Facebook for Parents isn't just a class for parents who want to learn how to use Facebook, nor is it just a class on how to keep kids safe from creepy strangers who "friend" them on the site. It's trying to go deeper, helping parents to understand how Facebook is reshaping their children's lives. In the class, parents will learn how to talk with their kids about practical aspects of using the site, like the long-term risks of publishing embarrasing photos (college admissions counselors might see them one day), or the benefits of letting friends comment on drafts of class essays.
The class is also a research vehicle for BJ Fogg, whose Persuasive Technologies Lab at Stanford studies how software and hardware can affect people's beliefs and behaviors. He and his sister (a mother of eight), Linda Fogg Phillips, will both teach the class and gather new information from parents about how Facebook is affecting them today. The class doesn't start until February 19, but the duo is already hearing from parents with a situation they hadn't thought of when they planned the course: Is there something wrong if your kid doesn't use Facebook?
The class will go over what Fogg calls the “six levels of Facebook mastery,” from basic sign-up to building your own Facebook. It will also go over basic safety features (like not accepting friend requests from creepy strangers), and will cover the “81″ types of actions that, by Fogg’s count, are available for users to take on the site, and how important ones can dovetail with parenting.
Although the class is affiliated with and taking place at Stanford University, it isn't for-credit, and it doesn't appear in the syllabus. You sign up for it here, although Fogg tells me that the class is nearly full already. This isn't the first time Fogg has used Facebook in the classroom. He previously co-taught a popular for-credit class for Stanford students on how to build Facebook apps -- with some good results.