Facebook, we should remember, didn’t begin with image-obsessed, camera-toting teenagers. It began as a way for college students to network online. So it shouldn’t be surprising or if students and educators use it in its original context: as a way to connect peers in a learning system.

And though I don’t agree with the decree on the Blue Skunk blog, that “Every website shall remain unblocked until proven to be ‘harmful to minors'” (there are simply too many sites to review without using a filtering product, flawed as that may be) I do think there could be a place for Web 2.0 technologies like social networking sites in many online, LMS-hosted and face-to-face learning systems.

As one imaginative commentator wrote, Facebook could be used very creatively for young students. Groups could create accounts for historical figures or literary characters and have them interact, creating an exciting and interactive learning system. Students could practice decision-making and diplomacy, taking in all points of view, or explore literary personalities and contexts.

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