Alcala, Roger Moore Barona
Case#
Facebook as an Educational Tool
Facebook has been one of the most frequently used social media websites throughout the years.
It continues to be the starting platform for most social media users (Greenwood et al. 2016). Facebook
mainly aimed to connect people by employing an online social platform. It helped users to stay
connected with their friends and family even if they were away. It also paved the way for accessible
digital communication. However, the use of Facebook is not limited to being a social media alone. One
of which is using Facebook as an educational tool. It is for the establishment of social groups in
educational settings (Voivonta et al. 2018). Facebook’s academic usage includes three underlying
dimensions defined as communication, collaboration, and resource sharing (Manasijevic et al. 2016).
Students and teachers optimize the usage of Facebook to aid them in their school works.
References:
Greenwood, S., Perrin, A., & Duggan, M. (2016). Social media update 2016. Google Scholar.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?
hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=most+used+social+media&oq=most+used+so#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p
%3DMfwlZ8ueqhAJ
Manasijević, D., Živković, D., & Milošević, S. (2016). Computers in human behavior. Google Scholar.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?
hl=en&as_sdt=1%2C5&q=facebook+educational+tool+teachers&oq=facebook+educational+tool+teac#d
=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DgGzkLxnla50J
Voivonta, T., & Avraamidou, L. (2018). Facebook: A potentially valuable educational tool? Taylor &
Francis. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09523987.2018.1439708
As an educational tool, Facebook has made school-related tasks easier to accomplish. It increased
communication and informal learning between students (Prescott et al. 2015). It also allows them to
share lessons and modules, including important school-related information outside the classroom. The
use of Facebook among students significantly increased the impact on students’ collaboration and
engagement (Mbodilla et al. 2014). Previous research has shown that using Facebook improves
collaboration between students (Mazman & Usluel, 2010). With the accessibility to a social platform,
students can contact each other even outside their school hours and can have their discussion at ease.
References:
Masman, S., & Usluel, Y. (2010). Modeling educational usage of Facebook. ScienceDirect.com | Science,
health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360131510000424
Mbodila, Munienge & Ndebele, Clever & Kikunga, Muhandji. (2014). The Effect of Social Media on
Student’s Engagement and Collaboration in Higher Education: A Case Study of the Use of Facebook at a
South African University. Journal of Communication. 5. 115-125. 10.1080/0976691X.2014.11884831.
Prescott, J., Wilson, S., & Beckett, G. (2015). Facebook use in the learning environment: do students
want this? Google Scholar. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?
hl=en&publication_year=2013&author=J.+Prescottauthor=S.+Wilsonauthor=G.
+Becket&title=Facebook+use+in+the+learning+environment%3A+do+students+want+this
%3F#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DC3hYb425W9MJ
Teachers and lecturers also benefit from using Facebook as an educational tool. Educators can
utilize Facebook to learn about trends and issues in education as well as to obtain ideas for classroom
practice (Pilgrim et al. 2011). In this way, teachers can expand their teaching repertoire to enhance
student learning inside and outside of a classroom. Even so, a study conducted by Bosch (2009) revealed
that Facebook is known to increase communication between students and lecturers. Due to this,
teachers and students can engage with each other outside a classroom. Facebook also hosts a
supportive learning environment wherein teachers can share educational materials (Bicen et al. 2013). It
can be done and accessed anywhere, making Facebook an ideal platform to upload resources and for
students to view.
Referrences:
Bicen, H., & Uzunboylu, H. (2013). The use of social networking sites in education: A case study of
Facebook. Google Scholar. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?
hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=The+use+of+social+networking+sites+in+education
%3A+A+case+study+of+Facebook.&btnG=#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DW0JwxKUQjZsJ
Bosch, T. (2009). Using online social networking for teaching and learning: Facebook use at the
University of Cape Town. Taylor & Francis.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02500160903250648
Pilgrim, J., & Bledsoe, C. (2011). Learning through Facebook: A potential tool for educators. Google
Scholar. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=20&q=facebook+educational+tool+teachers&hl
Even with the advantages and perks of using Facebook as an educational tool, some disadvantages
can hamper student learning and teaching efficiency. A constructive analysis by Wise et al. (2011) shows
that Facebook may act as a preferred form of distraction due to its availability. Students with a high-
frequency usage of Facebook tended to be more distracted in academic tasks (Feng et al. 2019). The
addictive use of Facebook can prohibit students from using it as an educational tool but rather as social
media it is. It prevents them from finishing assignments and projects. The usage of Facebook can also
affect academic performance. Ketari et al. (2013) argue that Facebook is related to poor academic
performance. Students lose focus and do not perform well academically.
Referrences:
References
Ketari, L., & Khanum, M. (2013). Impact of Facebook usage on the academic grades: A case study.
Google Scholar. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?
hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=use+of+facebook+lower+grades&oq=use+of+facebook+lower+#d=gs_qabs&u
=%23p%3DZgdd0xzskgQJ
Reng, S., & Hussain, L. (2019). The internet and Facebook usage on academic distraction of college
students. ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036013151930034X
Wise, L., Skues, J., & Williams, B. (2011). Facebook in higher education promotes social but not academic
engagement. Semantic Scholar.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c03f/b606432af6637d9d7d31f447e62a855b77a0.pdf
