actually self-reported that they were narcissists.

Among the other findings:

• Males tend to use tech less than females – but were more likely to use it as a vehicle for exhibition and popularity
• Younger students use tech more than older students, and were less able to understand moral rights and wrongs on an individual basis (as opposed to societal or legal rules) than upperclassmen, and
• There wasn’t much correlation between narcissism and “postconventional” morals (those based on personal principles) – meaning it’s possible to have high levels of self-interest while still caring about the welfare of others.

But the researchers point out that technology use doesn’t make narcissists – rather, self-interested people may use tech to amplify their already high levels of self-love. On the other hand, students who use technology to accompany normal interactions, rather than replace them, don’t have much of a problem.

How many Facebook self-promoters are on your campus? Share your experiences, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (we’re not above a little self-promotion ourselves, we admit).

The number of colleges that use Facebook in connection with admissions and recruiting efforts has hit a staggering level, according to a recent survey. If a recent Kaplan survey is accurate, more than 80% of schools have jumped on the Facebook bandwagon and have begun using the site to connect with applicants.

That makes it more important than ever for budding undergrads to mind their p’s and q’s when it comes to their Facebook profiles. Among the tips offered by a recent report from Fox Business on the topic:

• Pay close attention to that profile picture. It’s easy to see and should never show something illegal or inappropriate.
• Avoid making extremely negative comments. Obviously, keep your page clear of any racist, sexist and homophobic remarks.
• Select privacy settings that restrict access to personal information and photos.
• Be careful when it comes to selecting Facebook friends.

Facebook can be used to the advantage of applicants — they can express interest by “liking” schools or affiliated groups.

Should a review of Facebook pages be part of the application screening process? Tell us what you think in the comments section below — and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

Women who post lots of photos of themselves on Facebook are more likely to base self-worth on appearance and use social networking to compete for attention, says a new study from the Journal of Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking.

The study, conducted among 311 men and women with an average age of 23, analyzed the amount of time subjects spent managing profiles, the number of shared photos, the size of their networks and how generous they were with friending.

The subjects then answered a questionnaire about their Facebook usage. Those who based their self worth on concepts like academic competence, family love and support or personal virtuousness were notably less interested in seeking attention via social networks.

On the other hand, those whose self-esteem was based in “public-based contingencies – such as others’ approval, physical appearance and beating others in competition – were far more involved in photo sharing “as a form of advertisement,” says University of Buffalo assistant professor Michael Stefanone, the study’s author.

The numbers were especially high among young women, and raise questions about the cultural focus on female image and appearance in relation to self-worth.

Does heavy Facebook use always equal a need for attention? Share your thoughts in the comments section, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

AdmissionSplash is a new Facebook app that helps students predict their chances of getting into colleges in three easy steps:

1. List the schools where students are applying
2. Fill  out a profile — short or long versions are available, and
3. Click to determine their chances of gaining admission.

Comparing students’ profile information, such as GPAs, standardized test scores and extracurricular activities, to universities’ admission statistics, the app’s algorithm calculates a student’s odds of getting in.

And the app really works, according to tests conducted at UCLA and NYU.

In a test at UCLA, the app correctly predicted admission decisions 85% of the time. And at NYU, the app was correct on 91% of its admission predictions.

And in true Facebook fashion: Students can post the results on their walls to share the predictions with their friends.

Will AdmissionSplash become a routine part of the college application process? Share your take in the comments box below.

As part of a small study to find out how college professors interact with students online, 95 faculty members from four Ohio colleges answered a survey about their Facebook use. The answer: Online student interaction doesn’t seem to be a high priority.

Of the 95 respondents, 44 of them (46%) had Facebook profiles – and all of them said they would neither send a friend request to nor accept one from current students.

Other survey findings:

• The longer respondents had been on the faculty, the less likely they were to be on Facebook
• Only one respondent had used the website for teaching purposes, using it to initiate online discussions, and
• Four faculty members had used it in their roles as advisers to student organizations.

These findings suggest a divide among faculty over the best way to use social networking as a teaching tool – or whether it should be used at all. The researchers’ recommendation: Academic departments should come to a consensus on the appropriate use of Facebook among faculty and students.

How does your faculty use Facebook? Let us know in the comments section, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

While enrolled as a nursing student at Johnson County Community College, Doyle Byrnes attended a clinical course on obstetrics and gynecology at a medical center.

Byrnes said she and three other students got an instructor’s permission to get a shot of the students posing with a placenta specimen. She said the instructor told her to go right ahead, as long as the photo didn’t reveal any patient information.

Byrnes also said that when the students told the instructor they planned to post the pic on Facebook, the instructor replied, “Oh, you girls.”

The students followed through with their plan and posted the pic. The next day, they were dismissed from the program.

Byrnes sued for reinstatement, and she won. The court said no patient privacy rights were implicated by the photo, and the students did not violate any published code of conduct.

“Photos are taken to be viewed,” the court said, and once permission to take the shot was granted  “it was reasonable to anticipate that the photos would be shown to others.”

Cite: Byrnes v. Johnson County Community College.

Did the court get it right? Tell us what you think in the comments section below – and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

Not so fast.

It all depends on what categories you’re looking at. Here are the stats according to DigitalTrends.com:

• Login every day: Facebook 41%; Twitter 27%
• Login via mobile devices: Facebook 30%; Twitter 37%
• Update status every day: Facebook 12%; Twitter 52%
• Located outside the U.S.: Facebook 70%; Twitter 60%
• Male/female percentages: Facebook 54% women, 46% men; Twitter 52% women, 48% men
• Income: Virtually the same, with the $26K-50K segment in the majority, comprising about a third of the users for Facebook and Twitter.
• Ages: Facebook — majority of users (29%) between 18-25; Twitter — majority of users (33%) between 26-34.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!

Randomly assigned roommmates may soon become a thing of the past. These days, more and more students are selecting their own roommates — with a little help from online sites. For instance, there’s RoomBug, which “empowers students to do their own roommate matching online by harnessing the power of Facebook,” according to its Website.

The site lets students view prospective roommates’ Facebook profiles, which includes such lifestyle preferences as how neat they are, when they like to go to bed, etc.

Students find their match online — all before they ever have to set foot on campus.

“Your roommate. Your choice,” RoomBug’s video tells viewers.

RoomBug is currently used at the University of Florida, Emory University, Temple University, Wichita State University and William Paterson University.

To many, it makes perfect sense.

“We decided that rather than continue to fight against the social media that is so much a part of our students’ lives, we need to get engaged in that social media, “University of Florida Associate Housing Director TJ Logan tells The Wall Street Journal.

Similar sites include URoomSurf and RoommateClick, which serves nearly 25 colleges including Rutgers, Tulane and Mount Ida.

Laura DeVeau, Residence Life Director for Mount Ida, told National Public Radio, “It narrows down the functionality of Facebook in terms of networking. For this particular generation, they feel more comfortable because they’ve connected online.”

Still, not everyone agrees the trend is a good one.

Critics say being randomly assigned to a roommate should be part of the “college experience,” where students are forced to grow, adjust and compromise.

Learning how to get along with different people — and not necessarily students with whom you have any common ground –  is a valuable lesson, they argue.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.

It may seem as if the entire world uses Facebook — but a new study shows most people don’t like it. Here’s why: Even though the social networking site recently hit 500 million users, it’s ranked in the bottom five percent of all organizations surveyed by the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and a Michigan consulting firm.

That means: Facebook is side-by-side with airlines and cable companies when it comes to customer satisfaction. In fact, even the IRS’s e-file service scored higher!

Out of the survey’s 100-point scale, Facebook scored 64.

Here’s how it stacked up against other social media websites:

• Wikipedia scored 77
• YouTube — 73
• MySpace — 63

Andrew Noyes, Facebook spokesperson, told Inc.com: “We haven’t reviewed the survey methodology in detail, but clearly we have room to improve … We spend so much of our time and energy focused on improving the products we offer and introducing new ones.”

How do you feel about Facebook? Let us know in the comments section below.

The website SponsorMyDegree.com provides a listing service for cash-strapped students to post financial aid appeals online.

The site was started by Henner and Lilac Mohr, who both piled up loans to pay for graduate school and hit the web to ask for help paying it off. They soon realized they weren’t the only ones, and launched the website to give those pleas for sponsorship an extra push.

Through SponsorMyDegree.com, students can post a free profile and market it to contacts on Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites. Donations start at $5 along with a 5% credit card processing fee.

Once the site verifies college enrollment or graduation, money is then sent to the campus for tuition, or to a lender to repay a student loan.

So far, the project has shown signs of success – thousands of dollars have gone out to students. but since they don’t make any money off it, the Mohrs are looking for corporate sponsorship to help run the site.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section.

• Be careful about what you post on social media networks: Whatever you write online can be searched and found by prospective employers. Privacy settings don’t mean anything if someone has shared your info. So whether you’re writing on Facebook, Twitter or your own blog, consider the fact that you future employer may be able to read it.
• Limit yourself: Create an online profile — but limit yourself to only two or three social networking sites. Putting six or seven profiles out there will only irritate prospective employers. Focus on creating one solid profile. The most popular social networking sites HR managers use are: LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
• Let people know: Keep your profile updated and let prospective employers know you’re looking. If you’re not in a position to announce it to the world, Dan Schwabel of Millenial Branding told The Wall Street Journal you should come up with a “personal brand statement, that depicts who you are, what you do, and what audience you serve, so that people get a feeling for how you can benefit their company.”

To see the other suggestions for online job hunters, click here.

Any tips you’d like to add? Let us know in the comments section below.

]]> http://www.higheredmorning.com/top-3-tips-for-online-job-hunting/feed 0 http://www.higheredmorning.com/facebook-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly http://www.higheredmorning.com/facebook-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:00:46 +0000 Geneva Reid http://www.higheredmorning.com/?p=5345 It’s been said Facebook is the social media we love to hate. But maybe … just maybe … it’s time to put that to rest. Here’s why: 

First, let’s look at some recent studies that have been done on Facebook. Psychology Today reports:

• Facebook, once considered a socially isolating experience, is now viewed as a positive way of connecting people and helping them stay in contact.
• Facebook helps college students with low self-esteem by giving them a vehicle to develop relationships with their peers.
• It serves as a source of info for college students, such as letting them know when speakers are coming to campus, when club meetings will be held, etc.
• There seems to be little difference between Facebook addicts and those who would become addicted to other activities or substances. In other words, addicts across the board appear to share the same characteristics.

Now check out the stats. According to The New York Times:

• In the last 15 months, Facebook has made the incredible jump from 200 million users to 500 million.
• Almost two-thirds of U.S. Internet users are Facebook users.
• 70% of those using Facebook live outside the U.S.
• Engineers are in Tokyo right now in hopes of giving Facebook a boost. (There are fewer than 1 million users in Japan.)

The message seems clear: Not only is Facebook here to stay – but its impact may be more positive than any of us originally suspected.

Are there negative aspects to it? Of course. But there are pros and cons to everything.

As Pamela Rutledge, Media Psychology Research Center director, says in Psychology Today: “The rapid introduction of technology is unsettling and has triggered a spectrum of reactions, from enthusiasm to distrust … Just like dime novels, comic books, short skirts, Elvis Presley and Rock and Roll. The rap on Socrates was he was corrupting youth, too.”

Let’s face it: Most of us dislike change. And if you’re of the generation(s) that didn’t grow up with technology, Facebook is way out of your comfort zone.

But it may be time to think about leaving that safe haven and start creating a Facebook profile.

Do you have a Facebook profile? Let us know in the comments section below.

Check out the results of a recent survey. About 1,000 professors at U.S. colleges took part in the survey “Social Media in Higher Education” by Babson Survey Research Group and New Marketing Labs and Pearson.

Here’s how professors are using social networks:

• Nearly 60% have two or more social network accounts — with almost 25% having four or more.
• More than 30% communicate with their students via social networks
• More than half (52%) have incorporated video, podcasts, blogs and wikis as teaching tools in their classrooms.
• More professors in Humanities and Social Sciences use social media than profs in Math, Science, Business and Economics.
• Faculty who’ve been teaching more than 20 years use social networks nearly as often as younger professors.

“The overall opinion is quite positive,” says Jeff Seaman, co-director of the Babson Survey Research Group, “with faculty reporting that social media has value for teaching by over a four to one margin.”

How do you use social media as a teaching tool? Let us know in the comments section below.

When a black student at the University of Minnesota Duluth entered a room, two white students described her in racially derogatory terms during a Facebook conversation. The conversation appeared on the white students’ Facebook walls, making it visible to hundreds and maybe even thousands of others.

The white students haven’t been punished yet. But at a forum attended by about 100 students, faculty and administrators, some faulted the school for not having any minority counselors on staff. The chancellor of the school, whose total population of about 11,000 includes 130 black students, has called the incident “horrendous and despicable.”

Should these students be punished? If so, how? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

The University of Maryland at College Park conducted a recent study in which 200 students were asked to stop using all social media for 24 hours.

The students were then told to write about the experience — and the results are alarming.

Here are the highlights (for the complete study, click here):

• They used literal terms of addiction: The words students used to describe the experience of being “unplugged” were the same terms people use when referring to their drug and alcohol addictions. Examples: in withdrawal, frantically craving, very anxious, extremely antsy, miserable, jittery, crazy.
• They want to be connected all the time: Students hated being without social media, feeling the loss of the cell phone most of all. One student wrote: “Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort. When I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life.”
• They constantly text and go on Facebook:  One student wrote, “Texting and Facebook allow me to make plans to meet up and act socially, whereas without these two devices I had no easy way of making plans unless I happened to run into the person I wanted to do something with.”

According to Project Director Susan D. Moeller, a common theme was that students associated loss of social media with loss of personal connections.

“Going without media meant, in their world, going without their friends and family,” Moeller said.

How seriously should we treat the results of this study? Is it as dangerous to be addicted to social media as it would be to drugs and alcohol?

Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Using fake Facebook profiles, local law enforcement officers sent friend requests to several La Crosse students.

And when students accepted the friend requests, La Crosse police gained access to their profiles.

After scoping out students’ walls, police officers handed out underage drinking tickets to eight students whose Facebook photos showed them consuming alcohol.

Underage drinking is a problem at many universities, and this instance is an example of the blurry line between students’ privacy and their safety.

Did these police officers go too far by targeting college students under false pretenses? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

She refers to her students as “the wired generation,” she told The Minneapolis Star Tribune.

So she recently gave them the homework assignment to go without using any kind of technology that didn’t exist before 1984.

The result?

Only a few students were able to go three days — and by the fifth day, everyone was plugged in again.

As Lucy Knopff, a sophomore, told StarTribune.com,  when she accidentally turned on her iPod, “You don’t even think about it. It’s just a habit for me.”

LaMarre isn’t the first professor to task students with the challenge of going unplugged. It’s actually becoming something  of a trend across the country.

• University of Texas at Dallas: Students taking an introductory electronic communications course were asked to stay away from Facebook for a week.
• Augsuburg College: Freshmen were instructed this fall not to use any electronic device for 12 hours.
• Macalester College: A class called “Immedia” is in the works, and it will remove students from the high-tech world for two weeks.

Is unplugging students for a given length of time a good idea — or is it a useless attempt to turn the world back a few decades?

Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

• “Had a good day today, didn’t want to kill even one student Now Friday was a different story …”
• “Does anyone know where I can find a very discrete hitman, it’s been that kind of day.”

A student told the university’s administrators about the comments, and the school acted swiftly: Gadsden was suspended indefinitely for making threats.

Marilyn Wells, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, gave the following statement: “Given the climate of security concerns in academia, the university has an obligation to take all threats seriously and act accordingly.”

But according to The Chronicle for Higher Education, the professor believes her complaint of racial harassment against the school last month is at least partially to blame for her current suspension.

Do you think the school took the appropriate action? Let us know in the comments section below.

So natural, in fact, that their grades aren’t affected even if they’re frequently using Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and/or blogs.

The study divided 1,127 students into light users (about a half hour or less per day) and heavy users (more than an hour per day).

Here are the results, according to PsychCentral.com:

• 65% of light users received high grades (straight A’s, or A’s and B’s) compared to 63% of heavy users
• 35% of light users received low grades (B’s and lower) compared to 37% of heavy users.

To view the complete study, click here.

Is the case closed — or do you think more research is needed to determine the connection between grades and social media?

Let us know in the comments section below.

• Jessica Logan, an 18-year old graduate of Sycamore High School, aspired to study graphic design and planned to attend the University of Cincinnati. But she committed suicide after an ex-boyfriend shared nude photos of her with his friends.
• One Boston University grad student’s illegal downloading habits landed him in court where the jury found him guilty of copyright infringement. He was hit with a whopping $675,000 penalty.
• One student’s tweet changed Texas Tech’s rules about how the football team can — and can’t — use social networking sites.

Today’s educators face a new and growing challenge: teaching constantly “plugged in” students to be responsible with digital technology.

College-aged students are particularly vulnerable, due to the newfound sense of freedom most students feel on campus.

Cyberbullying and sexting get the lion’s share of the attention. But true digital responsibility encompasses so much more, says Richard Guerry, executive director of The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communications (IROC2).

IROC2 is a non-profit organization, and no school is ever denied access to the program. Its Speaker’s Bureau travels to schools and universities around the country to teach students about using technology responsibly.

IROC2 promotes a 21st-century mindset, which includes understanding two essential elements:

1. Digital technology is public. Students often argue: My profile is private/I have a password. They may think they’re only posting comments and sending emoticons to their top eight friends. But in reality, cyber-criminals lurk in deeper and darker Web sites. These people hack into private profiles, infect computers with spyware and friend unsuspecting victims. One shady outfit actually advertises that it hacks into Facebook accounts for just $100 a pop.
2. Digital technology is permanent. Some students say: But I can delete it whenever I want. In reality, no, they can’t! YouTube and PhotoBucket provide great examples. After content is uploaded,  site visitors can download photos and videos to their own computers and post them onto their own sites — or even forward them to their friends. Once content is out there, it’s out there forever. Students can’t possibly know who’s downloading their content or what they’re doing with it.

The IROC2 program teaches students more digital danger zones, including:

• how people can pull up photos (even the deleted ones) from cell phones and digital cameras
• how to spot clues that give away fraudulent pages posing as legitimate Facebook and MySpace accounts
• the dangers of Facebook Apps — and who’s behind most of those quizzes, and
• what to leave out of status updates — and safer alternatives to include.

For more info about IROC2, visit their Web site.

Do you think students are naive when it comes to using digital technology? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

The team’s coach, Mike Leach, made the decision after he was late for a team meeting – and a player tweeted about it. According to the Associated Press, the player wondered why he was waiting in a meeting room when “the head coach can’t even be on time.”

Well, that tweet’s gone now.

And Leach doesn’t want players writing about the team on Facebook, either, and plans to monitor their Facebook pages.

Calling the social networking sites “stupid” distractions, Leach said those who use them are “a bunch of narcissists that want to sit and type stuff about themselves all the time.”

What do you think of Leach’s actions? Let us know in the comments section below.

Turns out not all social networks are created equal when it comes to their effect on our brains.

Dr. Tracy Alloway of Scotland’s University of Stirling, says her study shows using Facebook stretches our “working memory” (our short-term or recent memory), while Twitter, YouTube and text messages tend to weaken it.

Alloway studies working memory and has developed a training program to increase the performance of children – ages 11 to 14 – who are slow learners. She found:

• Keeping up-to-date with Facebook improved the children’s IQ scores
• Playing video games – especially those that require planning and strategy – and Sudoku also were beneficial
• Using Twitter, YouTube and text messaging does not engage enough of the brain to be helpful, and actually reduce attention span. (Click here for the full story on Alloway’s study.)

“On Twitter, you receive an endless stream of information, but it’s also very succinct,” Alloway said. “You don’t have to process that information.”

She noted that Facebook requires you to keep track of past actions and then plan future actions, which stretches the working memory.

They might not be doing it to improve their memory, but prospective college students are increasingly using Facebook for more than just social interaction. According to a new Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions study, more than 70% of college admissions officials have received “friend requests” from students using Facebook and MySpace.

While it’s debatable whether “friending” an admissions official gives a student an edge when applying to a given college, it’s reasonable to suggest students are using social network sites to help their chances of getting into the school of their choice.

Do you interact with students on Facebook? Let us know in the comments section below.

A movie dealing with the creation of Facebook is currently in the works.

Aaron Sorkin, the man behind “The West Wing,” has been signed as the writer. And it looks like David Fincher – “Fight Club” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – may be tapped to direct it.

You probably know by now that Facebook came about when Harvard sophomore Mark Zuckerberg hacked into the school’s computers, and used a bunch of girls’ photos to put together a “Hot or Not?” page. Facemash – as he called it – was launched in October 2003.

We can skip over the part where Zuckerberg faced expulsion for breaching security, violating copyrights and violating individual privacy. (The charges were eventually dropped).

What matters, of course, is that Facemash became Facebook by the following year – and it’s now the biggest social networking site in the world.

No word so far on when work will begin on the movie. But we’ll keep you posted – or you can just look it up on Facebook.

Are you interested in seeing the movie? Let us know in the comments section below.

Law student Adam Key isolated a video frame of Regent University president Pat Robertson scratching his nose. Robertson happened to be using his middle finger to relieve the itch, and the picture made it look like he was “flipping the bird” to viewers.

When Key used the image as his Facebook profile picture, school administrators weren’t too happy. They told him he’d violated a school ban on profane or obscene behavior.

Key removed the image, but he later talked about the episode on a school listserve. Then the school got reports that he’d been carrying a stun gun on campus and scaring other students with erratic behavior. It decided enough was enough and suspended him for a year.

First Amendment violation? No, said the court hearing Key’s case. Regent is a private university, and the First Amendment deals only with governmental infringement of free speech rights.

Cite: Key v. Robertson.

How far should schools go to regulate students’ use of Facebook? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Do you know what’s OK – and what isn’t?

The biggest issue when you’re part of social networking is deciding which colleagues or personal friends you want to connect with.

Here’s some basic advice from Computerworld.com:

• Be discerning about the people you choose to “friend.” Don’t count on privacy settings. Yes, they exist – but they’re not foolproof. Keep in mind: It’s always possible for a third party to access the info on your site.
• If someone wants to “friend” you – but you’re not interested – state your policy clearly. For example: It’s OK to tell someone you don’t include work contacts on Facebook.
• If you don’t want to accept someone’s invitation, don’t ignore them. The polite thing to do is respond to the invite (unless it’s a canned invitation from someone who clearly doesn’t know you).
• When turning down an invitation, suggest an alternative. If you don’t want to connect with colleagues on Facebook, you might suggest connecting with them on LinkedIn.

What sticky situation have you come across when using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.? Let us know in the comments section below.

At least that’s what it looks like according to a recent report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).

Students’ entries on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social networking sites are often viewed by college admission officials.

Here’s what else the NACAC study found:

• 88% of admissions offices consider these networking sites an important recruiting tool
• 53% of colleges look at social media for info about their institution, and
• 33% of colleges maintain a blog.

Do you consider social networking sites valuable tools? Let us know in the comments section below.

But now it’s starting to look like students going after good grades may want to spend more time on Facebook.

Wait … what?

It’s true.

That is, it’s true for students who are enrolled in one of the many social networking classes currently offered in colleges across the country.

At West Virginia University, for example, a class called “Facebook: Friend or Foe?” will be offered this summer – online, of course.

The class is officially known as “Instructional Design and Technology 393E” and will focus on how psychology, advertising and technology come together in social networking media.

Its target audience is older students who want to know what all the fuss is about, along with students looking to pick up some extra credits.

Is Facebook a topic worth including in a college curriculum? In spite of its 200 million users, it’s regarded by many as a big waste of time – just as television was when it first arrived on the American scene.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.