DIFFERENCES IN USING LMS OR SOCIAL NETWORKS IN EDUCATION

Abstract

In recent years, the use of the learning management system (LMS) in the educator’s practical work is becoming more popular and has many advantages: it allows students to get knowledge faster and deeper, facilitates interaction between students and educators. In addition, the LMS use increases the students’ number in distance education. Academic group in the social network Facebook is used both in the students’ daily life, and is considered as an educational tool. The social network can easily be adapted as an additional learning management system due to the fact that virtual space become a part of our lives and it can be used efficiently to solve much problems “on the spot”. However, the full impact of the academic group in Facebook on learning has not been studied, especially when compared with the use of other training management systems. According to the study results, the Facebook group members surpassed academically those who used Moodle. Moreover, Facebook users held a positive attitude towards learning and interaction, higher motivation to learn compared to Moodle users. This article provides an implementation analysis and possible limitations in the use of the training management system. The study results may be of great interest to educators who suggest taking Facebook as one of the training management systems.