Stefania Manca

Is it a tool suitable for learning? A critical review of the literature on Facebook as a technology-enhanced learning environment

Despite its continuing popularity as the social network site par excellence, the educational value of Facebook has not been fully determined, and results from the mainstream educational paradigms are contradictory, with some scholars emphasizing its pedagogical affordances (e.g., widening context of learning, mixing information and learning resources, hybridization of expertise) and others cautioning against its use for educational purposes. Moreover, systematic reviews about documented educational usage of Facebook as a learning environment are lacking. This article attempts to provide a critical overview of current studies focusing on the use of Facebook as a technology-enhanced learning environment, with the aim of exploring the extent to which its pedagogical potential is actually translated into practice. Only empirical studies published in peer-reviewed academic journals with a specific focus on Facebook as a learning environment have been considered for the review. The authors conducted a comprehensive literature search that identified 23 relevant articles that were subsequently analysed according to a simplified list of guidelines. These articles were further analysed and recoded through a set of emerging categories. The results show that pedagogical affordances of Facebook have only been partially implemented and that there are still many obstacles that may prevent a full adoption of Facebook as a learning environment such as implicit institutional, teacher and student pedagogies, and cultural issues. Finally, a broad observation on the implications of the study is developed with some suggestions for future research.

Why (and How) Do Teachers Engage in Social Networks? An Exploratory Study of Professional Use of Facebook and Its Implications for Lifelong Learning.

To date, little empirical research on professional use of social network sites has been conducted, particularly with reference to groups of teachers on Facebook. The paper presents the results of two surveys addressed to the founders of five Italian Facebook groups and their members ( n = 1107), with the aim of investigating mechanisms underlying group membership and reflecting on their implications for professional development. A number of hypotheses were tested in order to explore the nature of three dimensions (domain, network and practice) involved in these groups, assimilated by authors into networks of practice. The study investigated the mechanisms of group membership and their participatory dynamics in terms of group types (generic vs. thematic), duration of membership and the interplay between offline and online activities. Results showed that groups differing in terms of domain (generic or thematic) are characterized by particular mechanisms of affiliation and participation and that mechanisms of legitimation of the members, as well as of shared resources, are associated with the duration of membership. Further research should be conducted to investigate how social capital dynamics evolve over time, influencing the construction of group identity. Practitioner Notes What is already known about this topic The use of social network sites ( SNS), particularly Facebook, is growing in the educational field., To date, little attention has been given to the use of Facebook for professional development., Empirical research mainly refers to the higher education context and shows that the use of SNS has positive outcomes for social capital., What this paper adds An application of social capital theory with the networks of practice framework (Brown & Duguid, ) to the study of professional groups of teachers in SNS., An understanding of groups in terms of shared social capital, both bridging and bonding., An analysis of the interplay between online and offline activities in terms of professional benefits for teachers., Implications for practice and/or policy Participation in this kind of groups may have a positive impact on professional development., Social networks may afford different types of social capital for professionals., Policy makers should encourage and support the use of social networks for professional learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A general framework for tracking and analysing learning processes in computer‐supported collaborative learning environments

This paper describes a method for analysing the learning processes that take place in a computer‐supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. The approach is based on tracking the interactions between learners and tutors. Keeping track of meaningful events serves three main purposes: evaluation of the quality of the process, monitoring students’ performance in real time and the assessment of individual learning performances. The results can be of benefit to course designers, tutors/instructors and researchers involved in collaborative learning experiences. The method is based on a five‐dimensional model that includes a participative, an interactive, a social, a cognitive and a teaching dimension. Each dimension can be analysed through a set of indicators obtained by tracking course participants’ behaviour within the learning environment. Examples of significant indicators, drawn from the literature and the authors’ field experience, are discussed for each dimension. The paper also proposes a taxonomy of the data needed to obtain the described indicators. Finally, possible directions for further research are outlined.

Facebook and the others. Potentials and obstacles of Social Media for teaching in higher education

Social Media tools are seen by many authors as powerful drivers of change for teaching and learning practices, in terms of openness, interactivity and sociability. However, extensive surveys about actual use that are carried out with large samples at a national level are rare. This study reports the results of a survey addressed to the Italian academic staff, with the aim of identifying the uses of Social Media in the field of university teaching practices. The response rate was 10.5%, corresponding to 6139. The respondents were asked to identify frequency of use, motivations, teaching practices and obstacles related to the use of a number of tools: generic social network sites (Twitter, Facebook), professional and academic networking services (LinkedIn, ResearchGate and Academia.edu), tools to write and comment (blogs, wikis) and to archive and retrieve content material for lectures and group work (podcasts, YouTube and Vimeo, SlideShare). Analyses of data tested which socio-demographic variables mostly affected frequency of use, and the relationships between motivations, ways of use, barriers to use and the scientific discipline. The results show that Social Media use is still rather limited and restricted and that academics are not much inclined to integrate these devices into their practices for several reasons, such as cultural resistance, pedagogical issues or institutional constraints. However, there are differences among academics in the ways they use Social Media or perceive them, mostly depending on the scientific discipline of teaching. Overall, the results emphasise ambivalent attitudes towards the benefits and challenges of Social Media in the context of higher education with obstacles prevailing over advantages. We examine the frequency of use of Social Media for teaching purposes.The variable most associated with frequency of use is scientific discipline.We present motivations and ways to use Social Media tools in teaching.A principal component analysis reveals three main factors as obstacles to use.Results show a complex scenario where potentials and barriers are intertwined.

Coding procedures to analyse interaction patterns in educational web forums

Analysis of interaction patterns is one of the most important indicators of quality of learning in educational web forums. Social network analysis (SNA) is gradually assuming importance in the study of interaction patterns as it focuses on the analysis of the interrelationships between individuals, thus providing a holistic perspective on group performance. However, most of the studies that use SNA in computer-supported collaborative learning scenarios derive their data from server log files, on the assumption that this data source reflects the way people really interacted online. This study, the purpose of which is to better understand the communication flows that really occur among users, challenges these assumptions through an experimental study that makes a comparison between the structural method normally used to detect the posting addressees and an approach enriched with semantic coding. Results show that this new coding schema, if compared with traditional structural coding, detected a greater number of addressees, thus allowing a greater number of postings to be included in an SNA adjacency matrix.

Is Facebook still a suitable technology-enhanced learning environment? An updated critical review of the literature from 2012 to 2015

This study provides an updated critical review of the literature on Facebook as a technology-enhanced learning environment based on papers published between 2012 and 2015. It adopts a revised classification of the categories identified in a previous study, which emphasized three main Facebook affordances – mixing information and learning resources, hybridization of expertise and widening context of learning. The aim is to investigate to what extent studies using Facebook as a learning environment exploited these affordances. Literature has been also analysed according to three types of educational use of Facebook – formal use in formal learning settings (FUF), informal use in formal learning settings (IUF) and use in informal learning settings (UI) – to highlight if and how Facebook affordances have been exploited in these learning settings. Literature search identified 147 articles published in peer-reviewed journals. The results show that most of the articles can be classified as dealing with FUF (N = 69; 46.9%) or as IUF (N = 68; 46.3%); only a minority concerns the UI (N = 10; 6.8%). Overall, the study found that Facebook pedagogical affordances are still partially implemented, although different types of educational use of Facebook exploit these affordances to different degrees. It also provides indications for future research. Lay descriptionWhat is currently known about the subject matter: Facebook still stands as the most popular social network site There is an abundant research literature on Facebook Studies on the educational value of Facebook have grown exponentially in the last years A review on Facebook as a technology-enhanced learning environment was published in 2013 What this paper adds: This study is an update of the critical review published in 2013 It takes into account studies published between 2012 and 2015 It refines the methodology adopted in the 2013 review It introduces a classification of educational uses of Facebook according to the formal/informal continuum Implications of study findings for practitioners: Facebook is still mostly considered as an open alternative to traditional learning management systems Facebook pedagogical affordances are still partially implemented Teacher guidance and forms of assessment are claimed according to degrees of formality and informality Cultural issues in the use of Facebook in education should be further investigated

Learners’ Representation of their Affective Domain through Figurative Language in a Web‐Based Learning Environment

This study investigated how the participants of an online learning course employed figurative language to express their emotions and feelings during the learning experience. Textual analysis was carried out in the social and metacognitive discussion areas as those related to the expression of the social dimension. Its aim was to analyze the distribution of figurative language across the course, to understand if figurative language elicited the creation of new figurative language, and to classify recurring types of conceptual categories. Results show that figurative language use increased in coincidence with crucial, social events; it did not necessarily encourage the production of further figurative language; and it allowed participants to represent their affective domain and to conceptualize the learning environment in an original manner.

Implications of social network sites for teaching and learning. Where we are and where we want to go

This conceptual paper deals with some of the implications that the use of social network sites, though not originally developed and conceived for learning purposes, have for schools and academic activities when they are used as tools able to modify and innovate teaching/learning practices and academic culture. Beside the differences that characterize the two contexts, the attention that social network tools are progressively gaining in schools and higher education practices and pedagogies requires adjustments in learning and teaching that should be constantly considered by educators and policy makers. These environments are also presenting new and crucial opportunities for teacher training and teachers’ professional development. The purpose of the study is to reflect on some significant challenges and opportunities offered by social network sites, and how to exploit the latter, in relation to a number of themes. These themes have been identified as those that deserve better comprehension and further research investigation: communication between students and teachers and appropriate professional behaviours; pedagogical and technological challenges related to incorporating social networking practices into teaching and academic practices; how social networking can be exploited for teachers’ professional training and development. The study also provides some implications for policy and practice.

Managing the change from face-to-face to distance training for SMEs

Abstract FADxPMI is a project aimed at supporting the evolution from a training system firmly based on the face-to-face approach into one where Open and Distance Learning (ODL) techniques are widely used, especially to reach the staff of SMEs at their workplace. Within this project, the development of know-how among course designers and trainers in the design of distance training events was achieved through a course called Design of Distance Training. This paper focuses on this course and discusses its design principles as well as the problems related to the development and implementation of courses of this kind. The Design of Distance Training course covered a wide range of ODL techniques and, since participants themselves were mostly SMEs staff members, it provided an interesting picture of the kind of problems that may be faced in developing distance training for SMEs. Among these, the most important issue concerns the compatibility of training and job commitments. The low degree of acquaintance with the new methods can also be a problem, especially at the beginning. In spite of these problems, the course managed to boost the desired process of introducing ODL techniques in SME training and to raise awareness among participants about the main positive and negative features of these methods.

Editorial: Student voice. Listening to students to improve education through digital technologies

Over the past 20 years, the student voice pedagogical movement has been gaining momentum worldwide (Czerniawski & Kidd, 2011). Inspired by the need to enhance student engagement and participation in education (Cook-Sather, 2002), the movement seeks to bolster the position and role of students inside school and other academic contexts. In this light, students’ views on teaching and learning represent valuable input, informing the actions of teachers and policymakers alike (Fielding, 2001). The movement’s initial efforts were mostly focused on capturing the perspectives of school children and young students and on fostering their co-participation in teaching and learning practices (Flutter & Rudduck, 2004). More recently, major changes in higher education have resulted in the legitimisation of student voice at university level too (Cook-Sather, Bovil, & Felten, 2014). The student voice is now seen as a central component in the transformation of higher education and its alignment with students’ experience and expectations. It also contributes towards students’ experience and expectations as learners, and career aspirations as future contributors to the economy and society.