It is the policy of Concordia College to allow students to retain ownership of the copyright to t... more It is the policy of Concordia College to allow students to retain ownership of the copyright to the thesis after deposit. However, as a condition of accepting the degree, the student grants the College the non-exclusive right to retain, use and distribute a limited number of copies of the thesis, together with the right to require its publication for archival use. Windy Roberts Dec. 18, 2009 _________________________________ _________________________________ Signature Date My gratitude also to Lisa Sethre-Hofstad, Viann Pederson, Donna Clementi and my masters cohort members for their advice and words of encouragement throughout the thesis process. Finally, I am happy to express my enormous gratitude to my husband David Roberts for his optimistic support and his editorial assistance. Many thanks also to my children for their patience and their support. v ABSTRACT Facebook (www.facebook.com) is an online social-networking site used by many high school and college students today in their personal lives. This thesis reports on an exploratory study which investigated the possible increase in writing skills of Spanish language students from incorporating a Facebook component into an otherwise standard college course. Fourth semester college Spanish students were asked to complete weekly writing assignments in Facebook throughout the semester. Regular writing practice on varied topics in the familiar and informal environment of Facebook was expected to increase the language production and the writing skill of the students. The study had several components. The researcher developed a syllabus integrating Facebook writing assignments with the rest of the course. Students completed an initial survey to determine their previous experience with Facebook and their disposition towards the use of computers in general. The entry writing skills of students were measured by applying a Standard-based Measurement of Proficiency writing rubric to an initial writing sample. The instructor monitored the performance of the students on Facebook throughout the semester. The writing skills of the students at the end of the semester were evaluated by applying the same rubric to a final writing sample. Finally, students completed a second survey containing specific questions about their experiences using Facebook as a learning tool throughout. The students wrote substantially in response to the weekly assignments. The measurements revealed a clear increase in their writing abilities between the initial and vi final writing samples. Students self-reported modest-to-considerable higher comfort levels and modest-to-considerable higher proficiency in writing due to the Facebook component. The results are clearly encouraging, but they are also somewhat tentative because of the study's exploratory nature. vii
It is the policy of Concordia College to allow students to retain ownership of the copyright to t... more It is the policy of Concordia College to allow students to retain ownership of the copyright to the thesis after deposit. However, as a condition of accepting the degree, the student grants the College the non-exclusive right to retain, use and distribute a limited number of copies of the thesis, together with the right to require its publication for archival use. Windy Roberts Dec. 18, 2009 _________________________________ _________________________________ Signature Date My gratitude also to Lisa Sethre-Hofstad, Viann Pederson, Donna Clementi and my masters cohort members for their advice and words of encouragement throughout the thesis process. Finally, I am happy to express my enormous gratitude to my husband David Roberts for his optimistic support and his editorial assistance. Many thanks also to my children for their patience and their support. v ABSTRACT Facebook (www.facebook.com) is an online social-networking site used by many high school and college students today in their personal lives. This thesis reports on an exploratory study which investigated the possible increase in writing skills of Spanish language students from incorporating a Facebook component into an otherwise standard college course. Fourth semester college Spanish students were asked to complete weekly writing assignments in Facebook throughout the semester. Regular writing practice on varied topics in the familiar and informal environment of Facebook was expected to increase the language production and the writing skill of the students. The study had several components. The researcher developed a syllabus integrating Facebook writing assignments with the rest of the course. Students completed an initial survey to determine their previous experience with Facebook and their disposition towards the use of computers in general. The entry writing skills of students were measured by applying a Standard-based Measurement of Proficiency writing rubric to an initial writing sample. The instructor monitored the performance of the students on Facebook throughout the semester. The writing skills of the students at the end of the semester were evaluated by applying the same rubric to a final writing sample. Finally, students completed a second survey containing specific questions about their experiences using Facebook as a learning tool throughout. The students wrote substantially in response to the weekly assignments. The measurements revealed a clear increase in their writing abilities between the initial and vi final writing samples. Students self-reported modest-to-considerable higher comfort levels and modest-to-considerable higher proficiency in writing due to the Facebook component. The results are clearly encouraging, but they are also somewhat tentative because of the study's exploratory nature. vii
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