Using the Facebook Iframe as an Effective Tool for Collaborative Learning in Higher Education

Abstract

Facebook is increasingly becoming a popular senvironment for online learning. Despite the popularity of using Facebook as an e-learning tool, there is a limitation when it comes to presenting content: another platform is required to run the files. Presented in this paper is a case study of how the Facebook iframe code can be used as a hosting environment tool to support collaborative activities in higher education at Qassim University. The study was conducted on a sample of (N=45) university students who were enrolled in Selected Topics in Information Systems (INFO491) at the Faculty of Art & Science at Qassim University. We used Facebook markup language (FBML) to design and implement the course. An online questionnaire was used to investigate the students' perceptions about using Facebook iframe for the course. Descriptive statistical analysis and chi-square test were used to analyze the data. According to our results, the participants reported that using the Facebook iframe page increased their understanding and improved their learning performance. In addition, for the majority of students, it enabled them to learn more quickly. Our findings also revealed that a Facebook iframe page is a distinctive hosting environment for presenting content.