TMI (Too Much Information) in Law School?

There's another interesting piece on whether professors should participate in social networking. It's at Inside Higher Ed. This is the heart of the matter (and the piece):

For me, the issue over blogging, social networking and ‘Second Life’ has less to do with how you represent yourself in cyberspace, and more about how you regard your relationship with your students both within and outside the classroom. More often than not, the elephant in the classroom is the general malaise academics have with self-disclosure … be it face-to-face, or on Facebook.

There are benefits and drawbacks that accompany the fine act of balancing privacy and self-disclosure in the classroom. On the positive side, some of the most memorable and effective teachers have been those that make the connection between the personal and the political through self-disclose and sharing stories as a means to communicate with students. Critical pedagogues, feminist scholars, and progressive educators alike have rightfully argued that the time for a new paradigm of learning is long overdue. The new millennium may be the right time to reexamine our philosophical hesitancies to cross the digital line and engage in pedagogical experimentation online. For instance, online social networking and 3D simulations between faculty and students may help colleges and universities foster a stronger sense of community in the class, regardless of the physical limitations imposed by class size, or the interpersonal limitations contingent upon traditional markers of experience and identity through race, class, gender, etc.

On the negative side, as professors, we are often in the power position of soliciting self-disclosure and information from our students while we remain reserved about reciprocating. The imbalance comes in the varied forms in which students are graded and evaluated on assignments that draw upon their experiences and identities, such as journals, papers, speeches, presentations, and regular class discussions. Much like the “American Idol” singing critic Simon Cowell, the professor is placed in the power seat to judge the merits of such disclosures.

This power imbalance begs the question, how can faculty reveal more about themselves without compromising professional roles and responsibilities? Without giving up claims to authority and knowledge, are there ways that faculty can use new interfaces to reach out and encourage student interest and interpersonal dialog within and outside the class? While professors need to do more than adjust their ‘Facebook’ profiles and ‘Second Life’ avatars to make pedagogical inroads, embracing new technological means of expressing oneself and communicating online may be a
means to fostering creative and imaginative identities and social discourses that reflect a more diverse set of values, characteristics, principles, and goals.

As the adage goes, learning should not take place in an academic vacuum; rather it should be shared with the outside world. Online social networks, blogs, and 3D simulations may be a useful way to accomplish this task.

Moreover, the issue over how much to disclose to students comes at a time when
individuals are increasingly choosing to acknowledge their situated selves more
directly and overtly in their roles, work, and occupations. Academics and
professionals in anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, journalism, and the
sciences have identified the need for more self-reflection and self-disclosure
on the part of the individual as researcher, interviewer and/or ethnographer.
Avatars, user-profiles, and online social networking may be a natural extension
of such ontological shifts.

I agree that the social networking thing has a lot to do with power. In fact, I think that many of the issues with technology in education have to do with the power privilege that professors enjoy and how much of that they're willing to give up to create better relationships with students and be more effective teachers.

The laptop issue is completely about power. Although this is likely not true 100% of the time, most of the people I've heard give pedagogical reasons for banning laptops sound pretty hollow. These are not professors who are generally known for their great concern about trends in pedagogy. Suddenly, now they're digging up educational theory and empirical studies to support something they want to do in the classroom? Girl, please.