The Use of Social Networking in Education – A Critique

Throughout history, when new technologies emerged- be it the typewriter, the television or the

computer- educators were pushed to find ways to incorporate these new technologies into the

classroom environment and the learning process. Social networking systems are no different. The

emergence of social networking has helped shape new ways in which people are communicating

and collaborating.

As a result, social networking systems have received much attention in education as an

increasing number of younger people have made use of public systems such as Facebook,

MySpace and Twitter. Such systems help individuals and groups to readily create or find and

then share knowledge. Significantly, the capability of these systems to enable forms of

communication controlled by the user makes them very different to the learning environments of

the past. In social networking systems, the individual user can decide what they wish to discuss

and who they wish to work with. This means that social networking systems truly have the

capability to deliver a platform for learning where the student is potentially at the centre of

activities.

Social networks connect students with other students, indirectly creating a learning community-

a vital component of student education (Baker, 1999). It provides lecturers opportunities and

structures by which students can help and support each other by utilizing a community already

established by the students themselves. Hamann and Wilson (2002) found that students who

participated in a web-enhanced class outperformed those students in a traditional lecture format.

This suggests that Internet-based learning modules actively engage students in a manner

uniquely different from the traditional lecture.

Social networking systems also increase teacher-student interaction in the form of web-based

communications. Facebook, for instance, can help teachers connect with their students about

assignments, upcoming events, useful links etc. Students on the other hand can use Facebook to

contact classmates about questions regarding class assignments, examinations as well as pool

resources on assignments and group projects without leaving the comfort of their homes.

Presently, students struggle with hectic work and school schedules. Quite often, all group

members are unable to meet at the same time to discuss assignments leaving most of the

discussions to take place either via the telephone or email. Social networking offers a solution to

this problem.

Thus far, the educational community has been noticeably slow to adopt social networking

technologies into the classroom curriculum due to privacy and safety concern for students. A

review of current research reveals that the three most commonly cited reasons for not allowing

students to use social networking sites in educational environments include preconceptions

associated with exposing students to inappropriate online content, fears of online sexual

predators, and student based cyber-bullying (Barnard,2008).

Today’s educators are often strongly discouraged from using commercial social networking sites

including Facebook and MySpace because they are seen as inappropriate and incompatible with

student learning. In their rush to protect students, many educators are ignoring the educational

and technological benefits with using social networking sites with students who will be operating

in a technologically rich and globalised workplace of the 21st century.

With this in mind, there has been an emergence of subsets of traditional social networking sites,

such as ‘Ning In Education’ which have been developed in hopes that educators will expose their
students to the educational and technological benefits associated with social networking sites.

These new non-commercial sites provide an exciting and innovative alternative for educators by

providing a platform for teaching and greatly reducing concerns for students’ privacy and safety.

The current debate on whether to use social networking in education is being viewed too

narrowly. As they are deemed safer, there can be benefits from using emerging non-commercial,

e-safe social networking sites in an educational setting. From supporting communication and

collaboration to enhancing the discussion of thoughts and ideas, social networking sites have

demonstrated the ability to function as an effective educational tool.

 REFERENCES

Baker, P.(1999). The Social Works of Higher Education. Thousand Oaks: CA Pine Forge Press.

Barnard,A. ( 2008, January 15th ).MySpace agrees to lead fight to stop sexual predators. The New

York Times

Hamman, K. and Wilson, B.M. (2002). Beyond search engines: Enhancing active learning using

the internet. Politics and Policy, 31,533-553.