12017

12014

General Session - Conference Presentation and Interactive Activity Only (40 minutes, no formal paper)

Kelvin Beckett, Kaplan University, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA. kbeckett@kaplan.edu
 * Using Facebook to Build and Sustain a Community of Online Learners: A Deweyan Perspective**

It is true, as the organizers of this conference say, that “social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, have facilitated communication, sharing, collaboration and creativity among students and faculty.” An issue has been raised, however, concerning the kinds of communication and sharing social media facilitate and whether these are of equal educational value (Blankenship, 2011; Reid, 2011). In this presentation, I give a brief overview of John Dewey’s (1916) constructivist perspective on communication; assess the strengths and weaknesses of Facebook from a Deweyan perspective; and recommend ways online educators can make the best use of social media to facilitate communication with and among their students.

//Interactivity// I will initiate and facilitate a discussion of Facebook communication, beginning with feedback from participants on my initial recommendations; continuing with participants' own experiences with Facebook; and concluding with participants' recommendations on how to make best use of Facebook and other social media in online courses.

Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, All Audiences online communication Dewey