Craig Blewett

“Facebook Learning Space: The Final Frontier?”

“Call me Craig. Some years ago – never mind how long

precisely – I thought I would set sail upon the sea of

knowledge in search of a place where the answer to a

troubling question may be found. This is my journey, so

far.” (Moby Dick, alt.)

“More and more instructors are beginning to abandon traditional approaches to instruction…for cutting-edge strategies, which allow students to construct their own

learning.” (Heider, 2009)

“…yet studies of diverse learners’ use of new media cast doubt on the speed and extent of change.” (Warschauer, 2007)

W H Y

“One of the most pertinent questions for today’s educational climate is that of how learning and literacy are fostered (or hampered) by the use of digital, electronic media.” (Duncan, 2010)

“Few studies explore the link between Social Network System use and education.”

(Greenhow, 2009)

W H Y

“…guard against “technopositivism” where unsubstantiated emphasis is placed on the technology rather than its

pedagogical benefits.” (Rambe&Ng’ambi, 2011)

“Facebook and education should be kept strictly separate.” (Madge et al, 2009)

THE UNANSWERED QUESTION: “What kinds of pedagogy are appropriate to using this technology and, more

fundamentally, how does this technology change the epistemologies?” (Noss, 1999)

W H Y

Research Question: What does students’ use and the affordances of

a Facebook Learning Space reveal about pedagogy?

Purpose: To explore student learning within a Facebook Learning Space

Design/Content Organisation

Use/Interactional Organisation

Gee’s 36 Learning Principles

LearningTheories

LEARNING

CQ1: What are the affordances of a FLS?

CQ2: How do students use a FLS?

CQ3: Why do students use a FLS in the way they do?

FLS Learning Principles

LearningTheories

Analysis: Critical Discourse Analysis

FB Act.: 11D

SS Inter: 6Q

3,4,5,6,7

1,2,3,4,8,9,10,11

1,2,4,6

3,4,5,6

3,4,5,6,7

1,2,3,4,8,9,10,11

R/Journ: 11D

LEARNING

Student design and use of a

Facebook Learning Space

Area

learnin

ge

-----------------------------------------

Critical Questions Theoretical Framework:

Affinity Spaces

RM: Critical Design

Ethnography

CDE1

CDE2

CDE4

CDE5

CDE3

Guided Analysis

Gu

ided

A

nalysis

ph

iloso

ph

ical dim

ensio

n

methodological dimension

x

Paradigm: Critical Realism

Transitive ep

istemo

logical d

imen

sion

Intran

sitive o

nto

logical

dim

ensio

n

Real

(mech

anism

s)A

ctual

(action

s)Em

pirical

(ob

serve)

Design/Content Organisation

Use/Interactional Organisation

LS

The Journey into FLS