Facebook in Academic Institutions Essay

1. Summary.Whilst the majority of students sustain Facebook profiles, latent to support pedantic institutions was seen in its features. This paper provides a frequentization of several(prenominal) case studies somewhat the utilisation of Facebook in several universities. It offers an overview of the advant jump ons, constraints and limitations of the suggested practices. The report shows that although Facebook instruction execution faced uncomplete victor, most of the respondents strongly believed that it should rebriny a gathering yet for cordial networking, non a platform for formal faculty member info.2. Terms of reference.Social networking sites, especi tout ensembley Facebook, pay gained wide popularity in the operate few years. They provide a variety of options more than(prenominal) as concourse setting, live chat and online discussion meeting place. This structure made it come-at-able to nail and go beyond the boundaries of universe tools utilised only f or marketing and well-disposed interaction. Bearing in mind that their main intent uprs argon individuals at the age of 18-24, they offer a obedient possible for academic and educational purposes. owe to the growing interest to the topic, I confirm been commissioned by the senior steering Group of the University to investigate whether academic institutions use them in distinguish to interact with students. The purpose of this report is to find out evidence and outcomes of such instruction execution in the academic community. Although the collected results appear to be somehow contradictory, the dilemma whether Facebook can be both a social and academic assemblage seems to have a straightforward answer.3. Procedure.To analyse the university strategies regarding social platforms, a review of library evidence and instances was conducted. In mark to retrieve materials of full(prenominal) quality and authority, the try was conducted in Google Scholar and Library memorial Plus. Since much more seek is done on the social aspects and privacy issues regarding Facebook, advanced(a) searching was utilise in order to ignore the irrelevant information. cod to the recent nature of the topic, the scope of the articles and journals was limited to publications from the past five years, 2007-2012. The findings are overviews of case studies based on the practices in USA, Italy and South Africa withprevailing lean of undergraduates as main respondents. Because of the variety of social networking sites, the study is chiefly focussed on Facebook since it has its roots in the academic environment and in this flair it is distinctive from the rest of its kind (Bosh 2009, p.191).4. Findings.Academic institutions realised that Facebook is a permeant element in every students life (Roodt et al. 2009, 16). Adopting this untried approach of getting in tactual sensation with their target audiences was a intriguing way to increase engagement. The literature review shows that the official presence of universities on Facebook has recently increased. Not only is the presence on Facebook important for attracting possible students, but it also provides utilitys for enrolled ones. They already have the experience and the knowledge how to use it, which leads to easy incorporation for the purpose of distributing academic information (Bosh 2009, p.191). Apart from being a powerful marketing tool, Facebook is utilize as a tool for* Online discussion on topics covered in lectures* Administrative and departmental arrangements* staff information4.1 Online discussion forum.Overall, no empirical evidence was put in about(predicate) Facebook used as a sole platform for academic interaction. It was used as a complement to the real culture instruction bodys (LMS) weathervane sites, Blackboard, etc. The established Blackboards have proved to be successful tools for information retrieval. Most of them have a discussion forum, but it has rarely been used for communication (Hrastinski & Aghaee 2011, p.453). Case studies in a Comprehensive Disease Management course and at University of Cape Town reveal that the respondents seldom have a look at the discussion board. Due to its features relinquishing immediate responses, Facebook offers potential to overcome the lack of dialogue among students. However, there were opponents to this idea who strongly believed that the brisk LMS was useful and were unwilling to have discussions in a separate forum (Wang et al. 2012, p.431).This was not an impediment since participation was optional. As a result, savants became more tenanted since formulating thoughts online was easier and topics could be discussed more in depth (Cain & Policastri 2011,p.7). Many students struggle to urge on questions and participate actively during lectures and tutorials. Therefore, social platforms facilitate and promote the development of uninflected skills allowing everyone to take part. The improved level of communication had impact on the classroom climate leading to higher motivation (Loving & Ochoa 2011, p.129). This transition from passive learner to active participant is beneficial (Selwyn 2009, p.158).It raises student motivation and engagement. Nevertheless, many the like Bosh (2009) argue that it does not promote critical thinking since the alleged(prenominal) Google generation assumes social platforms primarily as a way of entertainment. some other drawback of online discussions is that responds are listed in a chronological order, not in threads, which makes it serious to follow the logical links between comments (Wang et al. 2012, p.436).4.2 Administrative and departmental arrangements. agree to Malesky & Peters (2011), given the large number of students on social networks, multiple university departments and faculties use social platforms to disseminate information to learners. A large number of youngsters have permanent Internet connection on their smartphones and che cks their profiles quite often. Therefore, Facebook is utilised for relaying eleventh hour information about schedules and venues because students are more likely to be on Facebook rather than to check their email (Selwyn 2009, p.163). Important issue to be taken into direct here is the authority of the information. It will be assumed as reliable only if it is stick on by a member of the academic staff. In addition, departmental pages are good way to get in touch with students, especially during holidays when the existing LMS is rarely visited (Bosh 2009, p. p.187).For example, at Northeastern University of capital of Massachusetts the initial skepticism of viewing course- related to posts in a platform primarily used for social interaction faded away and at the repeal 57% of the respondents were convinced it was useful (DiVall & Kirwin 2012, p.4). Another important implication of capability pages is that they create a virtual campus environment where all students can choke a nd learn from each other (Bosh 2009, p.195). It is beneficial especially for contemporary students who have the chance to talk and exchange experience with the alumni and graduates they will never meet.Maintaining goodstudent-faculty relationship through Facebook also reflects on student satisfaction about the quality of the service provided. However, time-constraints and costs of such implementation should be carefully considered before integration since the staff is already maintaining the other course direction software (DiVall & Kirwin 2012, p.2). It is a powerful tool for small institutions which cannot afford to barter for a Blackboard (Wang et al. 2012, p.434), but its limitations such as safety and partial participation prevent it from being used as a main tool for information dissemination.4.3 knowledge about modules.Module information was posted in a specially established Facebook groups. This format was chosen sort of of a page because of the option to set up a dis agreeable community. It was perceived as controlled environment since the lecturer was the one who could add and lease members (Wang et al. 2012, p.436). Generally, feedback about this practice was positive. Apart from communication about assignments, research findings and current affairs, the group wall was a suitable platform for resource and materials overlap videos, photos, links to external articles were uploaded which were useful for those willing to extend their knowledge beyond the lecture material (Estus 2010, p.3). However, it was not considered as a complete success due to the inability to support resources in other formats (Wang et al. 2012, p.434). To overcome this problem, excess applications such as Google Docs were used in order to extend Facebook capabilities. despite this, lectures favorred the traditional Blackboard due to the ease of use. Another advantage of this practice was the positive impact on student-lecturer communication. The virtual office hours all owed learners to touch modality tutors and lecturers in a less pressured environment (Bosh 2009, p.195). This is important for the better instinct of the matter since learners felt more comfortable to raise their questions on the platform. In addition, lectures profiles could enhance their credibility because students see the similarities between the lecturer and themselves (Wang et al. 2012, p.437).Taking into account that it is a dual-side communication process, the other party (students) revealed that they did not want to be contacted by tutors because it is a social forum for getting in touch with peers and they try to separate social life from education (Madge et al.2009, 150). Friendship with lecturers was possible but it seldom happened because students were cautious that this could affect their ability to be design (Malesky & Peters 2012, p.138). Further weaknesses of Facebook here were the inability to support grade notification, assignment uploading and online interrog atory (Loving & Ochoa 2011, p.129).5. Conclusion and recommendation.Although literature provides not enough empirical evidence, it is clear that students prefer to keep the divide between their social and academic space. Facebook has suitable affordances, which allow its utilisation as an educational platform as well. Successful practices were found where it has been used as supplement to the existing learning management system for resource sharing and module and academic information dissemination. However, further research has to be done to investigate the links and synergies between both in order to find the best way they could successfully work together. When it comes to the implementation of Facebook practices in a particular university, it should be carefully considered whether weaknesses are outweighted by potential advantages.Since the literature review shows that Facebook brings a little contribution to the functions of the existing Blackboard, Loughborough University should not invest time and efforts into setting up pages and groups. It is perceived as an intrusive invasion into a place students feel as theirs (Loving & Ochoa 2011, p.124). correspond and student emails already successfully execute the functions Facebook could be used for. Lectures, tutors and academic staff could be contacted at any time and the discussion forum is well-developed. Therefore, a possible integration of Facebook is not worth efforts. Even though it has a potential, it should remain a place for social interaction and not for formal university practices.6. Word count.The report contains 1504 words.7. References.Bosch, T., 2009. Using online social networking for teaching and learning Facebook use at the University of Cape Town. South African diary for converse Theory and Researchonline, 35(2), 185-200., accessed 21.05.12.Cain, J. & Policastri, A., 2011. Using Facebook as an informal learning environment. American daybook of Pharmaceutical Edducationonline, 75(10), 1-8 . , accessed 18.05.12.DiVall, M. & Kirwin, J., 2012. Using Facebook to facilitate course-related discussion between students. American diary of Pharmaceutical Edducationonline, 76(2), 1-5. , accessed 18.05.12.Estus, E., 2010. Using Facebook within a Geriatric Pharmacotherapy Course. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Edducationonline, 74(8), 1-5. , accessed 21.05.12Hrastinski, S. & Aghaee, N., 2011. How are campus students using social media to support their studies?. Education and Information Technologiesonline, 17(4), 451-464. , accessed 20.05.12. Loving, M. & Ochoa, M., 2011. Facebook as a classroom management solution. New Library Worldonline, 113(3), 121-130. , accessed 20.05.12.Madge, C. et al., 2009. Facebook, social integration and informal learning at university It is more for socializing and lecture to friends about work than for actually doing work. Learning, Media and Technologyonline, 34(2), 141-155. , accessed 20.05.12. Malesky, L. & Peters, C., 2011. Defining approp riate lord behavior for faculty and university students on social networking websites. Higher Educationonline, 63(1), 131-151., accessed 21.05.12. Mazman, S. & Usluel,Y., 2010. Modeling educational usage of Facebook. Computers & Educationonline, 55(2), 444-453. , accessed 18.05.2012. Roodt, S., Cloete, S. & De Villiers, C., 2009. Facebook as an academic tool for ICT lecturers. Annual conference of grey African Computer Lecturers Associationonline, 29 June-1 July. Eastern Cape SACLA, 16-22. , accessed 22.05.12.Selwyn, N., 2009. Faceworking exploring students educationrelated use of Facebook. Learning, Media and Technologyonline, 34(2), 157-174. http//dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439880902923622, accessed 21.05.12.Wang, Q. et al., 2012. Using the Facebook group as a learning management system an exploratory study. British Journal of Educational Technology online, 43(3), 428438. , accessed 19.05.12. attachment 1Search strategyExisting literature about Facebook is focused more on social netwo rking and privacy issues. Since the study needed more education-oriented materials, the initial search in Google and Wikipedia was not useful enough because it led to more general results. The main information retrieval tools used during the investigation were Google Scholar, Library Catalogue Plus and some additional databases found through the Select Database option. In order to avoid a large amount of inappropriate materials, only databases from the Education category were selected. The most useful of them was ScienceDirect. In addition to the materials which on the dot fitted the search criteria, a number of related articles was suggested, which was very helpful. In all of the information retrieval tools advanced searching strategies were applied in order to narrow the results and sift out the most relevant ones.