Utilising Facebook: immersing Generation-Y students into first year university

Abstract

This case study explores the use of the online social networking site, Facebook, in helping immerse first year students into university culture, by furthering the development of academic and social relationships between peers. The choice of host site was arrived at via a careful selection process. Facebook was chosen on account of the uniform strength of its features as compared to other popular social networking sites such as MySpace and Friendster, the imagesharing site Flickr, and the open-source software Moodle. The site’s immense popularity ensured that a large number of students would already be familiar with its layout and operation, and would be comfortable utilising it during the semester. Similarly, it was determined that students would be more inclined to participate in the study if it was hosted on a site they already intended to visit; this criterion told greatly against the use of Moodle, which would have resulted in an independent university site. Facebook’s image-hosting capabilities are far more intuitive and effective than those of comparable sites, and more ‘community-minded’ than specialist sites such as Flickr. Its ‘Group’ application facilitates the creation of an accessible, easily-maintained, and highly interactive online forum. Lastly, the 24/7 availability of the site was crucial, as the research literature strongly suggests increased frequency of student interaction with their peers has a substantive positive impact on their engagement with their learning, and it conforms with the ‘anytime, anywhere’ work attitude of Generation-Y. 100 first year design students (including 23 international students) took part in the semester one proof of concept study this year, as part of the course Imaging Our World at The University of Adelaide. Every two weeks, students were required to submit a series of images to an online gallery in Facebook, and to provide critiques on peers’ submissions. The gallery topics were broad in nature, and open to the student’s own interpretations, allowing for a wide range of images in each: this produced a concurrently wide range of discussions. The galleries allowed students to connect with each other in a virtual environment, and thus to develop academic relationships freed from the constraints of the classroom and their own inhibitions. Through the use of such collaborative learning, students were able to engage with their peers and develop a sense of belonging within the learning community. Discussions often evolved from formal, academic critiques to informal social interactions as the students became more comfortable with each other. The online interaction also provided a strong platform for the development of cross-cultural relationships. Such relationships are particularly important for commencing international students, who often struggle (largely due to language barriers) to develop meaningful connections with local students. Several ways in which to improve the experience and effectiveness of the course were identified, particularly the need for a better transition of discussions from the online environment to the classroom. These issues have now been addressed. In summary, the study was considered to have been a success, due to Facebook’s engaging and interactive qualities, the students’ existing interest and experience with the software, and their eagerness to connect with their peers.