Using Social Media for Learning in High Schools: A Systematic Literature Review

• Published in: European journal of educational research Vol. 9-2020; no. volume-9-issue-2-april-2020; pp. 889 - 903
• Main Authors: Otchie, Wilson O., Pedaste, Margus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Eurasian Society of Educational Research 01.04.2020; Eurasian Society of Educational Research Association
• Subjects: Computer Assisted Instruction; Computer Mediated Communication; Cooperative Learning; Electronic Learning; Eğitim Bilimleri; High School Students; Information Dissemination; Interpersonal Competence; Literature Reviews; Social Media; Teaching Methods; Sicklerville; ABD; learning approach; learning scenario; Social media; systematic literature review
• ISSN: 2165-8714; 2165-8714
• DOI: 10.12973/eu-jer.9.2.889

In the last decade, learning from computer-supported collaborative technologies has been combined with social media (SM) and this has gotten a lot of attention. Also, there is a growing body of literature that suggests that SM is gaining a lot of attention because it has the perceived pedagogical affordances that could be used as a potential tool for teaching and learning. These perceived pedagogical affordances allow people to interact, communicate, collaborate and share resources among others. Most of the studies published on SM in education have focused on higher education (colleges and universities) with a relatively small body of literature on secondary education. Despite the wide use of SM in education, its benefits are still not clear across studies. We conducted a systematic literature review using the EBSCOhost database. Screening of abstracts and full texts resulted in the selection of 10 papers for the review. Seven approaches to using SM in learning in high schools have been identified: (1) interaction, (2) information dissemination, (3) communication, (4) collaboration, (5) teaching, learning, and resource sharing, (6) socialization, and (7) entertainment. Most of the articles claimed that the educational use of SM has a strong positive effect on social skills, but the evidence presented was rather weak. Subject-specific outcomes were not in focus in using SM in education. All studies followed a constructivist philosophical perspective. Based on this we provide a theory-based scenario for using SM in learning social skills and subject-specific outcomes.