Online social networks and learning

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/ authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This viewpoint essay seeks to argue that young people's online social networking can serve as sites for and supports for student learning in ways not currently assessed.Design/methodology/approach -The two themes presented are based on a select review of the research literature as well as the author's explorations of young people's online social networking practices within MySpace and Facebook, two naturally occurring, youth-initiated sites, as well as in an online social networking application designed for environmental science education and civic action.Findings -Two themes are presented: (1) social network sites can serve as direct and indirect supports for learning, such as providing an emotional outlet for school-related stress, validation of creative work, peer-alumni support for school-life transitions, and help with school-related tasks; and (2) online social networking can stimulate social and civic benefits, online and offline, which has implications for education.Practical implications -Currently, social media are largely blocked in schools due to privacy, security, and copyright concerns. In the USA, the National Educational Technology Plan published in November 2010, and recent educational standards, both assume 24/7 access and use of newer web technologies for learning and advocate appropriation of technologies students already use, and prefer to use, for educational purposes. Consideration of how social media, such as social network sites, currently support informal learning may advance one's ability to construct effective social media-enabled environments for more formal learning purposes.Originality/value -This paper presents concrete examples of how social network sites, typically seen as a distraction, might be re-envisioned as supports for revised student learning outcomes.In the last decade, internet access, the nature of the web and contexts for learning have evolved, along with the emergence of desired competencies for learners, instructors, and administrators, and these changes impact constructs for learning, teaching, and paths for future research (Greenhow et al., 2009a, b); young people now have more choices over what, how, and with whom the...

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