Jordi Casteleyn

FORUM - How to use Facebook in your market research

Although social networking sites such as Facebook are increasingly being regarded as an interesting source of information, there are no specific techniques that adequately address the specific nature of social media. In our opinion, social networking sites display intentions of consumers and therefore techniques specifically designed to deal with this aspect have to be introduced. We propose using the theory developed by Kenneth Burke (1897–1993), to incorporate this data into market research. In this paper we focus on Facebook groups, but the techniques described can be used to analyse any social networking site.

The Impact of Graphic Organisers on Learning from Presentations.

There is abundant educational research indicating that graphic organisers (knowledge maps, concept maps, or mind maps) have a beneficial impact on learning, but hardly any research has examined this in the context of presentations. This study therefore investigated how graphic organisers – as delivered via presentation software – affect learning outcomes and mediating variables such as self-efficacy, cognitive load and appreciation of the learning material. An experiment was set up during a university course (n = 155). E-lectures were designed that shared recorded audio, but differed in the design of the learning material (graphic organisers), considering the presentation software being used. In both research conditions presentation design was in line with the principles of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning. The results revealed no statistically relevant difference in cognitive load, self-efficacy and knowledge gain, but participants preferred the e-lecture with the graphic organisers to the control version.

Slidecast yourself: Exploring the possibilities of a new online presentation tool

Many educational theorists stress the importance of social aspects for effective learning. In “communities of practice” for instance, groups of practitioners might learn from each other and eventually constitute a shared identity. Web 2.0 provides an ideal opportunity for this. An example of such a Web 2.0 information technology is slidecasting, which can be described as podcasting by synchronizing PowerPoint and voice. Anyone can upload their slidecasts to a website with an interface similar to YouTube, and anybody can watch these products. However, there is limited research on this topic, its possible application in education, and its popularity in businesses. We therefore studied the educational implications of introducing slidecasting in the classroom, sent a survey to our students to detect their attitude towards this new teaching tool, and organised a focus group with communication professionals. We can conclude that slidecasting can be successful in education, but that it will not immediately gain access to the corporate world due to problems concerning confidentiality and the very nature of slidecasting.