Facebook In Education

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

The 21st century has impelled the educational environment into an absolutely new sphere. There are various innovative technological advances which have made teaching and learning more interactive and created a need for a more virtual approach to instruction. Social media has grown quickly in both personal and academic use and researchers such as Girod and Wojcikiewics (2009), Greenhow and Robelia (2009) conducted studies examining how online environments, computer based learning and integrating Web 2.0 tools have improved academic attainment for the new generation of learners. This study focuses on utilising Web 2.0 technologies and specific a Facebook page as an additional supportive teaching strategy.

According to Fogg-Phillips, Baird and Fogg (unknown:2) Facebook plays a big role in the lives of millions of students. You may wonder, “Is this good or bad for educators?”. Munoz and Towner (2009:4) reports that “in addition to the incredible usage rate among students there are a number of unique features that make it amenable to educational pursuits”. These researchers furthermore explains that Facebook “indirectly” created a learning environment by connecting students to each other. The work of Skerrett (2010:81-81) states that “the Facebook event represented an opportunity to hold conversations about gender, male privilege, and more generally hegemonic power structures that circulate throughout social networking sites – constructs or reject or lack the tools to do”. Fogg-Phillips et al. (unknown:2) claims that Facebook can enhance learning inside the classroom and beyond and also correctly points out that in an educational setting the interaction between learners and teachers must be open, transparent and

Moreover, van Wyk (2014:375) posits by using social media to interact with their classmates may create positive relationships that can be essential to the creation of learning communities where students are known to one another in order for them to work and assist each other. Furthermore Van Wyk (2014:371) believed that the dynamic nature of social media tools allows students to actively take part in the learning experience rather than being passive learners. As noted earlier, social media can be used to support the creation of supportive learning environments. It should be clear now that social media are an important supporting teaching strategy to accommodate the needs of the Net Generation. Fogg-Phillips et al (unknown:13) has drawn attention to the fact that learners of today are being raised in the “always on” world of interactive media, the Internet and social media technologies and they have different expectations and learning styles than previous generations. By using Facebook in the teaching and learning environment, the role of learners can therefore shift from only receiving knowledge to both searching and sharing their knowledge and the ubiquitous use of social media gives learners the unprecedented opportunity to create self-organising learning communities. Moreover, communication with teachers can become more