My only experience of social networks is in a purely personal setting. I have a Facebook account although I don’t have a MySpace account. Initially I was a little resistant to participating in online social networking however the trend grew so much that before long I was one of the only ones in both my immediate and also wider group of friends and peers that did not use some form of online social networking. I now find that I use Facebook frequently and can’t imagine not having it!
Facebook more so than MySpace, I believe, could be used in a learning context. The ‘Courses’ application on Facebook allows you to add subjects you are studying and invite other students who are users to join the group. Within the group space you can then share links that relate to the subject, discuss learning points and chat with other students. While this is only one example of how learning can be enhanced via a social networking site, just being able to be in contact with other peers and students through these sites allows interacting and collaboration on a personal level which is definitely beneficial.
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