Using Facebook in University Teaching: A Practical Case Study

Abstract

This article describes a case study of the use of the social networking site Facebook as a means of interacting with students at the University of Malaga. Using Facebook has allowed teachers to interact more with students, moving away from traditional one- way communication towards a multi-way communication, with students taking on an active role. This experience has shown that using social networks can help to improve the set of competences reflected in dissertations written by students studying Economics or Business Studies. The experimental nature of this initiative has also made it possible to identify advantages of communicating through Facebook.

Full text

P r o c e d i a - S o c i a l a n d B e h a v i o r a l S c i e n c e s 8 3 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 0 3 2 – 1 0 3 8
1877-0428 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Hafize Keser Ankara University, Turkey
doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.192
2
nd
World Conference on Educational Technology Researches – WCETR2012
Using Facebook in University Teaching: A Practical Case Study
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Abstract
This article describes a case study of the use of the social networking site Facebook as a means of interacting with students at the
University of Malaga. Using Facebook has allowed teachers to interact more with students, moving away from traditional one-
way communication towards a multi-way communication, with students taking on an active role. This experience has shown that
using social networks can help to improve the set of competences reflected in dissertations written by students studying
Economics or Business Studies. The experimental nature of this initiative has also made it possible to identify advantages of
communicating through Facebook.
Selection and peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Hafize Keser.
1. Introduction
Web 2.0 provides a space for interaction and communication that allows for collaboration in content creation
(Collins & Moonen, 2008). So-called social software (Kesim & Agaoglu, 2007) brings together tools that enable
users to tag content (internet bookmarking services such as Delicious), create content (blogs and microblogs such as
Blogger, Wordpress and Twitter), share content (Flickr or Youtube), construct spaces for collective creation (wikis),
and various social networking sites (Facebook or LinkedIn) (Dabbagh & Reo, 2011; Kitsantas & Dabbagh, 2010).
In the last few years, new media have had a major impact on teaching methodology (Ellison & Wu, 2008). These
media have been highlighted for their potential to be used in the teaching-learning process within higher education
(Brown, 2012; Wheeler, 2009; Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008; Churchill, 2009; Ellison & Wu, 2008; Top, Yukselturk &
Inan, 2010; Çağlar & Demirok, 2010). Nowadays, university students spend part of their time making use of Web
2.0 tools. This group is made up of so-called digital natives who have grown up with the development of new
technologies (Prensky, 2001; Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008). This has resulted in the need to analyze how Web 2.0 can
be used in an educational environment (Griffith & Livanage, 2008, Otta & Tavella, 2010). According to Armstrong
and Franklin (2008), the slowness in incorporating social media into university teaching methodology is having a
*
Corresponding Author: Rafael Ventura. Tel.: +0034-952 13 7436
E-mail address: rventura@uma.es
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Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
© 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Hafize Keser Ankara University, Turkey

1033
Rafael Ventura and María José Quero / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 83 ( 2013 ) 1032 – 1038
negative impact on its privileged position in the system of knowledge generation and transfer, since other sources
are emerging which enable the creation and diffusion of information.
The use of social software in university teaching lends a collaborative dimension to teaching and allows for an
increase in interaction between all those involved in the teaching-learning process. As a consequence, the student
assumes a more active and relevant role (Collins & Halverson, 2010; Cress & Kimmerle, 2008; Schroeder, Minocha
& Schneider, 2010; Wodzicki, Schwämmlein & Moskaliuk, 2012).
The benefits of using new technologies have been amply demonstrated. Laru, Näykki and Järvelä (2012) discuss
a number of studies that demonstrate the benefits of blogs (Churchill, 2009; Ellison & Wu, 2008; Yang, 2009; Halic,
Lee, Paulus & Spence, 2010; Wheeler, 2009, Hemmi, Bayne & Land, 2009; Xie & Sharma, 2008), wikis (Cress &
Kimmerle, 2008; Wheeler; 2009; Hemmi, Bayne & Land, 2009) and social networks (Arnold & Paulus, 2010).
However, like Meyer (2010), they also highlight the lack of empirical studies into the impact of Web 2.0 in higher
education.
With this in mind, the present article describes a case study involving the use of the social networking site
Facebook as a means of interacting with Business Economics students at the Faculty of Economics or Business
Studies at the University of Malaga.
The initiative undertaken by teaching staff addressed a number of different points of interest. Firstly, the aim was
to develop a communications platform that would compensate for the deficiencies of the virtual campus and enable
multidirectional communication between students and teachers. Secondly, it was instructive to assess the potential of
social networks to improve teaching and help students obtain the competencies required by the course. Thirdly, the
initiative was experimental in nature, which enabled the identification of the possibilities offered by Web 2.0 tools
to teachers and to investigate which aspects of the teaching methodology could be improved by the use of social
networks.
2. Methodology and teaching practice design
The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has resulted in new study plans being developed which are
orientated towards the acquisition of a set of skills by students. This has provided an opportunity to include the new
skills which the current reality demands of future graduates. This new context is shaping teaching methods and
assessment strategies and should serve as a reference for innovations in teaching in the area of business
management.
Martínez, Vallejo and Calahorro (2011) analyzed the competencies included in the degrees awarded by
economics and business administration departments in different universities to determine which appeared most
frequently. They found that the most frequent instrumental competence was native language oral and written
communication. Among the personal competencies, teamworking emerged as having a high frequency. Self-directed
learning appeared most often compared to other systemic competencies. Finally, another competency that was seen
quite often was that related to knowledge and use of ICT.
In addition to focusing on teaching the required competencies, educational innovation must also take into account
the new technologies which are available when designing the teaching-learning process. Given that students newly
entering university education already have an ongoing and natural involvement with social networks, these systems
therefore have great potential to be used as knowledge transfer and teaching tools. In addition to the universal nature
of social networks (Figure 1), one would have to add the fact that access to content is quicker and communication is
almost instantaneous. Even though the existing virtual platform is specifically designed to facilitate teaching
activities, social networks provide a better way of interacting with students.
In the academic year 2010–11, teaching staff on the course Business Economics II decided to adopt social
networks as a resource to complement the university’s virtual campus. This initiative was designed to test the
following hypotheses:

1034 Rafael Ventura and María José Quero / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 83 ( 2013 ) 1032 – 1038
1. The use of social networks helps improve and increase interaction with students, encouraging debate and
discussion on topics of interest.
2. The use of social networks facilitates the acquisition of new skills included in the new degrees.
Facebook was chosen for this initiative since this is the most widely used social networking site among university
students. For this same reason, Facebook has been chosen for other educational innovation initiatives (Dabner, 2012;
Ellison, Steinfield & Lampe, 2007; Ellison & Wu, 2008; Valenzuela, Park & Kee, 2009; Roblyer, McDaniel, Webb,
Herman & Witty, 2010; Forkosh-Baruch & Hershkovitz, 2012).
For this initiative, a Facebook group was set up to enable communication with students. The final number of
members of this group was 166.
At the end of the course, a survey of students was carried out using the virtual campus with the aim of measuring
their opinion of the proposed initiative. A total of 75 students responded to the survey of whom 95% confirmed that
they were members of the Facebook group.
3. Results
The initiative was assessed positively by students, with 4.1 out of 5 considering it a good idea to extend the use of
social networks to other courses. In addition, students indicated that the Facebook group created as part of the
initiative had a positive impact on their level of motivation in the course and that the quality of the content and
comments shared was adequate (3.8 out of 5) (Figure 2).
33
67
Yes No
94
6
Yes No
¿have you used any platform /
virtual campus in previous studies?
¿Do you use any social network
sites?

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Rafael Ventura and María José Quero / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 83 ( 2013 ) 1032 – 1038
Student participation resulted in the creation of 420 topics or new entries. Some 85% of these were created by
students. This result demonstrates that students played an active role in sharing information and resources with the
rest of the group.
The entries and open topics posted to the group were intended for sharing videos, resources and links to news
items that were of interest to the course. These generated a total of 1017 “likes” and 2254 “comments”. The
different types of contribution show a completely different communicational reality from that observed in the
previous academic year, which arose from the exclusive use of the virtual campus as a platform for communicating
with students.
During the 2009–10 academic year, communication was exclusively unidirectional. The social networking site
has increased interactivity and generated a space in which communication is multidirectional. In addition, the
increase in communication within the social networking site has resulted in greater use of the virtual campus by
students.
As well as the quantitative aspect, a positive evaluation was given of the quality of contributions, the resources
shared and their relevance to the course contents. Hence, the findings confirm the hypothesis that social networks
help create an inter-connected space for horizontal communication in which students take the initiative and become
more involved.
Moreover, the use of Facebook has facilitated the acquisition of a number of competencies (Figure 3). Those
which have benefited most from the use of social networks (use of ICT, ability to convey information, group
learning skills, teamworking skills and socializing skills), correspond to those which appear with the highest
frequency in business administration degree reports awarded by universities (Martínez et al., 2011). From this, it can
be concluded that the use of Facebook is a valid option for improving the new set of skills defined by the EHEA.
3,4
4,1
4
3,8
3,8
3,6
4,1
$ $ # $ % $ & $ ' % % #
Using this tool has been useful to reach the
objetives of the course
Using this tool has been a positive
experience
The level of participation has been
satisfactory
The quality of contents and commnets posted
is sufficiently high
Facebook page ha had a positive impact on
my level of motivation
Facebook improves learning of course
subjects
Should be used in other subjects

1036 Rafael Ventura and María José Quero / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 83 ( 2013 ) 1032 – 1038
y()
4. Discussion and conclusions
Having fulfilled the objectives of the proposed educational innovation, the experimental nature of the initiative
has allowed a number of additional findings to be identified:
1. The network has facilitated the use of new teaching resources.
Video is one tool which supplements very well the information given in class. Students respond particularly well
to images and video. In addition, teachers recommended blogs, which have been incorporated as a vehicle for
acquiring knowledge, and unedited resources from the network have been used in paper format. Students
participated by contributing new digital resources which enhanced the nature of the group conversation.
2. The network represents an extension to the classroom.
Using a social network introduces the concept of 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to teaching. Class does not finish
with the end of teaching in the physical space; instead, it moves to the virtual space. Students share resources on the
network which are related to the material discussed in the classroom, generating conversation at any hour of the day.
3. The tutorial group takes on a greater significance.
Doubts or problems brought up by students on the network are frequently resolved by the students themselves.
During tutorials, students participate more while the teacher plays a smaller role. Discussions generated through
debating a query strengthen the teaching-learning process.
4. The teaching-learning process becomes more flexible.
The deterministic nature of teaching guides with regard to planning content and activities to a fixed time is not
appropriate within the new context. Proposals put forward in the online environment can be transferred to the
classroom, modifying the planned timetable. In such cases, the teacher must decide on the suitability and
appropriateness in terms of the teaching objectives each time a change occurs.
5. Web 2.0 tools are collaborative in nature.
3,8
3,5
3,8
3,7
3,4
4,1
3,9
4,1
3,8
3,8
4,1
3,7
3,6
3,8
4,4
3,4
3,8
4
$ # $ % $ & $ ' % % # % % % &
Ability to find and analyze information
Organizational an planning skills
Problem solving skills
Ability to interpret and absorb information
Analytical and summarizing skills
Socializing skills
Critical thinking and self-criticism skills
Teamworking skills
Awareness of course-related subjects
Creativity
Group learning skills
Initiative and dedication
motivation to produce quality work
Ability to apply knowledge
Ability to convey information
Time management and planing
Learning to learn
Use of ICT's

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Rafael Ventura and María José Quero / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 83 ( 2013 ) 1032 – 1038
Students participate in social networking in a collaborative manner. Resources are shared on the network which
are of interest to all, for example, grant applications or employment opportunities where the students participate
competitively. The culture of collaboration encourages teamworking throughout the course.
6. Social networks foster an informal style of communication.
Within social networks, the teacher-student relationship takes on a horizontal character due to the nature of the
medium. This enables greater interaction and participation on the part of the student and increases their trust in their
interlocutor.
7. The relationship between teachers and students continues for a longer period of time.
Links between teachers and students migrate from the chosen platform to other environments. An interesting
observation is that contact within other social networks moves to more professional platforms such as Twitter and
LinkedIn. Hence, within the short to medium term, teacher-student relationships become professional-professional.
The teachers who took part in the project gave a positive assessment of the outcomes and believe that this is an
approach that should be developed with the aim of improving teaching practices. Similarly, students expressed a
very high level of satisfaction with the possibility of improving their learning experience using a network which
they already use habitually.
The findings reached demonstrate that students adopt an active and participatory role in the teaching-learning
process. While the virtual campus enables unidirectional communication from teacher to student, social networking
allows for more fluid, inter-connected multidirectional communication.
The use of communication platforms such as Facebook has had an influence on the degree to which students
acquire the new competencies covered in the new degree courses. It has proved particularly useful in improving
skills related to the use of ICT, the ability to convey information, group learning, teamworking and socializing
skills.
The experimental use of Facebook in teaching has also resulted in other advantages being observed which were
not anticipated at the outset of the initiative. It is possible to use new resources for teaching, to continue interaction
in the online space, plan tutorial groups, take advantage of the culture of collaboration that predominates on the
network, benefit from the informal nature of communication and, finally, maintain links with students into the
future.
Due to the scarcity of practical investigations and initiatives in relation to the use of social networks, it is
advisable to be cautious in interpreting the findings. The outcomes described above could have been influenced by
the novel character of the initiative, since innovation in itself stimulates participation. As such, it is possible that
extending the use of social networks more generally in teaching could result in a lower level of participation than
that which was observed in this study.
This study has indicated changing assessment strategies as an area that should be investigated in future studies.
While the involvement of students throughout the course was evaluated very positively, it should be noted that the
assessments have generated some unsatisfactory results. This disparity between findings should be investigated in
future initiatives involving the use of social networks in teaching in order to ascertain the causes and establish
possible explanations.
R
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