Facebook in the International Classroom

The case explores international students' learning experiences with Facebook-based activities within the eight-week study term known as the intensive mode of course delivery. By implementing participant observation and two asynchronous Facebook focus groups, the study investigates the potential values of Facebook for learning from international students' perspective. In addition, the case looks at the challenges faced by students and discusses key factors that may impact international students' experiences with courses that incorporate Facebook as a learning tool. The research is framed in the context of New Zealand tertiary education and intended as a contribution to the emerging body of educational research on social media.

Social Media in Tertiary Education

Social media use is prevalent throughout the world and is now commonplace in higher education. The devices, support technologies, and social media applications used in higher education are in a constant state of change. Using social media in education creates new and sometimes challenging issues for institutions, instructors, and students. This chapter attempts to address some of the considerations and potential issues that impact our use of social media in the higher education classroom. It examines social media as an educational tool in higher education, possible pedagogies for social media use, potential educational contexts, and privacy concerns raised by social media use in educational environments. This chapter also provides a possible definition for social media and introduces some themes that will be explored in further detail in the following chapters.

A Kaupapa Māori Facebook Group for Māori and Indigenous Doctoral Scholars

This chapter examines the use of Facebook to support Māori and Indigenous doctoral scholars who are enrolled in the MAI ki Tāmaki Makaurau doctoral programme in Auckland, New Zealand. The programme is part of a National Māori and Indigenous (MAI) Network aimed to increase doctoral participation and completion rates of Māori scholars. Drawing on three Kaupapa Māori principles introduced in chapter three: tino rangatiratanga (self-determination principle), taonga tuku iho (cultural aspirations principle), whānau (extended family structure principle), the author explores some of the key considerations in creating a Kaupapa Māori digital learning space with the use of social media. Through conversations with three Māori academics who adminisiter the MAI ki Tāmaki Facebook group, this chapter captuers their unique perspectives and provide rich insights into the ways in which the Facebook group can provide a strong network of support for Māori and Indigenous scholars.

Navigating the Social Media Space for Māori and Indigenous Communities

This chapter explores how Māori and Indigenous communities are engaging in social media in ways that reflect their cultural aspirations and Indigenous ways of being. Social media provides opportunities for Indigenous people to represent an Indigenous worldview that encompasses cultural, political, and social preferences. Highlighted also in this chapter are the risks inherent within the use of social media for Māori and Indigenous communities: in ways in which the misrepresentation, commodification, and exploitation of Indigenous culture and traditions are amplified through the use of social media that support colonial ideologies and the ongoing practice of colonization.

Future Directions

This chapter considers future directions for emerging social media technologies and their potential for teaching and learning practice in higher education. While technologies that support social media constantly change, it provides some simple and practical guidelines to assist teachers with their practice and use of social media technologies in their classrooms. This chapter acknowledges the evolving nature of the technologies available in today's teaching and learning context as well as ones that are considered to impact higher educational learning and teaching in the future, including descriptions of augmented and virtual reality and gamification and gamified learning.

Using Social Media in Creating and Implementing Educational Practices

Social media use has become ubiquitous in the everyday lives of many people around the world. Combined with smartphones, these interactive websites provide a vast array of new activities and immediate access to a world of information for both teachers and students. Research into the use of social media in educational practice is growing. In this chapter, the authors examine the use of social media from the perspective of lecturers and learning designers in a tertiary education institute in New Zealand. Data from a qualitative, interview-based research investigation highlights three key themes: 1) the use of social media as a course management tool; 2) the use of social media to enhance student centered learning; and 3) the need for institutional support for using social media in educational contexts.