由教師觀點探討運用社群網絡網站至教學

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(1)國立臺灣師範大學圖文傳播學系碩士論文. 由教師觀點探討運用社群網絡網站至教學 Applying Social Network Sites to Teaching and Learning: from Teachers’ Perspective. 研究生：陳旭婠指導教授：王健華教授與朱則剛教授中華民國 102 年 7 月.

(2) TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT CHAPTER 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4. INTRODUCTION. Background Research Purpose Significance of the Study Research Limitations. 1.5 Definition of Terms CHAPTER 2. 5. LITERATURE REVIEW. 2.1 The Educational Applications of Social Network Sites 2.1.1 Definitions and characteristics of social network sites 2.1.2 Effects of digital natives/immigrants 2.1.3 Potentials in educational settings 2.2 Online Collaborative Teaching and Learning 2.1.1 Learning Communities 2.1.2 Connectivism 2.1.3 Benefits of online and collaborative teaching and learning 2.3 Uses of Social Network Sites: from a Teacher’s Perspective 2.3.1 Teacher attitudes 2.3.2 Teacher beliefs 2.3.3 Concerns among teachers CHAPTER 3. 1 2 3 4. 6. 10. 15. METHODOLOGY. 3.1 Research Design 3.2 Data Collection. 20 20. 3.3 Research process 3.4 Data Analysis 3.5 Research Structure. 23 24 27. CHAPTER 4. RESULTS AND DISSCUSIONS. 4.1 Roles of social network sites in teaching 4.2 Attitudes and beliefs of teachers with the use of social network sites 4.3 Concerns of teachers with the use of social network sites CHAPTER 5 5.1 Conclusions 5.2 Suggestions. 28 39 44. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 54 55.

(3) REFERENCE. 59. LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Demographic data of the participants Table 2. List of interviews Table 3. List of coding. 21 22 25. LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Research structure. 27. APPENDIX Appendix A. Inquiry Sample. 58.

(4) Applying Social Networking Sites to Teaching and Learning: from Teachers’ Perspective Hsu-Wan Chen Graphic Arts and Communications National Taiwan Normal University Email：[email protected]. Abstract: Recently, social network sites have been discussed in terms of a variety of potentials in people’s. daily lives. As user-generated content is the topic of the day and the young generation have been widely using these sites, not surprisingly, it would be helpful to apply social networking sites in educational settings. Since the original purposes were networking and friending, it is possible to be used as a learning community which focuses on sharing, communication, and corporation. This study aimed at understanding the use of social network sites among school teachers, more specifically, the roles social network sites play in the teaching process, teacher attitudes and beliefs, and their concerns from a teacher’s perspective. Interviews were conducted with five teachers while a reflection journal was kept. As a result, these teachers think that applying social network sites to the teaching process can be motivating, connecting, and professionally networking; at the same time, authentic examples are shown and various skills are taught. Their attitudes toward social network sites are positive, proactive, adoptive, necessary, and taskdependent. Their concerns are related to copyright, proper behaviors, internet safety, parents, and accessibility. Finally, it is suggested that future studies focus on how classes speaking different languages collaborate with each other as well as the reason that local teachers do not extensively use social network sites to teaching and learning for professional purpose.. Keywords: social network sites, collaborative learning, online learning, teacher use, teacher attitude and beliefs.

(5) 由教師觀點探討運用社群網絡網站至教學最近，社群網絡網站的各種潛能在日常生活中已被廣泛討論。使用者生成內容是當前的話題，年輕一代已廣泛使用這些網站，因此，這並不讓人驚訝，並且有助於應用社群網絡網站在教育環境當中。由於此類網站原來的目的為社交和交友，所以可被用於學習型社區，並專注於共享、溝通、合作。本研究旨在了解教師們使用社交網絡網站，更具體說，從教師的角度發揮探討在教學過程之中，欲了解社群網絡網站的角色，教師的態度和信念與他們關注的問題。本研究訪談了老師們以及研究者撰寫了研究日誌。其結果是，這些教師認為社群網絡網站應用到教學過程中，可以激勵、連接和建立個人的專業網絡，同時提供真實的例子與教授各種技能。他們對社群網絡網站的態度是積極的、主動的、採納的、必要的、任務依賴型。他們關注的問題涉及版權、合適的行為、網際網路的安全、家長、可連性。建議未來的研究重點放在說不同語言之班級如何合作，以及本地教師不廣泛使用社群網絡網站於專業教學和學習之原因。. 關鍵字: 社群網絡網站、合作學習、線上學習、教師使用、教師態度和信念.

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(7) Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background As society has been transformed by technological innovations, such as text, audio, and video along with interactive elements, an integration of information sharing capabilities is forming. Aside from it, patterns of people‟s communication are also evolving. Meanwhile, the development of new apps for communicating has been being the very essence of human society in various aspects, such as entertainment, professional connections, and educational communities. Thus, this study tries to discuss the application of social network sites to classes in various schools from a teacher‟s perspective. Recently, the rise of digital technologies has the innovative potential in education; at the same time, the use of social networking sites is growing in popularity as indicated by the numbers of members and visits on a daily basis. It is obviously noticeable that social networking sites, one of the web 2.0 technology tools for today, is definitely changing people‟s daily life. Moreover, due to the lower entrance barriers of web 2.0 technologies, user-generated content is becoming more importance. In terms of education settings, as opposed to the rigidity and closeness of conventional classroom resources or traditional learning management systems, inevitably, social network sites are drawing attentions of both teachers and educators. Therefore, they would also be helpful for teaching and learning. Since children are exposed to advanced technology at an early age, apparently, their experiences with technology are paving the way for unprecedented learning opportunities which also become a part of nature for children to use these tools. As been seen, there is a radical shift that kids are going online and interacting with people they already know. As such, not surprisingly, the pattern is completely different in terms of the unique digital natives‟ viewpoints than that of the older generation‟s. In spite of the increasing development of new technologies and their presence in classrooms, technology itself cannot reach its full potential for supporting children‟s learning without educational component. As for the web 2.0 tools, in terms of user-generated-content, one of the most important characteristics, kids are able to share and cooperate in a convenient and flexible manner. Speaking of the original purpose of social networking, that is, networking and friending, it can also be extended as the use of learning community which focuses on sharing, communication, and corporation. From this point of view, it is possible to be implemented in the 1.

(8) educational settings. In this emergent context, teachers do have plenty of opportunities to transform classroom practices to accomplish a variety of instructional dimensions. Hence, understanding the way individuals behave on such sites is a potentially valuable source of information for educators and researchers. On the other hand, concerning traditional learning, there is a common problem, which is called spontaneous leaders either in small groups or in the whole class. In other words, students with lower achievement who dare not express themselves always tend to follow those with high achievement. In order to avoid this kind of situations and make sure that everyone has the equal opportunity, social network sites do provide a proper medium which would be carefully and fully recorded during the learning process of students. It is also expected that the adoption will alter the landscape of course design. However, hindered by concerns associated with privacy and safety, in certain states of America and some other countries, the usage is banned in the classroom settings. Thus, it is important to figure out a way to safely incorporate social network sites and maximize the benefits in the learning and teaching process. This study aimed to examine the current use of social network sites in the classrooms in different countries. Due to the constantly changes of advanced technology tools, for teachers, it is essential to upgrade and improve their technology skills and knowledge. With this regard, this is also one of the factors affecting the integration of technology into their classroom practices. As such, they need to be prepared to use up-to-date technology applications and reduce the technology literacy gap compared to that of their students. Additionally, it is clear that teacher beliefs and teacher attitudes are noteworthy to assess concerning technology integration. Thus, this study sought to investigate the factors relating to teachers using social network site in classroom settings. 1.2 Research Purpose As compared to the old generation, younger users have been using social network sites much more extensively and frequently. Besides, teachers do play a critical and decisive role in the teaching process since the adoption or enactment of new technology is usually determined by them. In terms of it, teachers‟ voice does matter. Therefore, it is important to examine the correspondence between teacher attitudes and beliefs, knowledge and skills, as well as their use of social network site in their classroom settings. It was investigated if there were any differences and similarities of their use of social network sites due to their attitudes and beliefs as well as 2.

(9) concerns. Thus, research purposes are described as follows: 1. To identify what roles social network sites play in the classrooms. 2. To identify teacher attitude toward and belief about social network sites in their classrooms. 3.To identify the existing concerns of using social network sites among teachers in their classrooms. 1.3 Significance of this Study Integrating technologies into education is indispensable in the process of facilitating and developing necessary skills of students. A benefit of learners and teachers using social network sites is that they are able to create and customize personal and community learning/teaching spaces where they are involved interactively and collaboratively. The participation among them characterizes social network sites as a dynamic learner-centered environment. Moreover, with the advance of new communicative tools, social network sites have become more densely layered. Therefore, it is worthy of studying how to connect formal and informal learning with the use of social network sites. Moreover, given the growing significance of social network sites in the lives of students, it is noteworthy to take a look at the influences on them. However, so far, little has been known about children and young people‟s experience of online social networking and how this might be interwoven with their offline activities. Undoubtedly, in the context of formal education, it is somewhat beyond teachers‟ control which is also constrained by curriculum and assessment regimes as well as institutional policies. However, in order to bridge the gap between students‟ online and offline learning, teachers would have some innovations on social network sites. There are some social interactions and informal learning being able to conduct with the supportiveness of social network sites which may also lead to reflect upon and refresh the pedagogies and designs for learning of teachers. For instance, with the assistance, students are allowed to interact with multi-learning tools that enable them to learn at their own speed and with their individual learning styles or needs as well as interacting with peers more simultaneously. Thus, this study attempted to examine teachers using social network site. It is different from prior studies as it focused on the use of social network site from a teacher‟s perspective. Moreover, as a matter of fact, this study may shed light on the current use of social network site in elementary classrooms. By assessing the attitudes and belief of teachers, the educational practice of teachers 3.

(10) concerning their technology skills and knowledge based on the technology integration in their classrooms was understood. Although it is true that teacher attitudes or beliefs might not accurately indicate the capabilities they possess, positive attitudes or beliefs do have an impact on their adoption. By understanding what teachers think regarding the knowledge and skills they possess could also benefit the design or reform of their professional development. Hence, this study tried to identify the factors influencing the utilization of social network site in the real classroom instruction. Additionally, it attempted to provide the insight of barriers of technology integration. The significance of this study is described as follows: due to affordances on social network sites, academic researchers have been attracted. Most of the previous studies generally focused on students, however, this study tried to analyze the state of art from a teacher‟s perspective. Aside from it, so far, teachers still have been regarded as the enactors of new technologies in educational settings, especially in their own classrooms. Issues of teacher change are central while discussing technology integration. In other words, teachers have a definitely decisive battle to the volunteering implementation of new technologies in their teaching process. Therefore, teachers do play a key role and their voice has to be taken in to consideration. 1.4 Research Limitations As this study focused on understanding various actual experiences of teachers of using social network site in their teaching process around the world, it is obviously limited to the teachers who are already online; this apparently excluded teachers who don‟t use these tools or who cannot be contacted through the internet. Moreover, as the author just can speak Chinese and English, language barrier, in terms of that, is another constraint. The author believes that there are a huge number of teachers using social network sites in Latin America, Europe, and other countries in Asia, but sadly enough due to the language problem they could not participate in this study. Moreover, since innumerable social network sites are available or emerging online every now and then, it is impossible to include all of these sites in this study since they are constantly updated and/or created. This thus implies that the generalization of this study is limited. At the end of this study probably these teachers have been starting to use other tools or sites which are technically difficult to be included while they were being interviewed.. Aside from that,. admittedly, the inclusion of the specific social network sites may be affected by certain bias because of prior personal experience and knowledge base. 4.

(11) 1.5 Definition of Terms Social Network Sites They are defined as web-based services allowing individuals to do following stuff within a bounded system: (1) a public or semi-public profile is constructed; (2) a list of other users is articulated with whom they share a connection, and (3) their list of connections are viewed and traversed. Similar terms, such as social networking, social networking sites, social network services, social networking service, and social networking tools are also used widely. Connectivism Siemens (2005) presented some new insights in the area of learning theories. Connectivism is where social learning is integrated with social media technologies. From this point of view, learning is a network phenomenon being influenced and enhanced by socialization, technology, and context of occurrence. Personal Learning Networks They are informal learning networks composed of the people that learners interact with, derive knowledge from, and collaborate with, so learners are connected for professional purposes in a personal learning environment.. 5.

(12) Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 The Educational Application of Social Network Sites So far, social network sites have attracted millions of users, many of whom have integrated it into their daily practices and considered it to be an indispensible part of their lives as well. Due to technological advances, gradually, the nature of communication, socialization, and private versus public information among human beings has been changed. One of such changes is the prominence of social network sites, which is currently enjoyed, especially among the younger generations (Cain, 2008). Terms such as social network sites, social network sites, social networking, social networking sites, social networking service, and social networking services are used widely. However, those above mentioned terms are actually similar and often used interchangeably. Boyd and Ellison (2007) deliberately chose the term "social network site" because it describes a phenomenon which primarily focuses on communicating with people who are already a part of their extended social network. In order to maintain the entire consistence in this thesis, the author followed their usage and adopted the term social network site in this proposal. 2.1.1 Definitions and characteristics of social network sites Social network sites are defined as web-based services which allow individuals to do following things within a bounded system: (1) a public or semi-public profile is constructed, (2) a list of other users is articulated with whom they share a connection, and (3) their list of connections are viewed and traversed; so are those made by others. Hence, the term “social network site” is employed in this study. In short, social network sites are online spaces where individuals are allowed to present themselves, articulate their social networks and establish or maintain connections with others (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). Generally, on these sites, users are able to create their own profiles and can increase the feeling of community among people as well. Currently, sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and are quite popular. For example, in the United States, there are 54% of adult Internet users on Facebook, averagely maintain 48% of their real world contacts on the site (Hampton, Goulet, & Purcell, 2011); many of these individuals exchange news items with their contacts regularly as well. As there are many social network sites supporting a wide range of interests and practices, 6.

(13) many of them are technologically-afforded, which bring a great deal of opportunity and open up new ways of viewing the world to current users. By building communities of similar interests, and galvanizing people around common causes, social network sites have been becoming the new vanguards for public engagement (Palfrey, 2010). Typically, there are sections for friends‟ comments. Originally, this feature encouraged users to write messages about the person in the profile. Users then started to reply each other, and then created a form of conversation or thread. Moreover, there are additional features, such as the creation of groups sharing common interests or affiliations, stream live videos uploading, and discussions in forums. These sites may vary in the extent to which they incorporate new information and communication tools, such as mobile connectivity or a mobile version (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). Users present themselves in an online profile, post comments on each friend‟s pages, and view each other‟s profiles. Based on common interests, they can join virtual groups and see if there is anything in common. In addition, they also learn each others‟ hobbies, interests, musical tastes, and romantic relationship status via the profile (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2006). 2.1.2 Effects of digital natives/immigrants A new generation of students termed „digital natives‟ (Prensky, 2001) is entering the education system. These young people are said to have been immersed in technology ever since they were born. Simply due to the wide exposure to digital media throughout their lives, there are assumptions prevailing about young people‟s inherent savvy with information and communication technologies. This also implies that a difference in ICT uses is not a concern among the young generation because of their widespread exposure and expertise knowledge of digital media (Hargittai, 2010). This conveys that a sense of digital technology is an accepted and expected condition under young people‟s current lives as they are fluent in the digital language, such as smart phones, computers, video games and the internet (Selwyn, 2009). They are also imbued with sophisticated technical skills and learning preferences whereas traditional education has not prepared yet. Thus, the nature of this generational change and the urgent necessity for educational reform should be in response (Bennett, Maton, & Kervin, 2008). As been seen, there is a huge difference among this generation and their teachers or parents in terms of their technology skill, use, and experiences. As their uses of information and communication technologies have changed (Greenhow & Robelia, 2009), they seem to have developed certain patterns of practices which are distinct from adult practices. They are 7.

(14) somehow more prepared as many of them are coming of age in a time with a given of networked affordances. Concerning this, undoubtedly, concerns of adults arouse because adults do not adopt the same patterns. The older generation might be confused or discomforted due to these changes. Yet, the older generation is trying to adjust and develop their own approaches to reconfiguring the technology to meet their needs (Boyd, 2010). As a result of the advent of social network sites, both of the online and offline manners which youth are engaging in life in a digital era should be understood (Palfrey, 2010). However, those assumptions about widespread digital skills among youth have been challenged or not been empirically supported (Jones, Ramanau, Cross, & Healing, 2010). In stark contrast to popular portrayals of the digital native, in fact, young people‟s engagements in digital technologies are varied and often unspectacular. However, it is not surprising that within the generation, there are people growing up with technologies that are proficient in using various technologies and feel confident with technologies. As compared to them, there are also people who did not start using technology at an early age. They do not know much about technology and are less confident in using technology (Lei, 2009). Popular assumptions that current generation of children and young people are innate and talented users of digital technologies thus have been questioned. A more realistic basis for approaching generational differences in technology use should be comprehensively presented (Selwyn, 2009). 2.1.3 Potentials in educational settings In the past decades, educational technology has been under significant change. One of such is the paradigmatic shifting, from instructor-centric models to learner-centric models, supported by innovative and flexible online technologies (Huang & Behara, 2007). As learner-learner interaction is more emphasized in these learning environments, students are expected to help each other gain knowledge, share ideas and discuss problems in face-to-face or virtual group settings. When it comes to web 2.0 technologies, unlike other learning management systems, students have used those technologies in their daily life. Not surprisingly, with a variety of digital devices and technologies, young people‟s daily lives are occupied. To some extent, the way of thinking and habit of the young generation are different with that of their parents or instructors. As young people are often called “digital natives” (Prensky, 2001), it is out of date to use the same teaching methods and educational rubrics for them. Though social network sites were originally focusing on leisure, these sites are not only for 8.

(15) recreational purpose, but are also with an abundance of educational potential. For example, the education community has grabbed onto the idea of a social networking site could be as a way to increase student engagement and collaboration in the classroom context. There is a possibility to strengthen the connections between the classroom and technologically savvy culture (Harris & Rea, 2009). Thus, it is possible to draw upon the popularity of social network sites to engage school students and utilizing the online skills that students already possess (Callaghan & Bower, 2012). With the affordances of new technologies, how schools adapt to incorporate these new approaches into their routines should be learned. Currently, tools or features similar with social network sites have been started to be incorporated into existing Course Management Systems (CMSs) such as Moodle and Blackboard. Still, a social network site is suggestively separated from a CMS because of the different extent of students‟ personalizing learning. Users on social network sites can generate their own discussions, create their own groups, and structure their own learning environment. However, in a CMS, these are dictated by instructors while limited opportunities are provided for online learners to participate in online interactions. Aside from it, these interactive activities are mostly restricted within a class at a semester. Due to security or privacy restrictions, contents cannot be shared with viewers outside of the institution or maintained over multiple semesters; also, the connectivity and openness are subject to the present formal learning environment (Chen, 2010). Given the access to external social opportunities, social network sites as learning tools are very likely connect informal and formal learning. For instance, it is possible for members to reach out the class and the semester duration and connect learners with communities, experts in the field, as well as peers across the world. Additionally, student-student, student-instructor, and studentcontent interactions in multimedia formats are facilitated. Thus, combining social network sites in a course, students are allowed to connect to educational contexts in novel ways while breaking the physical boundary of traditional classrooms (Chen & Bryer, 2012). It is beneficial for building up learning communities because of crossing the physical boundary of classrooms (Brady, Holcomb, & Smith, 2010). As students are already immersed in the world of social network sites, instructors need to take that situation into account which are also helpful for fostering the communication between teachers and parents. As students enjoy using these sites and see the advantages, they may be more inclined and more engaged in the class. As those messages could be set as public comments, it is a great way for answering 9.

(16) common questions of parents or students. Using computer-mediated-communication could ultimately have a positive effect on the student-teacher relationship which can also generate more positive outcomes of students‟ learning; therefore, social network sites could be used as an enhancement in educational settings with great potential of combining the discussion groups, creating a user‐centered experience, and understanding the contemporary student culture as well (Mazer, Murphy, & Simonds, 2009). With the advent of social network sites, a shift in learning structure is emerging, such as changes in content, process, and outcome. For students, they use their online social network to fulfill essential social learning functions and engage in a complex array of communicative and creative endeavors.. Besides, social network sites facilitate. emotional support, help the maintenance of relationships, and provide a platform for selfpresentation. Students‟ use of social network sites also demonstrates the new literacy practices currently being discussed within education reform efforts (Greenhow & Robelia, 2009). On the other hand, the current debate does exist: whether or not to use social network sites in educational settings as part or as essence in the learning process. These sites are used for the purpose of teaching and learning (Park & Son, 2011); however, concerns associated with privacy and safety is playing a critical role when. Social network sites are sometimes banned from educational settings due to certain regulations. Those educators who advocate the use of social network sites in educational settings argue that in their rush to safeguard students, some are equally ignoring the educational and technological benefits. Nevertheless, recently, there have been a growing number of social network sites aiming to capitalize on the enormous popularity and simultaneously providing a more secure and regulated platform for social networking activities for students (Holcomb, Brady, & Smith, 2010). 2.2 Connectivism, Online communities, and Collaborative Learning Currently, education is definitely moving forward in a more student-centered direction as compared to traditional learning in the past decades. One of the learning theories, social learning theory, is widely adopted while discussing practices in educational arenas. Speaking of online communities, due to the advance of technology, it is not surprising that many students have been actively participating in certain kinds of these communities. The importance is viewed to be increasing; obviously, so is collaborative learning. With this regard, it is possible to implement collaborative learning in online communities. In this section, the key ideas which provide the foundations for this study are thus outlined. 10.

(17) 2.2.1 Online Learning communities Communities are often referred as groups of people collaborating. While people are working collaboratively, they develop a personal sense of connection with fellow members (Brooks, 2010). With this regard, learning communities thus are defined simply as communities aiming for learning which are used in diverse and flexible ways. There has been rapid growth in accessing learning through participation in communities which are of common purpose. Nowadays, due to the emergence and growth of learning communities, members are allowed to interact from anywhere and anytime (Chen, 2010). In general, an online learning community is a place on the Internet where learners are able to gather to share information, collaboratively working on projects, and meet the needs of other learners in the community. While learners proactively participate, people with similar interests can connect to have a joint effort on the things they expect to do. It is possible to make learning more efficient and effective with the use of learning communities; more specifically, with the support of communities, as compared to being a complete novice at the beginning, the individual is very likely to become a comparative expert over time (Gray & Smyth, 2012). Online learning appears to be attractive as it provides individuals with flexibility and choice. In an online learning community, the importance of interaction and social participation in group learning is emphasized which implies that learners have an obligation to others and bring the products of their independent learning as a negotiated contribution to a group product. Moreover, in an academic context, participants are required to discuss concrete examples of their practice and begin to explore wider conceptual issues. Therefore, through their engagement in creative and practical team tasks while focusing on problem solving, participants are encouraged to have critical thinking, as well as communicating and organizing skills (Cornelius, Gordon, & Ackland, 2011). Admittedly, conventional formal learning often results in an experience that many learners struggle to integrate their knowledge into their own ways of thinking. Among them, only a few perceive value in or opportunities for sharing their own knowledge in productive and useful ways. In contrast, nowadays, in the most effective learning environments, students are expected to move from simply gathering facts to explicitly learning. (Bronack, Sanders, Cheney, Riedl, Tashner, & Matzen, 2008). Speaking of learning communities, it is represented that there is a powerful approach for bringing people together around a common goal. Apparently, when it 11.

(18) comes to forming and participating in a learning community, there is no one-size-fits-all. However, there are several characteristics of effective learning communities, including members learning from and with one another rather than always from an expert as well as an active focus on learning (McManis & Gunnewig, 2012). In addition, technologies can be viewed as social media which is facilitating collaborative and reflective learning. Since the community participation is regarded as the most important factor in authentic learning situations, tasks are often accomplished collaboratively. Educators can use web-based communication tools to help students collaborate with one another, sharing and constructing knowledge. From this point of view, social network sites can also help learners find a broader community which make them willing to share information and references (Chen, 2010). 2.2.2 Connectivism Knowledge is generated through interaction with others and surroundings which is also existing in a constant state of renewal (Brooks, 2010). Since students learn most effectively with the engagement in collaborative problem-solving activities under the supervision of instructors, collaboration is the most important characteristic of social learning. As opposed to traditional teaching and learning, students have the autonomy of choosing the content they need to learn. By doing so, it has proven to be more effective in certain aspects, such as strengthening their motivation, raising their achievement, and having positive social outcomes. Furthermore, social learning theories, especially connectivism, provide insights on the roles of educators in this social networked environment (Chen & Bryer, 2012). In this digital era, connectivism has been offered as a new learning theory where social learning is integrated with social media technologies. From this point of view, learning is a network phenomenon which is influenced and enhanced by socialization, technology, and context of occurrence (Tschofen & Mackness, 2012). With the focus on building and maintaining networked connections, learners‟ roles are not to memorize or even understand everything, but to have the capacity of finding and applying knowledge to existing and emergent problems. By gathering information from connecting to others‟ knowledge on certain social media, learning is no longer an internal or individualistic activity. Connectivism is characterized as a network theory of learning which is related to the transformative possibilities offered by emerging technologies. In a sense, its scope seems to be broader than those of existing theories. It also aspires to redefine learning within the different contexts and to deliver a learning theory for the 12.

(19) digital age. Connectivism, as an influential phenomenon, does inspire teachers and learners to make changes in their practice (Bell, 2011). With this regard, speaking of the responsibility of teachers, it is not any longer to define, generate, or assign content; rather, teachers are currently responsible to help learners build learning paths and make connections with existing and new knowledge resources (Anderson & Dron, 2011). It is emphasized that under student-centered models, students use their own experiences to construct understanding. So far, it has been seen that much of the content learned by students cannot be applied to real-world problems or situations. Technologies can be viewed as enhancement tools for constructing knowledge and situations which enhance the learning-bydoing process (Chen, 2010). Additionally, it provides insights for developing online pedagogies which also promote socially networked learning and emphasize learners‟ role on defining their learning pathways (Mackey & Evans, 2011). As this new identity is being constructed, individuals are also involved in the social construction of shared meanings about the learning community (Cornelius, Gordon, & Ackland, 2011). Learning is regarded as a social act; more specifically, social learning is about associated or allied intent to make oneself more in union with another individual. While participating, individuals are expected to have a shared sense of understanding, a shared framework, or shared construct. (Bronack, et. al, 2008). From a perspective of social learning theory, learning is certainly not viewed as an individual process which is completely separated from the real context of life. In terms of it, members of the community are brought together and interconnected. As learning communities can be reflective, members are allowed to initiate new interpretations and absorb new perspectives. As a result, it is encouraged that constructions of new forms of concepts are enabled through cycles of activities, negotiations, and experiences. Members are able to apply their previously acquired knowledge and skills to a new situation, for instance, completing a new project based on real work. With this regard, social theory of learning provides an influential arena for professional development and learning (Zenios, 2011). 2.2.3 Benefits of online and collaborative learning Due to the information age and the faster-life style, there have been numerous changes in traditional educational approaches. Because of extensive curriculums, virtual learning has been regarded as an alternative for students which knowledge and skills are delivered in an innovative way. As it encompasses a wide-concept of learning through problem solving, and collaborative 13.

(20) and virtual learning, it has been seen as an effective way for fostering teaching and learning. Moreover, collaborative learning is not limited in the physical classroom settings. It is also available and does occur in virtual environment, such as facilitating interaction among students, tutors, and experts in order to exchange information (Lukman, & Krajnc, 2012). With this regard, online collaborative learning simply embraces the characteristics of collaborative learning and computer-mediated communication in network environments (Choi & Kang, 2010). While learning collaboratively, students are required to depend on each other and allow peers to modify their original ideas to achieve a common goal. As compared to traditional learning environments, the authority of instructors is voluntarily undermined and learners are encouraged to plan and accomplish group tasks without much of teachers‟ help. Thus, learners would experience contradictions with a changing role and take more responsibility (Choi & Kang, 2010). During the learning process, learners are very likely to have needs of sharing and constructing knowledge through interaction with others both online and offline. As compared to that in conventional learning settings, in which this is usually done by either consulting teachers or sharing knowledge with other students within the classroom setting. Therefore, knowledge sharing becomes a critical learning activity. In this collaborative process, learners learn by sharing knowledge while interacting with others; also, they obtain mutual understanding and build knowledge (Hsiao, Brouns, Kester, & Sloep, 2011). Teachers use online social networking applications to transmit information, learning resources, and online quizzes; in the mean time, students are allowed or required to comment on one another‟s journal writing and other digital products. Students are also given opportunities to construct or write their own digital stories or compositions with their personal voices embedded in offline or online software applications. Online software applications also provided avenues for collaboration with peers and teachers (Tay, Lim, Lim, & Koh, 2012). As an environment in which issues can be openly shared and discussed is elaborated, students are encouraged to help each other. Particularly, collaborative groups help individuals to address concerns and develop skills to assist others with their studies (Cornelius, Gordon, & Ackland, 2011). Moreover, educational benefits of online collaborative group work have been recognized; in particular, comprising the development of skills of critical thinking and problem solving as well as skills of self-reflection and co-construction of knowledge and meaning (Chiong & Jovanovic, 2012). In terms of it, it raises learning outcome due to relatively less isolation among students 14.

(21) and/or teachers. Furthermore, a sense of belonging is provided while students are able to make use of the collective intelligence, which leads student to absorb that knowledge better. These benefits cover not only in content areas but also in their affective and personal development. Thus, with this regard, online collaborative learning is helpful in various ways. 2.3 Uses of Social Network Sites: from a Teacher’s Perspective With regard to the evolving learning processes, supporting pedagogies, and applications in the digital age, there have been advances in various aspects that have affected the educational arena. Social network sites have been regarded as an educational technology application with abundance of potentials, but speaking of the implementation, it is relatively limited in the classroom settings. In spite of increases in computer access and technology training, still, technology is not being used to support the kinds of instruction which is believed to be the most powerful one.. Teachers are expected to understand how to use technology to facilitate. meaningful learning, namely, student are enabled to construct deep and connected knowledge which can be applied to real situations. In other words, teachers are expected to leverage technology resources as meaningful pedagogical tools in their teaching (Ertmer & OttenbreitLeftwich, 2010). However, not all of them do. According to previous studies, it was delineated the three most frequently cited barriers impacting technology integration are: 1) resources, 2) teachers‟ knowledge and skills, and 3) teacher attitudes and beliefs (Hew & Brush, 2007). Obviously, teachers are the most important agents speaking of changes in the educational process. There are many factors teachers facing in their use of technology, clearly, teacher attitudes and beliefs are a few of them (Alzaidiyeen & Almwdiah, 2012). As most of the teachers are now working in schools which first-order barriers, namely, resources, are relatively consistent across classrooms, the primary difference is viewed as being internal to others, that is, in this study, attitudes and beliefs are chosen to be researched (Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Sadik, Sendurur, & Sendurur, 2012). Thus, in this section, several issues are discussed, that is, teacher attitudes, teacher beliefs, and other concerns of teachers using social network sites. 2.3.1 Teacher attitudes When it comes to the integration of technology in classroom settings, teacher attitudes and beliefs are one of the major factors. They are also linked to shaping students‟ learning environment as well as having an inﬂuence on student motivation and student achievement. In an effort to reshape education and have more successful technological integration in classrooms, 15.

(22) it is necessary to identify the factors which facilitate or prevent the use of digital technology by teachers. As for critical obstacles to successful technology integration, it is very likely to be personal issues. In spite of the increasing availability of educational technology, many teachers are still hesitant to integrate technology into their curriculum. This is especially true for teachers who do not feel confident in their personal technological skills or those who are reluctant to ask for assistance (Moore-Hayes, 2011). If the individual anticipates that it is not possible to achieve the desired outcomes due to constraints imposed by personal or contextual factors, the individual is very likely to halt the specific action or not even undertake it at all (Ertmer & OttenbreitLeftwich, 2010). Lei (2009) surveyed 70 incoming freshmen teacher education majors at a large northwestern university in the United States by using questionnaires which included related questions to teacher attitudes; more specifically, they were asked if they were interested in computers and related technologies; if they were interested in learning new technologies; if they were interested in learning technologies that would help them teach in the future. In the context of technology integration, teacher attitudes toward technology may be conceptualized as teachers like or dislike the use of technology (Foon & Brush, 2007). Likewise, positive attitudes often encourage teachers who are less technologically capable of learning necessary skills for implementing technology-based activities in the classroom (Afshari, Abu, Su, Abu, Say, 2009). 2.3.2 Teacher beliefs While teachers believe it is valuable to use technology, they are more likely to incorporate those uses into their teaching practices (Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Glazewski, Newby, & Ertmer, 2010). More specifically, teacher beliefs include their educational beliefs about teaching and learning and their beliefs about technology. Speaking of deciding whether and how to use technology for instruction, it ultimately depends on teachers themselves and the beliefs they hold about technology. In particular, teachers may express the belief that technology is best used for high-level problem-solving activities; however, it is very likely that their day-to-day use include a great deal of drill-and-practice applications. This is probably due to their holding of a more central belief that teachers are responsible for assuring students to learn foundational or prerequisite skills. Therefore, the problem lies in figuring out these contradictions to determine which beliefs are influencing which actions (Ertmer, 2005). 16.

(23) Not surprisingly, it was also shown that student-centered beliefs form the basis of studentcentered practices (authenticity, student choice, and collaboration). Moreover, teachers with student-centered beliefs have a tendency to enact student-centered curricula despite technological, administrative, or assessment barriers. Teachers‟ own beliefs and attitudes about the relevance of technology to student learning are perceived as having the biggest impact on their success (Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Sadik, Sendurur, & Sendurur, 2012). Teacher beliefs are majorly shaped by everyday classroom and school experiences, as well as those people and artifacts in the surroundings, ranging from students, colleague, school authorities, and physical tools such as computers, software, and curriculum materials, coupled with the norms, vision, expectations of the school. The relationship between changes in teachers' beliefs and practices was intertwined. Moreover, the factors held by teachers have an influence on the use of technology in teaching (Levin & Wadmany, 2008). It is understood that a belief is a subjective element of knowledge which an individual considers true and important in relation to a specific subject. Beliefs are bound up with a person‟s past history, emotions, and personal values that have the capacity to influence behavior. The beliefs held by teaching faculty may be considered as teachers‟ general response to the question of the proper role of digital media in the classroom. For beliefs, clearly, it is the issue primarily that how strongly teachers are persuaded about the potential benefits of digital media in improving students‟ learning, rather than about the general importance of computer knowledge for students, or about their efficiency and ease of use (Petko, 2012). Moreover, it was shown that teachers viewed technology as an indispensable component of their daily life; also, they strongly believed in the potential of technology in helping teaching and learning. Nevertheless, their attitudes toward technological integration in classrooms were somewhat reserved. On the one hand, their reserved attitudes showed that they had a mature understanding of the complexity of technology integration in schools; on the other hand, it revealed that they might not be actively using technology in their own teaching (Lei, 2009). As a result, with the cooperation of technology-based information rich tasks with the school curriculum, teachers' beliefs, knowledge and classroom practices are multivariate and interrelated (Levin & Wadmany, 2008). 2.3.3 Concerns among teachers Aiming at yielding the expected educational benefits, social network sites in particular have to 17.

(24) be in companion with an appropriate pedagogical approach. Currently, speaking of learning practices, the acceptance of social network sites is still primarily led by education enthusiasts. In general, they try to make their classes more engaging for students, turn to these popular online tools and make them part of their teaching practices (Jovanovic, Chiong, & Weise, 2012). As reported, the majority of teacher candidates claimed to have good developed skills to utilize Internet resources to enhance student learning while 70.0% are experts) and 20% are advanced. However, many teachers in public K-12 schools are still struggling to keep current with the implementation of emerging and advancing tools of instructional technology (Oigara & Wallace, 2012). Obviously, aside from previously mentioned factors, there are still other issues which would be affecting teachers‟ use of social network sites in classroom settings. In 2007, Hew and Brush analyzed studies published during 1995-2005 which are related to the integration barriers. They identified six categories of barriers. Amongst them, four comprised first-order barriers, that is, resources, institution, subject culture, and assessment; two comprised second-order barriers, that is, teacher attitudes and teacher beliefs as well as teacher knowledge and teacher skills (Hew & Brush, 2007). With this regard, as school time-tabling is relatively fixed, this inevitably restricts technology practices of teachers in classroom settings. This also constrains the variety of learning modalities; consequently, fewer teachers plan computer activities on a regular basis. As teachers needed extra hours to get prepared, they would gradually be burned out (Hew & Brush, 2007). Moreover, it was stated that teachers did not have the time to use or to develop specific technology activities for classroom use. In particular, increasing accountability demands, such as the urgency of meeting curricular benchmarks and preparing students for the state tests, as well as inadequate scheduling of their time in the computer labs or media centers, is the reason that they did not incorporate technology use as a regular part of their instructional practice. In short, it was acknowledged that teaching with technology requires extensive investments of time while in reality there is little time left (Wachira & Keengwe, 2011). Furthermore, school culture is another variable. It is not surprising that teachers have to conform to the form of norms, values, and shared beliefs among their colleagues. As there is a set of norms that guides behaviors and instructional practices in each school, these norms address things including certain promotable values and goals, preferable methods of instruction, and acceptable tools or resources to use (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich,2010). Moreover, it was 18.

(25) indicated that supports from others, more specifically, administrators and personal learning networks, play key roles in shaping their practices (Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Sadik, Sendurur, & Sendurur, 2012). Another reason is the lack of adequate technology resources or access to technology in appropriate locations, such as classrooms, and poor administrative support are also barriers to teachers‟ own integration. School administrators should strive for supporting teachers who commit technology integration to the course while encouraging those who may not be (Wachira & Keengwe, 2011). Aside from it, it was demonstrated that the quantity and quality of available materials within a given school environment, in particular, the lack of technical personnel, facilities, and the necessary infrastructure, may either have a positive or negative influence on the degree to which media are utilized; speaking of the level of administrative support and encouragement provided by the school principal, to what degree a school principal offers or deprives teachers‟ instructional opportunities does shape their decision to engage or not to engage in a teaching task with these tools (Abdo & Semela, 2010). In addition, technology professional development experiences should support teachers in creating customized materials for their classrooms. As such, teachers are more likely to integrate technology into practice to address student needs along with the core underlying value of benefiting students. (OttenbreitLeftwich, Glazewski, Newby & Ertmer, 2010). Briefly speaking, there indeed are a number of different types of support needed for effective integration including administrative, technological, professional, and peer (Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Sadik, Sendurur, & Sendurur, 2012). Moreover, with a lack of relevant training opportunities, teachers are very likely to confront the integration of technology into the curriculum on their own; in a sense, they have to figure out how to do it independently which may lead to their reluctance of implementing related tools (Oigara & Wallace, 2012). To sum up, these factors are interrelated, that is, the successful implementation of digital technologies is not solely dependent on the availability or absence of a factor; rather, it is dynamically involving a set of interrelated factors (Afshari et. al, 2009). 19.

(26) CHAPTER 3 METHDOLOGY This study aimed to examine what roles social network sites play in a classroom setting, the attitudes toward and beliefs about the use of social network sites among teachers in their classrooms, as well as their concerns with that. In short, this chapter includes sections as follows: research design, data collection, data analysis, and research structure. 3.1 Research Design It was investigated if there were any differences and similarities of using social network sites among these teachers. Given that there were relatively a few studies on pedagogies of using social media, qualitative methods were used to explore the research questions through rich descriptions. Interviews were semi-structured to ensure that all participants were asked questions with regard to their interaction. They were also encouraged to raise other issues as they felt relevant to the research. Based on the qualitative methodology, teachers were one-on-one interviewed. Teachers were interviewed via Skype during October to November, 2012. This research was designed to discover the use of social network sites among teachers in their classrooms as well as their attitudes toward, beliefs about and concerns with it. Data were collected via one-on-one interview. From the collection of data, the key points were marked as codes taken from the text; then the codes were grouped into similar concepts. 3.2 Data Collection A qualitative research method was used. First of all, the author‟s acquaintances were asked; they were asked to forward this interview inquiry to people they know that were likely to help the author with this research. Also the author posted an interview wanted message on her personal page on several social network sites. She got some feedbacks of internet people and they suggested her some possible websites and blogs which mainly focus on educational technology or practices of technology-enhanced teaching and learning of teachers. The author then left comments on those sites or contacted owners of those blogs by e-mail. As a huge number of comments and emails were left and written, only a few of these teachers got back to the author and were glad to help her with these interviews. In total, the author conducted 20 interviews and chose five out of them as the rest of them were either too short possibly due to time constraint or the language barrier. In this sense, authentic data was collected.. 20.

(27) Participants Five teachers participated in this research; more specifically, they from Australia, the United States, and New Zealand. These teachers have been running their blogs with related to educational technology which also display their actual use of social network sites on their pages. The demographic information of them is presented in the following table. Table 1. Demographic data of the participants. Number Age Gender City/State/Country. Years of. Highest. Content. Grade. Areas. Levels. Bachelor of. ICT and. P-K12. Commerce. Accounting. Master of. Classroom. Experiences Degree A. 60. F. Hawkesdale. 32. Victoria Australia B. 48. F. New Hyde Park. 29. New York. Elementary and Special. United States. C. 48. F. Fort Worth. K2. Teacher. Education 9. Bachelor of Education. Texas. Classroom. K2. Teacher. United States D. 63. F. Wellington. 40. Education. New Zealand. E. 34. F. Ocean. Bachelor of. 11. Master of Educational. New Jersey. leadership. United States. 21. Classroom Teacher. Spanish. K6K8. K10K12.

(28) Settings After the author contacted these teachers and scheduled the time, she added these teachers on Skype and called them to have an interview as planned. During each interview, the conversation was moving smoothly and naturally. Whenever the author came up with questions she just went further and asked them, or expressed random thoughts. In general, the individual teacher and the author had a two way communication. Table 2. List of interviews. Number. Date. Duration (minutes). A. Oct 26th. 35. B. Nov 3rd. 30. C. Nov10th. 32. D. Nov 21st. 20. E. Nov25th. 28. Instrument An interview protocol, which was taken from recent literature and modified in terms of the research questions, was used to collect information from these teachers. Basically, they were interviewed based on these questions; but whenever it was necessary, they got asked further about it. As originally presented, the questions focused on the use of social network sites in their classrooms, such as those activities, assessment strategies, and general concerns about using social network sites. Question 1-7 were intended to understand teachers actual use of social network sites in their classrooms. Question 8-9 were intended to understand their thoughts about using technology in their classrooms in general. From their answers, the roles of social network sites in the teaching process were induced.. Moreover, question 10 was about personal. information of these teachers. The interview protocol is as following description: 1. What social network sites have you used in your classes? 22.

(29) 2. What was your motivation to start using social network sites in your classes? 3. What activities did you use with the social network sites? 4. What assessment strategies have you used to evaluate theses activities? 5. What benefits do you perceive to use these social network sites in your classes? 6. What concerns do you perceive to use these social network sites in your classes? 7. What is your suggestion on the issue of using social network sites for teaching? 8. What technologies do you see that instructors can use while teaching and learning regarding it? 9. What are your beliefs about the best ways to use these sites in the classroom? 10. The following is about your personal information which will be only used for academic purpose. Since you will be asked only position, gender and age, it is extremely impossible to identify subjects by name. All information gathered in this study will remain confidential and be given out only with your permission. Thanks for taking the survey! Position Gender Age Country and City The school you are teaching at Number of years in teaching Highest Academic Qualification Your Major 3.3 Research Process Each of the teachers was interviewed via Skype with a semi-structured interview protocol comprising nine key questions to ensure consistency among interviewers. The interview protocol was sent to the teachers prior to the conduction of the interview. Interviews began by the author‟s self introduction; also they were informed that their responses would remain confidential and asking for their approval to participate. Teachers were asked to share their experiences of lessons or projects on which social network sites were used as well as other random thoughts related to this topic. Then they were asked about the concerns they have had so far along with suggestions, the estimation and beliefs about technology in the classroom. The 23.

(30) interview questions were structured to be as open-ended as possible to avoid leading the interviewees. While interviewing these teachers, questions were added if necessary which intended to get specific comments made by the participants. Demographic data were gathered lastly. 3.4 Data Analysis All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. The author was also note-taking and conversing during the interviews. The transcripts were analyzed and coded, and statements were classified by themes to answer the research questions. All qualitative data were reviewed multiple times and open-coded to produce an initial code list which was generated based on the interview transcripts. Whiling reading the transcripts, the author also read the notes and came upon reflections. To look for regularities and patterns among them, she then compared and noted themes related to the research questions, which was similar to open coding. In addition, an initial list on categories was developed, which was similar to axial coding. Later, the concrete units were sorted by categories. Finally, through a process of selective coding, the result was presented. Issues of validity and reliability In this study, reliability was constructed through triangulation of multiple data sources, for example, interviews, blogs of these teachers, as well as the author‟s reflections. Aside from that, the interview protocol was cited from the latest literature and slightly modified. Other than that, several triangulation methods were used to enhance validity and reliability of this study. Thus, it the accuracy of the collected data was assured, and the possibility of researcher bias in drawing conclusions from the data was reduced. The author interviewed 20 teachers in total but only chose 5 out of them and only these are usable. The reasons are as described: some of them were very poorly communicated because of the language problem; they do not speak English that well to have their ideas got out or had problems expressing themselves; for those who are native English speakers, some seemed to be in a rush probably due to time constraint or insufficiency of preparation, thus they came up with disorganized answers which were difficult to follow up. In terms of that, only five out of them were chosen and analyzed. Non-selected cases are as following description: First, it was due to language barrier, such as speaking so fast and with a very thick accent which was not understood. Second, it was due to 24.

(31) unusable content, such as revolving around the same thing all the time, being too abstract or talking too little even if they got asked further. Non-selected cases Case 1: This Indian teacher was barely understood. Case 2: This teacher from Argentina did not understand how this interview should have been going; instead, she had a lecture on this topic as a whole which was not either specific or organized enough. Case 3: This American teacher was obviously in a rush; her answer to each question was too short and did not present enough information this whole time. Open coding was used and the coding list is shown in Table 3. Table 3. The coding list. Category. Key Concepts. 1. Roles of social network sites in the teaching process 1.1 Motivating 1.2 Connecting 1.3 Professionally Networking 1.4 Showing Authentic Examples 1.5 Teaching Various Skills 2. Attitudes toward and beliefs about teaching with social network sites. 2.1 Positive 2.2 Proactive 2.3 Adoptive 2.4 Necessary 2.5 Task-dependent. 3. Concerns of using social network sites in the teaching process. 3.1 Copyright 3.2 Proper Behaviors 3.3 Internet Safety 3.4 Parents 3.5 Accessibility 25.

(32) When it comes to the interviews, all of the interviewees remained anonymous and were only identified as A to E based on the order of being interviewed. Each line of the transcript was analyzed and assigned code labels to the categories. To be more specific, the first number after the letter refers which page of the transcript is, for example, A-2 means that it is the second page of the transcript of participant A. Moreover, the number after the page means which order of the keyword appears on that precise page, for example, A-2-03 means that it is the third keyword on the second page of the transcript of participant A. Moreover, the author kept her reflections in a journal, this was coded as well; more specifically, R-1127-01 means the first keyword in the journal of November 27th. Examples of coding Example 1: A-2-03 “Now we can share knowledge with each other, so I think that‟s what social network is really good. They can share conversation, of course the one they want to.” Example 2: R-1127-01 “I found it really annoying because you don‟t know if the other person is being honest with you, I mean, I remember one time I was talking to this Chinese guy, he literally told me he was born and raised in Australia, but the thing is, ever since we started speaking English, I noticed there was an obvious Chinese accent, so I was like, oh really, yeah, I totally know you‟re Chinese, and I was thinking, you can‟t be serious. I was just thinking, you know what? I just talked to three Aussies that day earlier. I totally know what they sound like. Obviously he doesn‟t sound like them at all. And he couldn‟t hear my foreign accent in my English either; he kept saying I spoke just like Americans and even wondered if I was born there, I was like, come on, dude, I totally know there‟s something in there that I want to smooth it out so bad. I mean, obviously he just made the whole thing up, about his identity or whatsoever. He couldn‟t be born and raised down there. There‟s no way he can trick me into this. I was just thinking how many people he had tricked? He could trick them but sorry I‟m not that dumb. I don‟t know why people do this; they‟re just some wannabes, you know? A lot of people fake their profiles on those language exchange sites, they wrote English as their native language which is totally not true. They wanted to teach me English as they cannot even get their short self-introductions correct. It‟s really ironic. I met tons of people just like that. 26.

(33) 3.5 Research Structure. Figure 1. Research Structure As been seen, Figure 3.1 shows the research structure. More specifically, based on the concepts of online collaborative learning, education potentials of social network sites were described and were verified in the experiences of classroom practice of these teachers. On the other hand, attitudes toward and beliefs about teaching with social network sites as well as concerns of teaching with social network sites among teachers were reviewed and identified by conducting these interviews. In terms of it, roles of social network sites in their classrooms were discovered, as well as attitudes and beliefs of these teachers, and related concerns with the use of social network sites in their classrooms.. 27.

(34) CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Roles of social network site in the teaching process In this section, roles of social network sites in the teaching process are discussed; to be more specific, they are motivating, connecting, professionally networking, showing authentic examples, and teaching various skills. 4.1.1. Motivating According to these five teachers, using social network sites in their classrooms has been motivating to their students in different ways which are described more thoroughly in the following section. Three of these teachers actually said that their students are more engaged in their learning. Among them, one said that as a matter of fact her students learn better because they like to be learning on social network sites, which is obviously seen as a benefit. Moreover, one of them especially said her students had been quite passive but they altered dramatically; in this sense, it was also shown that her students have been participating much more actively in the classroom as they were even asking her some questions about the Spanish language. “Now I can say it benefits the students.”(A-1-02) “That‟s the kind of environment they like to be in, and like learning. “(A-1-03) “I think students learn better when they‟re engaged.” (A-2-02) “It does engage the students.”(D-4-03) “It changed my classroom. It went from a boring grammar repetition class to a class that they were asking me questions. They were saying to me like how do I do this, how do I say this? “(E-1-03) Two of these teachers said their students were either interested or excited to do these activities on social network sites because they could get connected with another class. It also implies that their students began to have an interest in learning. “They were really interested, and they got their counterparts in Illinois to be really interested too. “ (B-6-05) “My students were so excited to connect with this class in Argentina; we also had connected with another class in Spain which was really exciting.”(E-4-01) In addition, two of these teachers said as these kids have their actual audiences, they know 28.

(35) their works would be read by other people, not just by the only teacher; thus, they would get more motivated. “When they know they‟re typing for more than just me, or when their parents would read it or people from other places, they‟re definitely more motivated. “(C-3-03) “It was because I do my own blogging and I got interested in that way. Then I wanted to put my students‟ work online for audience, and especially for the parents to see and encourage others to see for the rest of the school. So my kids got more motivated.” (D-1-01) “I think when they know there are audiences out there who are gonna read the stuff they wrote, they are gonna get more motivated to do it and they‟ll get it better.” (R-1111-02) To sum up, their students got excited and motivated throughout the process of using social network sites as their students are more engaged in their learning and probably learn better; also, they could get connected with another class and have a group of audiences to read their works. 4.1.2. Connecting All of these five teachers have been using social network sites to enhance or support their teaching. So far, these teachers and their students have been doing various projects and activities with other classes. They have been using various sites; among them, Twitter, Facebook, and Edmodo are mostly mentioned. As the features on those social network sites are almost similar and relatively easy, they didn‟t really talk about how to use them; rather, they talked about how their projects or activities have been going. First of all, here are some descriptions from a more general perspective. These teachers and their students can have conversations with other classes and that was what they started off. “I started out with stuff like hi, this is my classroom, so and so….and we asked questions back and forth.” (C-2-03) “We started out using Edmodo, and Edmodo groups with other classes, and blogging, and mid way through the year I started skyping with them. “(C-2-02) They can also share their works, such as slides, videos, posts, photos, and comment on them. “There is another tool that I like to use, called Voicethread which is nice because you can put slide and videos on it, and other classes can do that too, and you can make voice comments and questions. We have a classroom in Taiwan that we like to communicate with, but we never can get our classrooms together so by using the Voicethread they can put stuff on and when we‟re in school we can put stuff on.”(C-2-05) 29.

(36) “Writing is a big part as a place they can share their arts, with the photos, and we made videos, so it‟s a place to put the videos to share them with the rest of the people. “(D-1-05) By using social network sites, they can get the people to read their kids‟ works. “On Edmodo, we participated in Global Read Aloud, and we read a book with a bunch of classes around the world.” (C-2-08) “With facebook, I have a group, I invited these accounting students to the group.” (A-1-01) “Twitter is very open, but if you use it appropriately, I love using it because all of a sudden you get all these people.”(A-6-03) “I‟ve used Edmodo, we use blogging, Kidblog, and I use Twitter to get the audience for my classroom and for kids‟ blogs, and for communicating with other teachers.” (C-1-01) Secondly, three of these teachers particularly talked about what projects or activities they have been doing, such as natural disasters, the presidential election four years ago, a Mexican celebration, and Spanish learning. Their students got very connected with their partners from other classes. For example, their students have been collaborating and working together. “I mean right now I‟m doing a natural disasters unit with a class at Illinois, so every day when we‟re online we‟re using the kits on Edmodo and having conversations at Edmodo, and they‟re also on Google Docs, working on projects, and we‟re on skype calling small groups over to talk to each other.” (B-3-01) Another two examples were that their students had a presentation. Two of these teachers mentioned that their classes had a presentation to the whole country or the world and they got feedback from those people. In this sense, this is also coherent with using social network sites to get the audience which was mentioned previously. “Last time we had a presidential election, not the one that coming up, but that was four years ago, my class moderated a skype call between two middle school classes, we were the moderators and each one middle class, one took Obama, one took McCain, and we moderated that debate, and then we had an arguration for president Obama, I had a line running which is a chat room, and people from all over the country could enter that chat room, we were all watching this arguration together, and talking about it, and covered a live.” (B-3-02) “At the end of last year, my class and another class did a big presentation about a big 30.