Eighth IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies

Integrating social networking technologies in education: a case study of a

formal learning environment

Lori Lockyer John Patterson

University of Wollongong University of Wollongong
[email protected] [email protected]

Abstract 2. Background
The concept of Internet-facilitated social Many different instances of social networking sites
networking is not new – we have evidence of the exist. However, there is much commonality in their
development of the concept and the technologies over technical features. Users of social networking sites can
decades. However, Web 2.0 technologies and the share personal information through their profile,
emergence of social networking sites has expanded connect with other users of the sites who might be
accessibility and use beyond levels that may have been known as contact or friends, upload, tag and share
thought imaginable just two or three years ago. These multimedia content that they have created, link others
developments have been accompanied with calls to to a variety of web-accessible content, initiate or join
integrate the new technologies and experiences of sub-sets of user groups based on common interests or
social networks within formal education. Yet, there is pursuits.
limited research on the potential or outcomes of such It has been argued that these social networking sites
initiatives. This paper presents a case study that facilitate informal learning for the participants.
examines the technology and experience in a formal Researchers have analyzed interaction that has taken
education context. place in social networking sites and have identified
sharing of ideas, providing of peer feedback, and
1. Introduction engagement in critical thinking [2]. Certainly there
is a well-developed body of literature that supports
The concept of Internet-facilitated social informal learning [3]. Marsick and Watkins suggest
networking is not new – Howard Rheingold’s [1] that informal learning is integrated with daily routines;
writings about the WELL community demonstrate that be initiated by either internal or external triggers; is not
this decades-old phenomena pre-dates the web-based a highly conscious activity of the learner; may occur by
technologies that emerged in the early nineties. chance; is an inductive process of reflection and action;
However, the development and proliferation of Web and, involves learning by linking to others.
2.0 technologies has meant that the accessibility to and The question is whether we can bring together
engagement in online social networks has become elements of models and evidence from informal
within reach of millions. Popular press and research learning theory with the observations of current and
literature point to the ubiquity of such social networks emerging behaviors in social networking sites to
sites (SNSs) as MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/) inform formal education. Industry and education
and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/) citing commentators and policymakers call for the use of
evidence provided by the services themselves such as such technologies in schools and universities. There
“250,000 new registrations per day” are necessary provisos associated with such directions.
(http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics). The 2008 Horizon Report suggests, “…the challenge
This paper reports a case study that attempts to faced by the educational community is to seize those
explore the potential of Web 2.0 social networking opportunities [for use of social networking and other
technologies to enhance formal learning contexts. collaborative tools] and develop effective ways to
measure academic progress as it happens.” (p.5) [4].
To date, research related to social networking and
Web 2.0 tools that support social networking is limited.
Where the research does exist, much has focused on

978-0-7695-3167-0/08 $25.00 © 2008 IEEE 529

DOI 10.1109/ICALT.2008.67
identity, network structures, privacy, and technological 4.1 Case context
issues [5]. This research may inform the potential for
use of the concept and the technologies of social Network-based Learning is an 8-credit point subject
networking in education. However, research that is offered within a range of postgraduate courses within
based in an educational perspective is critical if we are the specialization of ICTs in Education by an
to make evidence-based decisions on how to Education faculty in a regional Australian university.
effectively use the technologies and constructs of These courses aim to help students develop theoretical,
social networking in formal education settings. empirical and practical knowledge and skills related to
how technologies can be used to support teaching and
3. Research social networking in education learning in a range of educational contexts. Typically,
students enrolled in the course are teachers in K-12 or
The relative newness of the research into the use of tertiary sectors, workplace training professionals, and
Web 2.0 social networking technologies to support instructional or multimedia designers.
formal educational experiences necessitates a case The subject, Network-based Learning, places
study approach. Such methodology allows for particular focus on how education can be supported by
investigation of complex social phenomena by the the use of web-based and other networked
examination of a set of rich data [6]. technologies. The subject has been part of the
From the context of significant research in postgraduate course for a number of years and has
computer mediated communication in educational evolved to keep in step with evolving pedagogies and
settings and using constructivist underpinnings, technologies of online learning [8].
Gunawardena, Lowe, and Anderson put forward a During the 2007 academic year, 12 students were
model for phases of learning which occur at both the enrolled in the subject. The majority (n=10) were
individual and social level [7]. In the decade since its studying within the specialization of ICTs in Education
development, the model has since been applied by a while the remaining students were focused on
range of researchers investigating educationally Teaching English as a Second or Other Language
focused social interaction facilitated by a range of (TESOL) and enrolled in Network-based Learning as
technologies. The model is comprised of five phases: an elective. Eight students were located in the area of
1. Sharing/Comparing, the Faculty’s main campus, three students were located
2. Dissonance, in other Australian states/territories; and one student
3. Negotiation/Co-construction, was located in Southeast Asia.
4. Testing Tentative Constructions, and The subject was delivered fully online other than an
5. Statement/Application of Newly-Constructed optional face-to-face meeting during the first week of
Knowledge. the 13-week semester. Students completed three main
This model suggests successive stages of increasingly assessment tasks in which they analyzed case studies
higher mental functions. The model can be, and is of network-based learning to develop their own
most often, used to analyze the discourse and social conceptual models; designed network-based learning
interaction that occurs among learners in an online activities for an educational context relevant to their
environment. However, it can also be used to analyze profession; and analyzed the weekly online class
the learners’ perceptions of their learning experience as activities. For each week of the semester, all students
reported through other data opportunities such as were expected to participate in these online activities.
interviews and written reflections. This model was Each week focused on a different topic associated with
used to investigate the experience of using social Network-based Learning (e.g., terminology,
networking technologies in a formal learning context. pedagogies, tools, online communities, re-usability,
etc.) and were facilitated using a range of tools such as
4. Case: Postgraduate ICTs in Education live chat, discussion forums and wikis hosted within
the university’s Learning Management System (that
A description of the case context is followed by the also delivered subject content and resources) as well as
analysis of the case using the Gunawardena, Lowe, and Web 2.0 tools freely accessible and hosted by external
Anderson model of online social interaction. The case service providers.
is comprised of a university postgraduate class group
(lecturer and students). In presenting this case 4.2 Learning activity in focus
pseudonyms are used for the student participants.
In Week 9, the topic focused on online
communications and collaboration. Over a seven-day

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period, students were asked to read two journal articles start of this activity while the other five students
that reviewed the research associated with online needed to establish an account before proceeding to the
collaboration in education. Students were then asked activity. Except for Mike, the students established
to share their vision of collaboration through a learning accounts with screen names that were clearly related to
activity that involved the use of flickr. both their first name and surname.
While flickr describes itself as a online photo The lecturer participated by initiating the activity
management and sharing application with a photo and corresponding title, descriptions and
(http://www.flickr.com/about/), it can most certainly tags. The lecturer also posted comments to the
also be catagorised as a social networking site using students’ photos but intentionally limited the
Boyd and Ellison’s [5] definition. Users sign up for comments to social, technical or activity organizational
free or paid (pro) username and password. Once an issues so as not to influence the comments of the
account is established the user can set their profile students. Figure 1 shows the gallery of some of photos
including a screen name and photo. Users can upload shared by the participant on flickr during the
and share multimedia content (i.e., photographic learning activity.
images). Users can establish “contacts” with other
users through which they can selectively release
viewing of their photos and receive updates about their
contacts most recent photo activities. When users
upload photo they are able to give them a title, tags and
link them to a location on a world map. Other users
can then post comments about the photos. flickr
provides other functionality such as the ability to send
internal email messages to users and establish groups
based on common theme.
Students were provided with information about the
website and then asked to: establish a free account if
they didn’t already have one and explore the
functionality and content on the site; take a digital
photograph of something that they thought captured
the concept of collaboration; upload the photo to Figure 1: flicker webpage with participants’
flickr, make it publicly available, add a title, photos.
description and tags (at least those that would identify
the subject code and the topic of collaboration); search The photos used by four of the seven participants
flickr for the relevant tags to bring up the gallery of were connected to their personal lives. Of those, three
class entries; and, post comments on their classmates used photographs they had previously taken during a
photos related to the topic of collaboration. vacation. Jon went as far as to provide a link to his
Within the Learning Management System, the personal/professional blog in the description of his
lecturer established a discussion forum thread as a photo.
place for students to make comment or ask questions For the five photos depicting collaboration that
about the activity. Near the end of the semester, this were contributed during the defined week of the
activity was one of the many that students could learning activity,
choose to analyze and reflect upon in their final The Gunawardena, Lowe, and Anderson model of
assessment task. interaction analysis was used to code the descriptions
each participant provided with their own photo and the
4.3 Learning activity analysis comments they posted on their classmates’ photos.
The first issue to arise in the analysis of the
Seven participants were involved in the learning descriptions and the comments was the need for
activity. The lecturer and four students (Jon, Amy, Liz themes or categories that were not related to
and Emily) participated during the seven-day knowledge construction. Thus, the interaction analysis
timeframe of the learning activity. Two other students model was augmented with two codes. The ‘technical’
(Mike and Lyn) uploaded photos and posted comments code (T) related to comments participants made about
after the conclusion of the activity but still within the the technical issues they were experiencing with using
semester. Of those that participated, only the lecturer the website. The ‘social’ code (S) related to off topic
and Jon had established flickr accounts prior to the comments made by participants which, in most cases,

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involved general praise for a their photography. The experiencing with flickerand work together to
summary of this analysis is provided in Table 1. Each develop solutions to address the problems. The
comment was coded as a whole. Thus, where one code sequence of postings between Amy and Liz explained
is provided in one cell of the table, it denotes that the details of the problem. They had both tagged their
corresponding participant made one comment on a photos with the subject code and the word
photo and the comment could wholly be placed in one collaboration. However, when they conducted a search
category of the analysis model. Where there are two of those terms on flicker, the search results only
codes on one line, the corresponding participant has listed the photos that had been uploaded by the lecturer
made one comment but the comment represents two and Jon. Jon took the initiative to examine the help
themes. Where there is a code on two separate lines in information on the flickersite and found that there
a cell, the participant has made two comments on a was a waiting period for new members’ photos to
particular photo. appear in the public search. The lecturer established a
group on flicker and invited the students to join and
Table 1. Summary of interaction analysis. contribute their collaboration photo to the group
collection. Through this strategy all group members
Source of Photo were able to see all photos.
Desc/ L J A Lz Em M Ly Interestingly, when the interaction analysis model is
Comment
applied to these postings on the discussion forum, there
Lecturer 1 S T S S
is evidence of sharing/comparing, dissonance,
Jon 3 1 S S negotiation/co-construction, testing tentative
4 constructions, statement/application of newly-
Amy 3 3 1 3 3, T constructed knowledge in relation to understanding the
Liz 3 3 S, 3 1 functionality of and how to use the Web 2.0
Emily 4, S 1 technology of this specific social networking site.
Mike S S S 1 Given the focus of the subject – that is, Network-based
Lyn 1 Learning – this was an important learning opportunity.
Key: Participants had the option to use their experience in
1. Sharing/Comparing this learning activity within a subsequent analysis and
2. Dissonance reflection assessment task. In this task, students were
3. Negotiation/Co-construction
to analyze the interactions, identify strengths and
4. Testing Tentative Constructions
5. Statement/Application of Newly-Constructed weaknesses of the tool (i.e., flicker), identify
Knowledge strengths and weaknesses of the pedagogical strategy,
S. Social and suggest recommendations for improvement to both
T. Technical tool and strategy. Analysis of the work submitted by
the participants for the assessment tasks reveals their
The analysis demonstrates that there was much perspectives on the activity, what they felt they learnt
social interaction during the activity. There was also from the activity, and what they thought of flickras a
much discussion focused on the topic of collaboration. technology to support teaching and learning.
In the main, this was at the level of sharing/comparing Students did feel that they attained some level of
ideas and/or negotiation/co-construction of ideas learning regarding the topic of focus in the activity –
related to the topic. Only once, in relation to the photo online collaboration. However, they felt this was
posted by Jon, did the interaction among the limited by the fact that only half of the students
participants move to the testing tentative constructions enrolled in the class participated in the activity.
level. The analysis also demonstrates that only one In terms of their perspectives on the specific
participant (Amy) consistently contributed to the technology, the participants identified the frustration of
interaction at the higher level of negotiation/co- the delay in release of new member photos to the
construction. search function. However, they did confirm that they
The comments that were coded to the ‘technology’ learnt about the technology through using the
theme related to the difficulties the new users of technology. They also identified a range of ways they
flicker were experiencing with the tagging, searching could anticipate using flickerin their own teaching in
and viewing functions of the site. The discussion K-12, college and training contexts.
forum thread, within the Learning Management System
that was used to delivery the subject website, was used
by the participants to explain the problems they were

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5. Discussion and conclusions The technical difficulties in using the flickr
website point to an important consideration for the use
The experience of this case points to some of Web 2.0 technologies in education. It highlights the
interesting teaching, learning and technical issues need for subject designers and lecturers to put
associated with using Web 2.0 social networking sites considerable time into planning the use of the Web 2.0
to support formal education environments. technologies prior to the start of the academic session.
In this case, there was some level of cognitive It also suggests that lecturers may have to play a
engagement in the topic of collaboration as evidenced considerable technical support role in helping students
by the analysis of the descriptions and comments who are new to such technologies. This is not
posted by students on flickr. Participants who dissimilar to the late 1990s and beginning 2000s when
reflected upon this learning activity in a subsequent early-adopting lecturers began to use web-based
assessment task further support this finding. technologies before their universities adopted Learning
Pedagogically, the potential for deeper engagement in Management Systems at a centralized level [8].
the topic may be realized by more closely linking the Overall, it could be concluded that this experience
research-based reading component to the social of using a social networking site in a formal education
networking component of this specific learning environment realized positive learning outcomes and
activity. At a more general level this study suggests experiences for the participants. However, this
the need for further research into pedagogically sound conclusion should be considered with the appropriate
uses of Web 2.0 technologies. caution, the recognition of the limitations and the need
The participants in this case spent some amount of to continue to investigate the issue.
time learning to use the flickrwebsite and identifying
and solving problems associated with being new users. 6. References
Given the nature of the subject matter which they were
studying – educational technology generally and [1] Rheingold, H., The Virtual Community: Homesteading on
network-based learning specially – the opportunity to the Electronic Frontier. http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/
learn about this Web 2.0 social networking technology ed. 1994, London: Minerva.
[2] Selwyn, N. Web 2.0 applications as alternative
outweighed the issues of frustration. However, if the
environments for informal learning - a critical review in
nature of the subject matter were different, students Background paper for the CERI-KERIS International Expert
many not want to use a technology in their formal Meeting on ICT and Educational Performance. 2007. Cheju
learning that may take time to learn. Or, support National University: South Korea.
mechanisms may need to be put in place such that the [3] Marsick, V.J. and K.E. Watkins, Informal and Incidental
time to learn is not considered to be a burden. Learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing
The blurring of the lines between the personal and Education, 2001. 2001(89): p. 25-34.
professional roles of the lecturer and students is also an [4] 2008 Horizon Report. 2008, The New Media
issue that is brought about through this case study. Consortium.
[5] Boyd, D.M. and N.B. Ellison, Social network sites:
Two of the participants in this study were established
Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-
flickerusers of many months prior to the start of this Mediated Communication, 2007. 13(1): p. article 11.
educational use of the site. As they choose to engage [6] Yin, R.K., Case study research: design and methods.
in the learning activity under their pre-existing 2003, Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.
username (and not set up one solely for the purpose of [7] Gunawardena, C. N., C.A. Lowe, & T. Anderson,
this activity) they invited their fellow participants into Analysis of a global online debate and the development of an
their world outside of the class context – their personal, interaction analysis model for examining social construction
‘informal’ life. The data from this case is not able to of knowledge in computer conferencing. Journal of
Educational Computing Research, 1997. 17(4), 395-429.
help us draw any specific conclusions about this aspect
[8] Lockyer, L. and S. Bennett, Understanding roles within
of the personal and professional. However, it may be technology supported teaching and learning: Implications for
considered that integrating the use of open Web 2.0 students, staff and institutions., in Technology Supported
social networking sites into the formal education Learning and Teaching: A Staff Perspective. J. O'Donoghue,
setting brings with it a need to explore this further. Editor. 2006, Information Science Publishing: Hershey, PA.
Research in this area should investigate the
professional relationship and expectation implications
for teachers and students when they begin to interact in
open social networking sites for educational purposes.

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