Exploring the Reasons that May Motivate Students to use Facebook as an Educational Tool

• In Event: Reception: ELS Displays, plus Hands-On Technology Tips and AAACommons
  In Poster Session: Effective Learning Strategies Poster Presentations

Abstract

Facebook is the most popular Social Network Site among college students. Although it is usually considered as a social technology rather than a formal teaching tool, it can have a significant impact on student’s performance. Facebook can help students settle into university life, leading them to a higher level of self-esteem, social acceptance and adaptation to university culture, which can improve their learning outcomes.

Despite Facebook’s potential to enhance the learning process, several studies conclude that faculty members are reluctant to incorporate this technology into their teaching strategies. Surprisingly, the ECAR Survey of Undergraduate Students & Information Technology along with other studies shows how students have persistently reported that, although they increasingly use technology in their personal lives, they feel comfortable with traditional learning models and prefer moderate use of ICT in their courses.

The contradictory nature of these findings clearly shows that there is no evidence of the existence of a single generation of young students equipped with sophisticated technology skills and with learning preferences for which education is not prepared. Therefore, before making radical changes to the current education system, it is necessary to undertake rigorous and empirical studies that investigate students’ perceptions of SNSs as academic tools.

We are currently working on a study of the use of Facebook in the classroom. Our objective is to analyze Stonehill students’ perceptions of Facebook as an educational tool. Right now, we are working with a sample of business students, from different courses and different majors. The variety of students included in this sample will allow us to carry out additional analysis and check whether the perceptions of Facebook as an educational tool are different depending on the age of the students or the major they chose.

This seems to be a very interesting topic and we would like to expand our study to include students from many of the different majors offered by Stonehill College. Conclusions of this research will help us to understand and improve our use of social network tools in educational contexts. Our final goal is to understand the educational needs and preferences of our students. This summer, we are visiting Rutgers Business School to expand our research; once data are analyzed, we will be able to compare Stonehill’s results, as an example of a small liberal arts college, with those obtained from Rutgers’ students, an example of a bigger university located in urban areas.

Authors

• Virginia Cortijo, Stonehill College

• Hilary J Gettman, Stonehill College