EDMODO VS FACEBOOK

Jenny Pange, Evrikleia Dogoriti, Rozita Tsoni, Athanasios Sypsas, Aspa Lekka

School of Education,

University of Ioannina, Greece

E-mail: jpagge@cc.uoi.gr

Online Educa Berlin, 3-5 December 2014

www.edmodo.com www.facebook.com

Introduction (1)

Social Networks:are web-based services are communication tools for creative, collaborative

learning based on social interaction, discussion and shared work

allow individuals to create a public profile within a structured system

allow users to view and navigate their list of connections within the system  

Introduction (2)

Social networks sites (SNS) can be used in education Social networks provide a learning context where

students exchange learning information,cooperate in learning activities and discussions

Many applications of SNS have been used informally by both learners and educators in higher education

University students tend to regard them as part of their way of life

Edmodo

Edmodo is an educational social network provides a secure learning platform for learners and educators offers a safe educational environment, also for mobile devices.

According to American Association of School Librarians (2011), Edmodo is one of the top 25 sites that foster innovation, creativity, active participation and cooperation

in the category entitled "Social Networking and Communication»

Facebook Facebook has become the most popular

SNS among college students Students create their own profile, in which they

share a range of personal information, educational and work history

Users also can request and accept friendships with other users, join interest groups or networks, communicate with others online and offline

It is used most importantly for social reasons, not for formal teaching purposes

Data from previous studies (1)Edmodo

Nevas (2010) “Inquiry through action research: Effects of the Edmodo Microblog on student engagement and performance”

• Examined the effects of the Edmodo microblog on student engagement and performance.

• observed that as communication increased between students more challenging tasks were progressively performed

Holland and Muilenburg (2011)

“Supporting student collaboration: Edmodo in the classroom”

• Studied students’ participations in literature discussions, using Edmodo discussion boards. • Discussed student participation, student engagement, complexity of discussion and the effectiveness of Edmodo platform

Kongchan (2013)

“How a non-digital-native teacher makes use of Edmodo”.

•Explored the possibilities of a non-digital-native teacher to use Edmodo. •Edmodo was perceived to be a user-friendly social learning network

Data from previous studies (2)Edmodo

Thongmak (2013)

“Social Network System in Classroom: Antecedents of Edmodo © Adoption”

•Explored the use of Edmodo as a classroom collaboration tool and the university students’ views about Edmodo. •Edmodo could support both distance teaching and fulfil physical classroom learning

Sanders (2013) “An examination of the academic networking site Edmodo on student engagement and responsible learning”

•Examined the effect of Edmodo on student engagement and responsible learning. • particular Edmodo features encouraged both student engagement and responsible learning

Dogoriti &Pange (2014)

“Instructional design for a "social" classroom: Edmodo and twitter in the foreign language Classroom”

•Studied the impact of social media on a learning community of university students of English for Specific Purposes (ESP).•Βest practices were proposed using twitter and Edmodo

Data from previous studies (3)Facebook

Selwin (2009) “Faceworking: exploring students’ education-related useof Facebook”

Explored students’ education-related use of fb as to: •learning experiences •exchange of information about teaching•assessment • moral support

Estus (2010) “Using Facebook Within a Geriatric Pharmacotherapy Course”

•Students used a fb closed group to discuss their academic work outside of the class •Reports were positive about the experience

Visagie & de Villiers (2010)

“Using Social Software to Support Computer ScienceEducation”

•Investigated the use of fb as an academic tool across five countries, South Africa, Australia, Canada, United States and the UK.•Only a small number of lecturers across the countries decided to apply Facebook as an academic tool as part of their teaching strategy

Data from previous studies (4)Facebook

Kabilan et al. (2010)

“Effects of Student Engagement with Social Media on Student Learning”

•Students used FB individually or in collaboration with their instructors as a formal learning tool •Results showed that students build learning communities by working collaboratively to construct knowledge

Wang, Woo, Quek, Yang and Liu (2012)

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

•Facebook was used as a Learning Management System•It revealed student satisfaction•useful educational features such as threaded discussions were reported to be missing

Dogoriti, Pange & Anderson (2014)

“Web-based English Language Learning. The Use of Social Networking and Learning Management Systems in Formal and Informal Settings”.

• Examined students’ perceptions of online instruction using Moodle with or without the use of fb as an adjunctive learning platform

• Results suggested that the addition of fb to the course helped build a sense of community within a learning environment while it enhanced the learning process

Materials and Methods (1)

School of Education, University of Ioannina

Mixed Method (questionnaire and semi-structured interviews)

Close-ended, printed questionnaires Self-selected group of 41 students Groups of five to seven students

Materials and Methods (2) Short presentation of Facebook Short presentation of Edmodo Formation of two test groups

“Facebook Group”“Edmodo Group”

Interviews conducted two weeks after use Semi-structured interviews regarding pros

and cons of each tool

Results Demographic Characteristics

35 fully completed out of 41 (completion rate 85.4%)

Mean age 18.9±2.5 88,2% Females, 11.8% Males 79.4% of the students in their first year

of studies

Frequency of educational use of Facebook

Everyday 17.6% Often 11.8% Sometimes 44.1% Rarely 5. 9% Never 20.6%

Facebook as motivation for educational use

does not motivate AGAINST

Facebook 26.5%

does motivate

FAVOR

Facebook 29.4%

Collaboration on Facebook

Less than half of the participants, believed that Facebook promotes collaboration.

Dissemination of educational material through FACEBOOK 44.1% of the participants often shared

educational material with peers through Facebook

41.0% of the participants never shared educational material with peers through Facebook

Facebook connection with labor market

However…

58.8% of the participants felt that Facebook would help them to connect with labor market

Interview feedback (1) Groups participated in the study provided

feedback through semi-structured interviews.

Questions concerning:Frequency of useConvenience of the mediumPros and consEducation /professional development promotion

the interview was followed by open discussion

Interview feedback (2)

Broad information

about events and activities

Dissemination of educational

material

Instant and free communication with classmates

Direct visibility of notices and

announcements about the courses

Ways of facilitating the educational use of the social media:

• Closed groups• Sense of security in privacy issues• Controlled networking• Educational applications• Group members participate

actively• Limited popularity (mainly in

education)

• Many information resources (but

not always reliable)• Open groups• High level of “visibility”• Promotes networking• Group members act as followers• High popularity• Distractions

Information on Employment

On the question if students use Facebook for information on employment, 70% of students reported using the page of Employment and Career Center, University of Ioannina, in Facebook.

Students did not use Edmodo for information on employment, until they are assigned to, by their instructor

Edmondo vs Facebook in the pre-digital world…

Thank you