Students’ views on the use of Facebook as an online learning management system in a module in higher education

Virtual Paper ID: 54722
  1. aaa
    Irene Govender
    University of KwaZulu-Natal
  2. Desmond Govender
    University of KwaZulu-Natal
  3. Manesh Purshotam
    University of KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract: Many Web 2.0 technologies now represent the driving force of online internet usage which include Facebook among others such as YouTube and Wikis. Many of these online tools are assumed to be applications with potential for learning and teaching. This paper reports on a study of a group of students who used Facebook as opposed to Moodle as a learning management system for their 3rd year Information Systems course. The data was collected in the form of online questionnaires, which were administered to a random sample of 35 students in the form of scaled and open ended questions. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used as a lens to determine the acceptance of Facebook as a learning medium. Inferential statistics were used to identify significant correlations between con-structs that influence the student’s behavioral intention to use Facebook for learning. In exploring the use of Facebook as an online learning management system (LMS) among students, this study shows that there are positive factors associated with the use of Facebook as a learning environment. The findings of the study are useful for universities by providing insight into learning via a social network as well as the perceptions of students on Facebook for educational purposes.

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