Teacher training through social networking platforms: A case study on Facebook

Abstract

<p>Numerous studies have attempted to explain the role of social networking platforms within educational environments, though none of them has reported on their potential for enhancing professional development in education. The purpose of this qualitative research was to explore the reflections of prospective teachers who were assigned to design and conduct instruction on Facebook. Seven groups of prospective teachers (<em>n</em>=25) attending a teacher training program in Turkey participated in the study. Reflections of these prospective teachers on online teaching through Facebook were elicited by means of reflective papers. As an outstanding result of the online teaching project in the current study, the prospective teachers gained positive experiences in utilising Facebook for designing and implementing online teaching activities that are in accordance with the constructivist learning paradigm. However, sustaining learner involvement, enhancing interaction, and problems resulting from group work processes were observed as destructive issues throughout the online teaching project.</p>

Is Facebook still a suitable technology‐enhanced learning environment? An updated critical review of the literature from 2012 to 2015

“…With specific reference to teacher education, several authors pointed out the importance of familiarizing pre‐service teachers with social networking sites, so they could use these sites as teachers and educational agents in the future (Daher, , ; Demiraslan Çevik, Çelik, & Haşlaman, ; Deng & Tavares, ; Kim, ).…”

“…Finally, only 13 (19.1%) studies drew on the contribution of out‐of‐the‐classroom learners (Arouri, ; Baya'a & Daher, ; Ekarattanawong et al, ; Hall & Maughan, ), during cross‐country projects (McCarthy, ) or the involvement of practicing professionals and external experts (Brewer et al, ; Demiraslan Çevik et al, ; Gray & Howard, ; Harvey et al, ; Ho, ; Kostka‐Rokosz et al, ; Rashid & Rahman, ; Román & Martín, ).…”

Blurring Boundaries: Facebook Groups as Digital Teachers’ Lounges for ELT Professionals

“…Parallel to the proliferation of research studies focusing on social media in the last decade, scholars in Turkey developed a growing interest in scrutinizing the role and importance of Facebook for teacher education and professional development in the local context. Current themes include Facebook as an instructional environment and communication channel with language users (Börekçi & Aydın, 2019;Delen, 2017;Ekoç, 2014;Özdemir, 2017), its effectiveness in pre-service teacher education courses (Demiraslan Çevik, Çelik & Haşlaman, 2014;Küçük & Şahin, 2013;Öztürk, 2015), and pre-and in-service teachers' beliefs, usage habits, activities and development (Atmaca, 2014;Balçıkanlı, 2015;Biçen, Özdamlı & Uzunboylu, 2014;Cinkara & Yalçın Arslan, 2017;Sumuer, Esfer & Yıldırım, S., 2014). Nevertheless, even a quick overview of the studies conducted in the local context presents an incomplete and fragmented picture of the role, value, and impact of Facebook groups for professional development, especially in the field of ELT teacher education (with the exception of Deniz (2016) and Yıldırım, 2019)).…”

Analysis of Facebook in the Teaching-Learning Process about Mathematics Through Data Science

“…Social networks are acquiring a fundamental role during educational activities because these technological and communication tools facilitate the development of skills (Arteaga-Sánchez et al, 2014;Callaghan & Fribbance, 2016;Demiraslan-Cevik, et al, 2014). For example, Facebook allows the construction of educational spaces that facilitate communication and the dissemination of information (Demiraslan-Cevik et al, 2014;Maheshwari & Mukherjee, 2021;Teo et al, 2018). Interactive web tools are transforming communication during teaching and learning activities (Elverici, 2020;Hershkovitz & Forkosh-Baruch, 2019;Staines & Lauchs, 2013).…”