Using the Facebook group as a learning management system: An exploratory study

Facebook is a popular social networking site. It, like many other new technologies, has potential for teaching and learning because of its unique built-in functions that offer pedagogical, social and technological affordances. In this study, the Facebook group was used as a learning management system (LMS) in two courses for putting up announcements, sharing resources, organizing weekly tutorials and conducting online discussions at a teacher education institute in Singapore. This study explores using the Facebook group as an LMS and the students’ perceptions of using it in their courses. Results showed that students were basically satisfied with the affordances of Facebook as the fundamental functions of an LMS could be easily implemented in the Facebook group. However, using the Facebook group as an LMS has certain limitations. It did not support other format files to be uploaded directly, and the discussion was not organized in a threaded structure. Also, the students did not feel safe and comfortable as their privacy might be revealed. Constraints of using the Facebook group as an LMS, implications for practice and limitations of this study are discussed. Practitioner notes What is already known about this topic • Facebook has been popularly used by tertiary students, but many students do not want their teachers to be friends on Facebook • Teacher’s self-disclosure on Facebook can promote classroom atmosphere, teacher’s credibility and student–teacher relationship • Commercial learning management systems (LMSs) have limitations What this paper adds • The Facebook group can be used an LMS as it has certain pedagogical, social and technological affordances • Students are satisfied with the way of using the Facebook group as an LMS British Journal of Educational Technology (2011) doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01195.x © 2011 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2011 Bera. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. • Younger students are more acceptable with the idea of using the Facebook group as an LMS • Using the Facebook group as an LMS has limitations: it does not support other format files; its discussions are not listed in threads; and it is not perceived as a safe environment Implications for practice and/or policy • The Facebook group can be used an LMS substitute or supplement • Third-party applications are needed to extend the capability of the Facebook group as an LMS • Using Facebook seems to be more appropriate for young learners than adults • Teachers do not have to be students’ friends on Facebook. Introduction Social networking sites (SNSs) are virtual spaces where people of similar interest gather to communicate, share photos and discuss ideas with one another (Boyd & Ellison, 2008; Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, 2008). In recent years, Facebook has become one of the most prominent SNSs. Like any new technology, Facebook seems to offer great potentials for teaching and learning as many students are using Facebook daily. One possible way of using Facebook for teaching and learning is to use its group as an LMS. Research shows that using LMSs possesses numerous benefits for teaching and learning. It enables faculty to shift the focus from content-based learning to process-based learning (Vogel & Klassen, 2001) and helps to “facilitate change from passive to active learning” (Herse & Lee, 2005, p. 51). Using LMSs also has the potential to increase student enrollment (Nunes & McPherson, 2003) and to promote interaction between students and faculty members (Lonn & Teasley, 2009; West, Waddoups & Graham, 2007). Using existing commercial LMSs like Blackboard, however, often has practical constraints (Sanchez-Franco, 2010). For example, LMSs tend to be expensive and that not every school can afford to purchase and maintain them over the long run. Trainee teachers cannot access certain features such as creating a course, enrolling students and setting up student groups as these functions are usually open to instructors or administrators only. The resources in the present LMS are often no longer accessible to trainee teachers after their graduation. Also, the LMS used at school in the future may be different from the one being currently used. They have to shift to a new LMS, and research shows learning a new system is often a painful experience (Black, Beck, Dawson, Jinks & DiPietro, 2007). If the Facebook group can be used as an alternative LMS, it would help to overcome some of the abovementioned constraints. For instance, it would enable a teacher to easily create a new course and enroll students in person if the class size is small. As presented in the following literature review section, many research studies have investigated the usage of Facebook, the effect of teacher’s self-disclosure via Facebook on teacher–student relationship improvement and the academic performance of Facebook users. However, few studies have examined if and how Facebook can be effectively used as an LMS. In this exploratory study, the Facebook group was used as an LMS to put up announcements, share resources, organize weekly tutorial sessions and conduct online discussions. The purpose of this paper is to describe how the Facebook group was used as an LMS in the study and to report students’ perceptions on it. Literature review on Facebook