DO YOU HAVE FACEBOOK?: STUDENTS' PERSPECTIVES AND CONSEQUENCES OF USING OR NOT FACEBOOK ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

It is very common finding quotes on articles saying that social networks, while being educational technologies, are able to evoke collaborative, simple and efficient environments when it turns to teaching and learning processes. However, besides the impact brought by technology on contemporaneous lives, this fact is not yet con-sensuous among researchers in this field and it represents one crucial point for future educational transformations. Consequently, the themes on new educational technologies are a fertile field for further investigations. Trying to solve this problem, this research focus was defined as being: what is a Licensure undergraduate student perception about using Facebook (FB) on their academic activities. During this research, a number of activities was developed using the Group function on Facebook on a subject inside the Chemistry Licensure course and interviews were made and recorded at the end of the semester. In a qualitative approach and yet on a studying a case perspective, the results from this experience were analyzed through content analysis. Therefore, the results were organized on 3 different categories and analyzed according to the found data on using Facebook as an educational tool. After analyzing and understanding the gotten data we are able to emphasize the importance of this tool on a social and collaborative environment, how it makes things easier when it's about communication andinteractivity. Nevertheless, this doesn't seem to impact directly on the teaching and learning process improvement as a straight educational resource.