The pedagogical use of Facebook in a group learning activity with Tunisian students: An analysis of the effectiveness of collaborative work
This article provides an analysis of the educational use of Facebook as a remote collaborative learning platform in higher education, especially at the Higher Institute of Technological Studies of Mahdia (Tunisia). The aim of the research is to evaluate the effectiveness of collaborative work through an activity involving computer science students in a collective process of knowledge construction. Because of the social interactions that accompany this process, the privileged model of learning during this activity was the social learning. As part of this study, we try to determine how the use of Facebook as a tool for sharing, communication and networking exchanges can promote the effectiveness of collaborative learning. Our analysis of data from traces of activities on the Facebook group’s wall and the contents of the semi-structured interviews conducted with students enabled us to answer our initial question. Indeed, the results show that the use o f Facebook as an online collaborative learning platform actually promotes the co-production skills and knowledge expected from students. Regarding students’ interactions, there is a good quality of communication. Thus, we concluded that the use of Facebook is effective for the establishment of a remote collaborative learning activity, but there are some preconditions to be met such as implementing a true accompanying scenario throughout the activity.