Social Networking As An Educational Tool

    The growing popularity of social software among young people has centered educators on the question of how to turn this practice into an educational tool. In the progress of this process, it is important to integrate social networking into course design and to know the activities of pioneer teachers who have experienced innovative things in their teaching. The stems of social networking are a growth that comes from previous practice and theory. In addition, there are other media that educators were convinced could transform teaching and learning. 

• First, with television and videoconferencing, students had the chance to learn from the best teachers without paying.

• Computer-based training enabled students to work independently and at their own pace and receive instant feedback from the computer.

• An artificial intelligence that understands students, could replace a responsible teacher. 

• Asynchronous computer conferencing could allow students to take courses from prestigious universities without leaving their homes.

We can say that this list goes on, because education has a long and variable history. This variability follows the latest technology to make education better, cheaper, more convenient and more responsive. In other words, technology is in our life,  we cannot think of an education that does not follow technological innovations. It can be said that using social software as a part of technology in courses is also very beneficial. The important point is how to use this social software creatively, not any assumption as to whether these tools improve education or not. All the tools in this book are collected under the web 2.0 tools. The environment we call the "web" is an interactive and collective environment that grows with the content and sites added by the users, and where other users can access and use the content. Some other examples of social software relevance to education are as follows. 

• Wikipedia, folksonomy sites such as Flickr, Blogging, Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, Podcasting, E-portfolios, real time audio and shared screen tools. 

    The web has always contributed to social interaction. User-generated content forms the basis of social networking. User-generated content has many benefits, such as the users gaining their own experience with the tools they have instead of using the ready-made content, providing updated content at any time, encouraging collaborative work, increasing the users' desire and motivation. Blogging, e-portfolio, social networks and wikipedia are great tools based on user-generated content that help users present their information, interact with each other, make meaningful connections. Knowledge is created, shared, exchanged and passed through web 2.0 tools. Thanks to web 2.0 tools, real interaction, collaborative research is carried out in a global environment. In other words, the web 2.0 is a research network as well as a learning network.

    On the other hand social networking has effects on the learner. It is seen that learners started to change with the internet, or social networking. It is said that the tools we use inevitably affect our thinking, learning and behavior, because technology affects the society in which it is used due to its nature.  Research has shown that cooperative learning online is more achieved than individual learning. Web 2.0 course design involves collaborative uses of tools. Also, social networking offers student-centered learning. Student-centered learning offers students the opportunity to generate content on their own. In this case, it will continue to have effects on students, teachers and course content.

    According to some, course design based on constructivist theory is quite compatible with using web 2.0 tools. The two principles of constructivism are; (1) learning is an active process of constructing knowledge rather than acquiring it, and (2) instruction is a process that involves supporting that construction rather than of communicating knowledge. (Duffy and Cunningham, 1996, p. 171) Learners in a constructivist environment must be active and interactive, and web 2.0 software is inherently participative.

   In conclusion, we cannot deny the existence of technology in our lives. The integration of technology into education is inevitable. As long as technology is in our lives, it will continue to affect and change many phenomena, including education. On the other hand, web 2.0 is more than a set of tools and services. It's the powerful ideas behind tools and services that have so much potential for education such as user-generated content, the network effects of mass participation and the openness and low threshold for easy access.

REFERENCE BOOK 👉 (E-Learning and Social Networking Handbook, Mason R., Rennie F., Routledge, 2008.)