Social networking supporting learning
Internet is a social network. It links people, groups of people, organizations, information and applications made by people. When teaching and learning aims to take advantage of the Internet, activities that foster an understanding of the role and impact of social networks become crucial. Both research and hands-on experiments are needed to explore the possibilities the new platforms and practices social networks provide for teaching and learning.
Social networking is definitely not a new phenomenon in the field of teaching and learning. It could be, however, claimed that at some point in history we forgot the importance of social network in the learning process.
In about 387 BC, Plato founded a new school devoted to researching and teaching philosophy and the sciences. In Plato’s Academy the main working practice was dialogue carried out among the participants. An ongoing reflection and evaluation of beliefs was seen to lead to a critical and deeper understanding of the issues. Plato’s Academy was, in effect, a social network capable of carrying out self-correcting inquiry.
For decades, various methods have been applied in educational research to analyse and study the social networks and social dynamics of educational institutions. The majority of these studies have been undertaken at a classroom or school level. Today, with new forms of digital social networks and increasing computing power, research on social networks in learning is more exciting than ever before. The possibilities to experiment with social network services — to carry out design-based research, gather quantitative and qualitative data and to do social network analyses or build computer models — are endless. Both in terms of practice and research, we are only now taking the first steps with using social networks in teaching and learning contexts.
In this issue of eLearning Papers we have several articles describing the use of social network services and social media in the process of learning languages. Using social network in language learning comes naturally; language is, after all, a social activity. To learn language, you must use it and communicate through it. Some of the papers present experiments with informal learning practices, such as self-organized communications among students using social tools, or more designed uses of social network services in transition guidance to University.
These papers strongly demonstrate the possibilities of peer-learning. One of the papers reflects the change of focus in open education, from open educational resources to a use of resources with social media tools. Around open educational resources, one can build fruitful communities of practice. Also discussed in this issue is the way in which social networks can provide rich and efficient personal learning environments, and the still persistent need for curricular activities and learning design to get the best results.
This issue of eLearning Papers’ on social networking supporting learning is a collage: an assemblage of current cases, practices and theory. This is a vision of the field today, but the story will continue.
