Educational use of social media: Exploring science and engineering students' perceptions of utilizing Facebook on the learning of physics
Abstract
The aim of this qualitative investigation is to explore a group of science and engineering students’ perceptions about utilizing Facebook to enhance the learning of physics. Particularly, a survey composed of multiple choice and open-ended questions was employed as to obtain participants’ reactions on a proposed scenario where Facebook is utilized in an Introductory Classical Mechanics course as the medium to manage the following academic activities throughout the semester: examinations, class preparations, study guides, homework assignments, lab preparations, creating group studies, and class participation dynamics. Out of the 120 potential candidates, 106 of them accepted to voluntarily participate in this investigation. After the analysis of the data concluded, it was found that, on average, 69% of the students reported to have a positive view about the hypothetical implementation of Facebook to mediate their learning in such an introductory physics class at the University of Texas at El Paso. The remaining 31% of participants simply expressed their lack of interest about this particular educational use of Facebook.
Subject Area
Educational technology|Science education
Recommended Citation
Marquez, Angel S., "Educational use of social media: Exploring science and engineering students' perceptions of utilizing Facebook on the learning of physics" (2016). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI10118800.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI10118800