nd the classroom and facilitate learning in students’ digital lives (see Blackstone & Harwood, 2011). The Facebook pages were introduced in both ES2002 and ES2007S as a means of encouraging student interaction, further content exploration, and motivation for learning, in and out of the classroom.
This paper reports on a pilot study of the use of Facebook for educational purposes in these two different communication courses. It discusses the decision-making processes concerning what type of Facebook page to use, the design, form and content of the Facebook pages, guidelines for lecturer and student use, as well as the means by which lecturers can encourage students to increase participation in courses using Facebook as an educational tool. Detailed survey feedback from 39 ES2002 and 40 ES2007S students is also discussed.
Setting up a class Facebook page
A major concern for many educators who are considering using Facebook in the classroom is the thought of having to ‘friend’ every student that they teach. Fortunately, this is not the case. When a class Facebook page is set up, one can create a separate course identity, which does not connect to a personal account. Setting up a basic class Facebook page is straightforward: this slideshare presentation explains the process. Another decision is whether to set up a Facebook “page” or “group”. Burt (2011) uses a “Groups vs. Pages” chart to clarify the differences between the two (Figure 1):
Figure 1: Functionality of Groups versus Pages
Although these formats are similar in many ways, as educators piloting Facebook in the classroom, we decided on Facebook pages because as the page administrators we would be able to maintain control over what was posted. Previous experience using blogs with students taught us that some students, using social media in an educational context for the first time, needed time to adjust to the subject matter of the course as well as the degree of language formality preferred. Most students use Facebook for purely social reasons, and some transfer the informality (texting abbreviations, for example) they use with their peer groups to the class Facebook page. Whilst the class Facebook page is an informal learning space, it is utilized within a formal learning environment, i.e. the course. It is therefore useful to have the option of maintaining complete control over what is posted at least until students understand what is acceptable. This also enables the instructor to prevent potential problems that students may initiate in posts with extreme political, social or religious bias.
When setting up a class Facebook pages, it is also a good idea to think about a name that is descriptive and memorable. We opted for the names @ Biz Comm (ES2002) and Blackstone’s World Without Walls (ES2007S). We also included course codes in brackets to ensure students found the correct course page when they initially looked for it in a Facebook search. This naming process is part of the “branding” of the page. The name an instructor chooses and the accompanying image representing a course Facebook page shape how students will perceive the class page. This in turn might influence how they (and the instructor) will interact on it.
Another benefit of using Facebook pages is that user statistics are available so the instructor can see which topics, links or posts are popular, what has been viewed the most, “liked” the most and so on. This can be helpful for pedagogic decision-making; for example, a video clip posted on the Facebook page that has been “liked” many times can be a catalyst for classroom discussions, and a highly relevant article might be included in a future course reading list.
Suggested uses for a course Facebook page
The success of the course Facebook page very much depends on how educators manage it and what sorts of assignments are given. It is important to both encourage student participation and to ensure that student posts are focused on acceptable topics. The authors found this a relatively straightforward process to facilitate, and believe that the reas