Facebook is the social media network that became a public journal. From personal profiles to television shows to your favorite brand of chips, almost everyone is on Facebook recording and sharing daily updates. One school takes in one step further by creating an interactive learning experience on the popular social network. 

4e Gymnasium is an Amsterdam school that created Facebook pages for specific time periods and social movements.  As a collaborative effort, history classes post updates on timeline to record special events. Some of their current pages are 'Magellan's Voyage Around the World' and 'Inventions of the 20th Century.' 

What makes this project wonderful is that it makes learning a truly interactive experience. Instead of passively reading pages in an old textbook, students are piecing together history through research. With the innate nature of Facebook, students can ask questions and write comments under specific posts and spark a conversation instantly.  This definitely makes learning a more unique experience. Approaching learning like this makes for a more personal experience and gives everyone a chance to participate and voice their opinions.

History may have been a difficult subject for anyone who is a visual learner. Using Facebook as a platform for telling the story of Magellan's voyage opens a gateway to a multimedia presentation. Students can post videos, pictures, links, or simple text to move the story along and bring history to life. 

It's absolutely inspiring to see social media used in different ways to satisfy a need. We forget that we have these amazing networks available to us that are simply blank slates. Yes, we use these networks to catch up with old friends and Facebook stalk old ex's, but they can be fun and useful. Why not use Tumblr as a way to gather notes for an art class? Use Foursquare as a way to keep in touch with your kids?  Perhaps use Pinterest to organize your extensive gif collection? However it's used, it's so cool to see people shape social networks and use them as tools.

Do you use a particular social network in a different way?