ERIC Number: EJ1161549
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Dec
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0157-244X
EISSN: N/A
Integrating Facebook in Upper Secondary Biology Instruction: A Case Study of Students' Situational Interest and Participation in Learning Communication
Dohn, Niels Bonderup; Dohn, Nina Bonderup
Research in Science Education, v47 n6 p1305-1329 Dec 2017
The sciences are often perceived by students as irrelevant as they do not see the content of science as related to their daily lives. Web 2.0-mediated activities are characterized by user-driven content production, collaboration, and multi-way communication. It has been proposed that employing Web 2.0 in educational activities will promote richer opportunities for making learning personally meaningful, collaborative, and socially relevant. Since Facebook is already in use among youths, it potentially provides a communicative link between educational content and students' lives. The present study was conducted as a case study to provide an inductive, explorative investigation of whether and how the integration of Facebook into upper secondary biology can affect interest in biology and participation in learning communication. The results indicate that the coupling of formal and informal communication practices on Facebook serves to maintain interest and open up new learning possibilities while at the same time creating barriers to communication. These barriers are due to distractions, ethical issues, and a certain depreciation of the activities ensuing from the everydayness of Facebook as a communication platform. In conclusion, use of Facebook as an educational platform is not clearly good or bad.
Descriptors: Social Media, Educational Technology, Web 2.0 Technologies, Technology Uses in Education, Case Studies, Secondary School Students, Secondary School Science, Biology, Science Instruction, Student Interests, Student Participation, Communication Strategies, Barriers
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A