Collaborative Learning in Social Networking Sites: A Case Study on the Use of Mahara

Abstract:

Information technology and education have been working hand in hand. Advancement in computer technology has altogether opened up limitless educational innovation. With the rise of popularity of social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook, educators have been eager to test the usefulness and effectiveness of SNS in the teaching and learning process. This paper summarizes the findings of a case study with the use of a social networking software; Mahara. Participants are 46 students of a technical vocational university in Taiwan. Students are grouped together and assigned a certain task to accomplish with the use of Mahara. Enabling the collaborative functions of SNS to accomplish the task, students are later surveyed with regards to their learning styles, perceived collaborative learning and constructivist internet-based learning environment (CILES) preferences. Result shows that the participants’ collaboration is highly significant to their CILES preferences. While, there seems to be no significant effects of learning style towards the participants’ CILES preferences. Recommendations are given to further the improvement of SNS use in education.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volume 717)
• Pages: 778-783
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.717.778
• Online since: July 2013
• Authors: Gregory S. Ching
• Keywords: Collaborative Learning, Constructivist Internet-Based Learning Environment, Learning Style, Social Networking Sites, Task-Based Learning

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