Welcome

Social Learning Space

Supporting students articulating from FE to HE by utilising social media technology

By Dawn Carmichael

Abertay University

Introduction

• Social Learning Space (SLS)• Tayside and Fife Articulation Hub funded• Innovative browser based web apps• Informed by Social Networking design

patterns• School of Engineering, Computing &

Applied Mathematics students

Rationale

• Students from Further Education to Higher Education challenges:– Social contacts (networks)– Background information (culture)– Mismatched subject knowledge & skills

(subject)• SLS Project seeks to address all three

Nature of project

• Five web applications including ‘FB Group App’

• The project:– Doesn’t seek to promote (or measure)

academic achievement– Does seek to promote social connections and

social learning• FB app evaluated by:

– Questionnaires, Interviews– Computer logged data

Project Resources

https://www.facebook.com/SLSAbertay

Project Resources – the app

Social Networks

• Isolation a reason for non-progression• Social Networks – social presence &

communication• Social Networking software:

– Sharing opinions and promoting reflection– Promote sense of academic community

• Facebook – 85%-99% student use• Increasing academic interest

Facebook pros & cons

• Pros– Promote digital literacy– Social presence– Promote reflection– Promote social capital

• Cons– Student privacy concerns– Time wasting

Academic Facebook

• Student preference for communication over email and VLEs

• High levels of Facebook checking > low engagement

• Commenting on content > high engagement

• Facebook groups – questioning, collaboration and feedback

Results – interviews with articulating

students• Facebook checked for communication

more often that email• Facebook not preferred overall to VLEs• Privacy demarcation between ‘groups’

and profiles • Facebook group app –

– Helped with integration– Preferred to other SLS apps

Results ‘FB Group App’ – Survey of articulating

students

Academic communityTutor Participation

Results ‘FB Group App’ – Survey of articulating

students• Correlation between engagement and

participation in using the app• No evidence of a causal relationship• Social capital & the app – an average of

36 more friends

Social Network Analysis & the App

• Before and after using the app– Degree significant increase– Betweeness significant increase– Eigenvector value no significant increase

• Increases may have occurred anyway• Future study into dynamic measures of

social capital

Results – Social Network Analysis

Tutor high betweeness > connectednessProvides connectivity for the graph

Conclusions

• The Facebook group app with ‘social tools’ promoted – Academic community– Social capital

• Tutor participation is important• Preserve student privacy by demarcation• Using social networks means meeting

students where they are

Q & A

• Further information

d.carmichael@abertay.ac.uk