Exploring Facebook to Enhance Learning and Student Engagement: A Case from the University of Philippines (UP) Open University

Facebook is undeniably one of the most engaging Web 2.0 tools at the moment. While it was originally conceived as a social networking tool, this social nature also lends itself well to some of the needs of distance education, where student engagement is difficult to sustain, because the teacher and learners are separated by time and distance. This article explores the use of Facebook in the context of distance education mainly to augment students’ learning and to sustain students’ engagement. It documents the activities and experiences of the Web Design and Publishing class at the University of Philippines (UP) Open University for one semester as the students used Facebook alongside the Moodle Learning Management System. The study shows how the different features and functionalities of Facebook such as the “wall,” the “like” button, the “poke” feature and the ability to share rich media easily, engaged the students and enriched online learning. Student engagement improved as evidenced by volunteered postings and continuous discussions and sharing even without being required by the professor. There were numerous student-led and student-initiated activities that lasted even after the course was already finished. The study’s most significant finding was the suitability of Facebook for teaching and enriching practical skills courses delivered online because of its ability to link and share rich media effortlessly, thus making video tutorials easy to view and share. But while some excitedly embraced the idea, others found it an additional burden to be learning another tool on top of the required readings and tasks of the course. Certain challenges such as difficulties in Internet connection and limited access and bandwidth surfaced in the study which revealed more learner issues that are usually taken for granted by online professors.

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