Student-initiated Facebook sites: nurturing personal learning environments or a place for the disenfranchised?

Co-learning in a Digital Community: Information Literacy and Views on Learning in Pre-school Teacher Education

“…Similar to other studies of Facebook use in education settings, studies focusing on teacher education [41][42] find that Facebook groups can offer teacher students valuable opportunities for communication and facilitate learning. How identities of teacher students are expressed and shaped in digital settings is fairly unexplored [43], even though identity is considered to be a crucial component affecting perspectives and ways of acting among teachers [44].…”

“…The critique of the traditional teacher-role, associated with authority and the transfer of knowledge, and a social-constructivist view on learning as co-learning provides an ideological rationale for the use of digital tools. Previous research suggests that Facebook groups can provide teacher students with valuable opportunities for communication [41][42]. Depending on the motivations of the participants, Facebook can support learning communities [42].…”

“…Previous research suggests that Facebook groups can provide teacher students with valuable opportunities for communication [41][42]. Depending on the motivations of the participants, Facebook can support learning communities [42]. The digital community in the Facebook group becomes an important arena for realising the credo of co-learning, emphasising the building of relations and open discussions between students and teachers.…”

Teachers’ Opinions on the Use of Personal Learning Environments for Intercultural Competence

“…This occurs in learning communities created with the use of PLE where experiences and social interactions are shared in an environment of trust, security and responsibility [16]. In addition, the use of strategies and virtual tools help to overcome students' physical and temporal difficulties to interact with one another [17].In relation to this, research has found positive effects of social interaction for learning [18], demonstrating that collaborative learning is a useful effect of PLE, as it includes the coming together of all group members to build knowledge and solve problems, which favors integration [3,13,15]. In this sense, collaborative learning is the result of the learning resources and content shared in the PLE, that allow teamwork and collective learning through the participation processes they create [19].…”

“…This occurs in learning communities created with the use of PLE where experiences and social interactions are shared in an environment of trust, security and responsibility [16]. In addition, the use of strategies and virtual tools help to overcome students' physical and temporal difficulties to interact with one another [17].…”