Young Travellers and Facebook Engagement

Tom Gaskin

09.05.11

Current situation

• Six young Travellers currently undertaking You Choose Bridge Builder.

• Young Travellers required to complete and submit home work.

• Staff tried using email to motivate young Travellers to complete work.

• Young Travellers have shown interest in using Facebook to communicate with members of staff.

Proposal

• Staff to create a Facebook group using professional Facebook profiles.

• Invite young Travellers to join using their personal profiles.

• Young Travellers to customise privacy settings to avoid sharing personal content.

Advantages

• It is free.• Encourages young Travellers and staff

to review their privacy settings.• Young Travellers likely to check their

personal Facebook profiles regularly.• Provides safe and private space for

group members to interact with each other.

Disadvantages

• Young Travellers required to link personal profiles to staff professional profiles.

• Does not record any statistics.

• Young Travellers may not be familiar with Facebook’s recent changes.

Aims / objectives

• Explore how Facebook can be used as a communication and engagement tool.

• Learn more about communicating with young Travellers and supporting them to consider online safety and privacy needs.

• Develop techniques for supporting young Travellers to participate in educational activities.

Aims / objectives (2)

• Develop model for others to follow.

• Understand benefits of using Facebook as a communication and engagement tool.

• Identify and promote techniques for using Facebook safely.

Outcomes

• Increased communication between young Travellers and staff.

• Increased wellbeing of young Travellers.

• Young Travellers successfully complete course.

• Young Travellers access other opportunities.

Outcomes (2)

• Members of staff and young Travellers increase their understanding of how to use Facebook safely.

• Learning that will provide insight into working with young Travellers and their families.

• Case study and tool kit which will support other members of staff and organisations to explore how they can use Facebook to engage with young people.