Roger Andrews, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Definitions and background
The advance of social networking sites (SNS) has been one of the most significant phenomena in digital technology in recent time (Ranieri, Mamca, & Fini, 2012). According to Aydin (2012), an SNS is an online site that provides users with the platform where they can construct social relations with other members who have the same interests and are involved in similar activities. Facebook is an SNS that enables individuals to make connections and form communities without the worry of temporal or spatial constraints (Lin, Hou, Wang, & Chang, 2013). Facebook was developed by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, and is now the most prevalent SNS with the largest quantity of global Internet traffic (Wang, Lin, Yu, & Wu, 2013). Throughout the world, the number of Facebook users is astronomical with 179 million active monthly users in North America, 229 million in Europe, and 212 million in Asia (Wang et al. 2013). Users over the age of 13 are able to create and modify personal profiles, add members, exchange messages and chat online (Aydin, 2012). Aydin (2012) observed that this SNS offers the possibility for its members to organize themselves into groups based on personal and professional connections which can include such things as education, occupation, interests, hobbies, or political and religious beliefs.
Affordances
Lin et al. (2012) indicated that the ease of accessibility of Facebook makes it an important asset so that young adults can freely and easily intermingle with one another which in turn, promote social interaction. Both educators and administrative staff would be able to provide academic and emotional support to their students outside of class time by using SNS (Lin et al., 2012).
Facebook can also be accredited with the reduction of loneliness for students and because of this; educators need to look at using SNS for their universities (Lou, Nickerson & McMorris, 2012). Many of the components that are integrated into Facebook can also aid students by becoming more organized within their courses and can help reduce the cost associated with setting up another avenue where by students can easily communicate (Lampe, Wohn, Vitak, Ellison, & Wash, 2011). The use of Facebook simplifies the process of organizing a large network of connections by providing the user with a number of different options to communicate (Lampe et al., 2011).
Meishar-Tai, Kurtz, and Pieterse (2012) found that by using Facebook, students have the opportunity to be involved in a very intensive and collaborative learning process because of the dynamic features and special structures that set it apart from other learning management systems. Facebook has the ability to create closed groups that permit asynchronous and synchronous interactions between members, which in turn, allows for the easy sharing of links to Website, documents and pictures (Meishar-Tai et al., 2012). The use of Facebook also provides students with access to their instructor and helps them to perceive their instructor as being more human and trustworthy (Meishar-Tai et al., 2012). “Facebook has made it possible to create closed groups that allow asynchronous and synchronous interaction between members” (Meishar-Tai, Kurtz, & Pieterse, 2012, p. 33). Meishar-Tai et al. (2012) also observed that Facebook enables the sharing of information that includes such things as web sites, text documents, and pictures.
Rambe (2012a) found that when students adopted Facebook as an information source for browsing peers’ questions and conversing with them before developing another viewpoint, they were able to use it as a resource to facilitate learning. It can be used to extend a student’s access to a wide range of educational information that can be used to support student learning (Rambe, 2012a).
Aydin (2012) indicated that the use of Facebook allows for an easier flow of communication between the teacher and the student. Raniere, Manca, and Fini (2012) had similar findings and noted that Facebook encourages visibility and includes characteristics that can assist networking and increase the efficiency of the sharing of resources.
Constraints
Links
Facebook and Education: Pros and Cons
The Ultimate Guide for using Facebook in the classroom
Facebook In The Classroom. Seriously.
100 Ways to Use Facebook in Education By Category
Pros & Cons of Facebook in Education
Works Cited
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Lou, L., Yan, Z., Nickerson, A. & McMorris, R. (2012). An Examination of the reciprocal relationship of loneliness and Facebook use among first year college students. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 46(1), 105-117.
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Wang, J., Lin, C., Yu, W. & Wu, E. (2013). Meaningful engagement in Facebook learning environment: Merging social and academic lives. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 14(1), 302-322. Retrieved from: http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde50/articles/article_26.htm
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