Kristi+Lippert+-+Farcebook

"Farce"book

Playing off the popular digital media Facebook, Discovery School for education has developed a way for students to use something they know to study people they don't. Educators/school districts pay around $50 for a year's subscription which would give them a login code and password. This login code and password would allow teachers as well as entire classrooms of students to login and create their "Farce"book pages. This technological tool could be used in any subject, but the basic idea is that students would research a main character from a language arts story, a historical figure from history, a scientist from science class, etc. and create a profile for them that looks just like Facebook. They get to add pictures and friends for their person and even create dialogue between them to post on each other's walls. I think that because of the research component, Farcebook would probably work best with secondary students grades 7-12 but could be adapted to fit your needs. The Farcebook website can be accessed at: []

Along with your subscription also comes access to some Farcebook profiles on famous people that have already been created. Students could use the already created profiles to study or do activities with them to further their knowledge. You can see an example of an already created Farcebook profile on George Washington here: []

I have found that with this program the students really get into it, but the biggest challenge for them is navigated the web to find information that is accurate. Students must have a knowledge of how to find information on the internet and the difference between reliable information and unreliable information. After they create the profiles, they click a submit button which sends it to the teacher to be graded. Graded profiles can then be made visable to the class by the teacher for further sharing or activities.