The use of social networks in primary education

 (PDF) The Use of Social Networking Sites in Education: A Case Study of Facebook (researchgate.net)

- Educational Web 2.0 tools and mobile learning still remain popular today, which is the best sign showing how education has developed with the use of technology. Science and technology are constantly advancing. Online education and technology integrated education are now indispensable. Communication in education is much easier now due to the use of technology. With the invention of Web 2.0, several social networking websites have been set up. One of the most popular social networking websites is Facebook. Facebook is a website that aims at allowing people to communicate with their friends and share information with each other. Now that people are using Facebook more and more often, some problems can be seen in Facebook social networking website, such as its usability and utilization in web-based education. According to Maloney [2007], social networking websites strengthen the togethernesses of the individuals using their communal features. Jones and friends [2010] stated that social networking websites are tools to be used by teachers and stdents to enrich education. Bran, Grosseck, & Tiru [2011] found out that most of the students spend most of their time on Facebook, communicating with their family and friends in this time and also sharing photos, videos, commenting on posts but sharing nothing educational as a result of their studies. As a result of his study, which is done with student and teachers.

(PDF) Social Networking in Education (researchgate.net)

- Social networking has become one of the most popular communication tools to have evolved over the past decade, making it a powerful new information sharing resource in society. To date realising the potential of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) beyond their leisure uses has been severely restricted in a number of areas. This paper focuses on the application of SNSs in a learning environment and the impact this could have on academic practices. While undoubtedly, due to the very casual nature of social networking, there are serious concerns over how it could be integrated in a learning environment; the potential positive outcomes are many and varied. As a communication tool, its effectiveness is already manifesting in the millions who use these networks to communicate on a daily basis. So it is conceivable that educators should be able to create a learnscape - an environment for formal and informal learning - that adheres to educational guidelines, but also harnessesthe socialsupportsystem of these on-line communities. This paper examinesthe risksinvolved in the creation of this new learning ecology, and explores the challenges faced by both technology experts and teachers in delivering a truly innovative and effective new approach to education.

CELDA 2015 (ed.gov)

- Social network can be perceived from different points of view. From the sociological point of view, social network is a connected group of people who can influence one another. In most cases the group is based on common interests. It can also originate for family reasons when the group members are relatives. The concept of social network was used already before the rise of the Internet. It was defined by the sociologist J. A. Barnes in 1954. Barnes was researching the relationships among the Norwegian fishermen. Thus, the primary meaning of the social network was sociological which served to the description of social structures connected for different reasons (Pavlicek, 2010). Barnes defined the social network as a set of points and some of these points are mutually connected by lines (relationships – bonds). They afterwards form a total network of relationships, the so-called social network (Rulf, 2013). According to Pavlicek (2010), the social network contributes to mutual influencing and enrichment of the whole group. He claims that the group identity accompanies a person all his life and he usually becomes a member of more than one group at the same time. And in each group he behaves and communicates differently. With the arrival of new information and communication technologies, the social network acquired a completely new meaning. The advantage of the Internet social network is that people can communicate independently on their location and time, and thus keep in touch anywhere. Moreover, they have easier access to contact their friends and find information about them. The online social networks have many definitions. One of the most frequently used is provided by Boyd and Ellison (2007) who define SNSs as web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system; articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection; and view and traverse their list of connections and those by other within the system. The Czech expert in social networks Bednar (2005) defines the online social network as follows: The online social network is a system which enables to create and maintain a list of mutually connected contacts, friends. Each user of such a system has his own characteristic features which are publically available to other users. Within this system people can search for one another and form a virtual community in this way. A more advanced form is the browsing of the list of friends. The social network also enables searching for former colleagues or virtualization of working teams. In addition, there is a possibility to upload different kinds of information or photos.

Social networks can be divided into several types: 

Profile based social networks - these are the networks in which it is important to interact with people. The personal profile has its significant role in this because thanks to it, people can keep in touch with other people, share their opinions, photos or some important events

Content based social networks – the personal profile is not that much important in this case. It is the content which is the key and is shared by people on the social network. This social network can include videos, music or pictures

White-label social networks – this is a kind of services which offer an independent development of social network on the basis of the offered platform. Thus, users can create their own mini community, i.e. their small social network

Microblog social networks – the main feature of these SNSs is publishing of short messages with a chance of adding a video or a picture. (A microblogging tool is Tumblr.com.)

Multiuser virtual networks – these are the categories which are borderline social networks. Their purpose is to enable users to communicate among one another, but not with the help of their profile but with the help of Avatars. Most of these networks are game servers.