Social Media and Autonomous Learning at a Latin America University

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to investigate the selection patterns and uses made of the web tools and social media in both formal and non-formal education of students. The possibility of using networks to provide a multitude of stimuli that can be used for facilitating the learning, which offer a wide range of possibilities. The authors found that in many cases, the students use the devices and applications as a ‘simple remote control' discarding all the available possibilities for learning. The criteria for selecting the respective application in many cases are arbitrary or just a response to advertising or the usage of their friends. The web tools and social media provide ample opportunities, often for free, for incorporation into learning activities. To benefit from the use of them for learning purposes, it is important to know student preferences and the way in which they handle the media, in their private and academic environments. Also, the perception of the sense of spatial, social and temporal distance, which gives shape to our relationships and daily exchanges of information is essential for teachers. It is important for universities that the usage of technologies is not drifting too far away from those which students use outside the walls of the campus.