Facebook-Infused Identities: Learners’ Voices

Abstract

The National Higher Education Strategic Plan of Malaysia focuses on graduates who are innovative and knowledgeable to meet the standards and challenges of 21st century. This paper, then, explores how an innovation practice has taken place in a course entitled "Gender Identities: Malaysian Perspectives" where students scrutinize gender across Facebook "texts," as opposed to using literary texts. By using Facebook as baseline data to analyze online gender construction, students have learned the ways in which cyberspace deconstructs certain parameters of identity construction. Following this premise, this article discloses how students analyze gender identities. They analyze Facebook accounts of a male educator in United States, a female Malaysian college instructor residing in United States, and a law/politics Malaysian undergraduate. Firstly, the students revealed that identity in Facebook spaces is shown through genuine names and profile pictures; rightfully so for job, networking, and relationship purposes. Secondly, by selecting specific audiences, negotiating identities of a friend, co-worker, lover and most importantly future employee in Facebook is a difficult task. Conflicts usually occur while "masking" certain information on Facebook as they go about connecting with friends, students, parents, and prospective partners. Thirdly, societal constraints limit opposite gender's approval of friend requests. Lastly, identity construction reveals that having voices and emotions on Facebook have both positive and negative implications. Pedagogical recommendations are also presented as a result of this inclusion of Facebook in literature classrooms.

Exploring students’ perspectives on using live streaming on Facebook as project-based learning in Indonesian EFL classes

“…In addition, live streaming video as broadcasting technology such as Facebook offers professionals a completely different way to share information, entertainment, and content. Live streaming on Facebook is a new feature that has become a part of social networking and can be watched online anytime (Hashim et al, 2013). The teacher used live streaming by giving students instructions on how to use live Facebook streaming from the Facebook group (Austerberry, 2005).…”

“…The teacher used live streaming by giving students instructions on how to use live Facebook streaming from the Facebook group (Austerberry, 2005). In this activity, live streaming satisfies people's social needs at various levels, including face-to-face, anywhere, anytime, and interactive (Giannikas, 2020;Hashim et al, 2013). Also, live video streaming allows people to watch videos on multiple platforms simultaneously via the network system.…”

“…In our daily lives, interactive technologies and networks cause big changes in how we create and share information, connect with others, and talk about art (Stald, 2008). Hence, Facebook unites people from various cities, countries, jobs, schools, and domestic or international locations (Hashim et al, 2013) Consequently, in this study, we used the social media platform Facebook because it provides a closed group that only students and teachers may join. However, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube do not have a feature for private groups, so all their users' posts are visible to the general public on those platforms (Huang, 2021).…”

A Narrative Inquiry of Live Video Streaming: Voices of EFL Teachers to Reflect on Their Online Learning

“…an innovative feature that has become a part of social networking and may be viewed online anytime (Hashim et al, 2013). LVS satisfies people's social needs at various levels, including face-to-face, anywhere, anytime, and interactive (Giannikas, 2019).…”