Integrating a Facebook Group and a Course Website: The Effect on Participation and Perceptions on Learning

Abstract

This study investigated how the use of two virtual platforms for learning—a Facebook group and a learning management system course website—affect students’ perceptions of learning and participation. The theoretical basis for the research relied on social–constructivist theory. It was found that Facebook, although not originally created for educational purposes, can be used as a virtual environment for discussion and sharing knowledge. Students reported being engaged in interaction and active participation in the Facebook group and appreciated its major contribution to their own personal learning experience. Most of them embraced a Facebook group for their future academic courses, without giving up on a course website, crucial as the main source of course materials and the support of individual cognitive learning processes. The Facebook group was perceived as a protected environment that fosters social learning processes while emphasizing learner involvement, active contribution, and frequent interaction with peers and instructor. The course website, on the other hand, was perceived as a learning content repository designed for traditional, individual learning processes, such as recalling and understanding the course content.