“…. four best practices for faculty who want to use social media (and we should!) …

• Be transparent. Explain why it’s required, what students will be graded on, etc. Explain the tool’s ownership and logistics. If you’ve set up a class Twitter account, consider sharing it with at least some students.
• Encourage self-organization. There’s no need for you to create that Facebook group! Let them do it. (In my experience, Facebook groups I’ve created haven’t gotten much participation, but ones students have created about my classes have often gone well.) [Editor’s Note: please note that I do NOT RECOMMEND FACEBOOK for courses; the privacy issues have not been worked out well enough. Email me for details and alternatives]
• Deputize worthwhile ad-hoc groups. This encourages the perception–which hopefully is accurate!–that the class’s social media usage is bottom-up, and not top-down.
• Be nimble. Notice how students are interacting with your course material, and put resources where they feel most comfortable.”

The Creepy Treehouse Problem – ProfHacker.com

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