An exploration of the potential educational value of Facebook

Abstract

Current research on Facebook use suggests that students primarily use it to enhance social connectedness, but seldom for educational purposes. The aim of this study is to respond to the three following questions: (1) Is there a potential educational value in using Facebook? (2) If so, how does Facebook's educational value compare with its other known values? (3) How does the educational utility of Facebook compare with that of other social mediums available on the Internet, such as the bulletin board system (BBS)? A total of 387 subjects voluntarily participated in an anonymous online survey. These subjects were questioned about their use of Facebook, BBS platforms, and e-learning platforms. There were three major new findings. Firstly, 81% of subjects had discussed course-related problems with their peers on Facebook. Secondly, in relation to the six known motives for using Facebook, peer discussion of educational matters was considered to be the fourth most important in this survey. Lastly, Facebook does not satisfy users' occasional need to review or browse through past communication records; BBS fares much better in this regard. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.