The Questionable Promise of Social Media for Education: Connective Learning and the Commercial Imperative

Autor/inn/en	Friesen, N.; Lowe, S.
Titel	The Questionable Promise of Social Media for Education: Connective Learning and the Commercial Imperative
Quelle	In: Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 28 (2012) 3, S.183-194 (12 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0266-4909
DOI	10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00426.x
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Internet; Electronic Learning; Television; Commercialization; Debate; Advertising; Barriers; Theories; Educational Philosophy; Educational Principles; Influence of Technology; Educational Technology; Computer Mediated Communication; Web 2.0 Technologies; Computer Uses in Education; Web Sites; Electronic Publishing; Social Networks; Educational Media; Media Research; Mass Media Role; Canada + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Fernsehen; Fernsehtechnik; Debating; Streitgespräch; Werbung; Theory; Theorie; Bildungsphilosophie; Erziehungsphilosophie; Bildungsprinzip; Unterrichtsmedien; Computerkonferenz; Computernutzung; Web-Design; Elektronisches Publizieren; Social network; Soziales Netzwerk; Bildungsmittel; Medienforschung; Kanada
Abstract	Facebook and other social media have been hailed as delivering the promise of new, socially engaged educational experiences for students in undergraduate, self-directed, and other educational sectors. A theoretical and historical analysis of these media in the light of earlier media transformations, however, helps to situate and qualify this promise. Specifically, the analysis of dominant social media presented here questions whether social media platforms satisfy a crucial component of learning--fostering the capacity for debate and disagreement. By using the analytical frame of media theorist Raymond Williams, with its emphasis on the influence of advertising in the content and form of television, we weigh the conditions of dominant social networking sites as constraints for debate and therefore learning. Accordingly, we propose an update to Williams' erudite work that is in keeping with our findings. Williams' critique focuses on the structural characteristics of sequence, rhythm, and flow of television as a cultural form. Our critique proposes the terms "information design," "architecture," and above all "algorithm," as structural characteristics that similarly apply to the related but contemporary cultural form of social networking services. Illustrating the ongoing salience of media theory and history for research in e-learning, the article updates Williams' work while leveraging it in a critical discussion of the suitability of commercial social media for education. (Contains 3 figures and 1 note.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10