Social Networking in Physical Education: Undergraduate Students' Views on Ning.

Abstract

It was the aim of this study to investigate physical education undergraduate students’ views on the use of social networking, one of the most typical representations of Web 2.0 technologies. In order to do so, the researcher, who was the instructor of the class, entitled “Fair Play Education in Sport”, introduced Ning and its educational aspects to her students with a 50-minute presentation prior to the study. Following this, the students were encouraged to use this networking for 15 weeks in parallel with their class. During this application, the researcher helped the students to make the best use of Ning in educational settings. Upon the implementation, the researcher interviewed the students (n=19) in five groups on the basis of the questions prepared and piloted earlier. The interviews demonstrated that the students enjoyed using social networking in educational settings. The findings of the study were the following: Increasing student-student and teacher-student interaction, enhancing student motivation and classroom climate, sharing materials with the instructor and students, making use of students’ interests and needs, and making learning process more interesting and permanent. The research concluded that social networking could be used in PE classes effectively.