Facebook and education: A classroom connection?

Abstract

Facebook has become an essential part of student life for most college students; it serves not only as a primary tool of communication but also electronic socialization (Golder, Wilkinson, & Huberman, 2007). Indeed, the vast majority of college students have a Facebook account and are spending a considerable amount of time logged in (Salaway, Caruso, & Nelson, 2008). Yet, can this predominately social space also become a place for learning? To date, the reactions of using social network sites for educational purposes are mixed and empirical research is limited. Issues relating to privacy and safety and an erosion of professional boundaries are the primary reasons cited to not employ social network sites in a classroom. However, other researchers have supported the notion of using social network sites in education (Greenhow & Robelia, 2009a, 2009b; Tynes, B. M. (2007). Internet safety gone wild?: Sacrificing the Educational and Psychosocial benefits of online social environments. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22(6), 575–584. Available at http://jar.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/22/6/575. Retrieved on March 25, 2010; Muñoz, C. L., & Towner, T. (2010). Social networks: Facebook's role in the advertising classroom. Journal of Advertising Education, 14(1), 20–27). This chapter serves to further this discussion by sharing the findings from surveys of instructors and students regarding their attitudes toward Facebook. Specifically, we report how each use Facebook both socially and professionally. Most important, we discuss instructors and students' perceptions of Facebook as an informal and formal teaching tool, particularly its effectiveness as an instructional or course tool, communication device, and in assisting students in their education and learning. Drawing on the survey and experiences using Facebook in multiple classroom settings, we pose specific suggestions on how instructors should use Facebook. In conclusion, the chapter supports the thesis that Facebook and education can indeed be connected.

Citation

Towner, T.L. and Lego Muñoz, C. (2011), "Facebook and education: A classroom connection?", Wankel, C. (Ed.) Educating Educators with Social Media (Cutting-Edge Technologies in Higher Education, Vol. 1), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 33-57. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2044-9968(2011)0000001005