Facebook as a platform for academic-related discussion and its impact on students success

Abstract

With the advent of social networking sites and the development of interactive tools that allow users to share information and opinions, the way people socialize in terms of both teaching and learning is also changing. Nowadays, educators have considered using this technology as an e-learning platform: A stage where interaction between instructors and learners takes place. This promotes participation among students for knowledge construction. To date, social networking sites such as Facebook have attracted billions of users worldwide. However, there is a distinct lack of studies that review the potential of Facebook as a platform for academic-related discussion or its impact on students' academic success. Therefore, this study reviews several works that use Facebook as a platform for academic discussions. It also aims to investigate students' achievement based on their interactions on Facebook through discussion between instructors and peers. Thirty-seven students who were enrolled on an Educational Technology program were involved in the present study. Findings reveal that Facebook has the potential to become a tool for academic-related discussion. Data analysis also demonstrates that students' academic achievement increases as a result of their participation and discussion with instructors and peers through Facebook.