ERIC Number: EJ906881
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1449-5554
EISSN: N/A
Blended Learning Environments: Using Social Networking Sites to Enhance the First Year Experience
McCarthy, Joshua
Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, v26 n6 p729-740 2010
This study explores blending virtual and physical learning environments to enhance the experience of first year by immersing students into university culture through social and academic interaction between peers. It reports on the progress made from 2008 to 2009 using an existing academic platform, the first year design elective course "Imaging Our World", in the School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Adelaide. Over one semester, 120 design students, including 27 internationals, engaged with their peers through an online forum within the host site "Facebook", in addition to the traditional teaching mechanisms of lectures and tutorials. Students were required to submit work online to "Facebook" and provide critiques of peers' submissions. Resulting discussions were then transferred into the physical classroom with the aim of building meaningful relationships between peers based on the embryonic online connections. The evaluation process involved pre and post semester questionnaires, weekly feedback from students and project-specific reflections at the completion of the semester. The findings are discussed in light of the conflicting attitudes and assumptions regarding the "digital native" student cohort, and the use of social media to support learning and teaching in higher education. (Contains 5 tables.)
Descriptors: Feedback (Response), Elective Courses, Architecture, Evaluation, Peer Relationship, Grouping (Instructional Purposes), Internet, Social Networks, Educational Environment, Universities, School Culture, Questionnaires, Learner Engagement, Student Attitudes, Teaching Methods, Foreign Countries
Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education. Ascilite Secretariat, P.O. Box 44, Figtree, NSW, Australia. Tel: +61-8-9367-1133; e-mail: info@ascilite.org.au; Web site: http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A