Educación, Formación e Investigación (Aug 2016)
Higher education and social networks. An academic experience mediated by Facebook
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to share perceptions of a group of students about the potential of social networks for education and to present the results of an academic experience at the university level. First, it was developed and administered a questionnaire with open and closed questions to inquire about the frequency and modes of use of Facebook. The questionnaire was answered by 44 students of the Degree in Physical Activity at the Universidad Nacional of Villa Mercedes (Argentina). The results show a high participation of subjects in the social network and a majority consensus about their potential in academic contexts. Secondly, we conducted a case study, we design and implement an academic task, to be resolved with the mediation of the mentioned social network. From the records of the exchanges in the closed group of the proposed activity, we observed that while the potential of using Facebook to stay informed and communicate with peers and teachers stands, exchanges are perceived infrequent that sometimes, they hindered the development of the task. Finally, beyond some personal difficulty adapting to the mode proposed, social networks are a resource with potential to mediate academic proposals that use virtual environments as a complement or alternative to classroom lesson.
