The Social Space Station

I’ve written before about using Bebo as a social networking tool for the first year course I teach. Primarily it is a great way for me to interact with students who already use Bebo heavily (which is most) about course matters. By default Bebo is informal, quick and responsive ensuring that many of our conversations are almost real-time so I can find out what’s going on and so can they.

The Bebo group is here in case you’re curious.

However, I recently handed over the reins of the lecture performance to a colleague who refuses to use Bebo . At about the same time as the handover occurred (two weeks ago) the activity on the Bebo site dropped dramatically.

What does this say?

I’m not sure. It could mean that the Bebo group was somehow bundled into my physical identity through my advocacy and usage, and by disappearing from view (at least in lectures) it somehow meant that I would also be absent from Bebo. Although, my usage of Bebo has stayed constant.

It could simply be a natural downturn in interest (opportunity cost) or assignments are piling up or a multitude of other reasons. But I suspect it does have something to do with the first reason but obviously this is difficult to prove. If true, I think it would say that students are fickle (they’re young so not unexpected) or perhaps that they simply adapt quickly to the change, subconsciously optimising their behaviours to synchronise with the expectations of the teacher in front of them.

I don’t know for sure but it’s interesting nevertheless. What do you think?