Following on from the lecture yesterday, and the Tapscott view in Grown-up Digital, vs the view in The Dumbest Generation, an article published yesterday here <http://mashable.com/2011/10/11/facebook-gpa/> has the headline "No Facebook is Not Ruining Your Grades".
But what do you think?
The article makes a good point, though the headline is a little simplistic. Simply using such a flexible tool at your disposal does not suggest a particular outcome. Facebook in this way is similar to a hammer, like Facebook it can be both a destructive but equally a creative force in the hands of different individuals and in different situations.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, as highlighted in the article, when obsession creeps in, even underlined with the best of intentions, Facebook use can suddenly become detrimental. In keeping with my analogy: if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail; students who neglect other educational tools and resources if favour of Facebook use will, as expected, find themselves with lower grades.
Facebook is becoming increasing popular with students for communication. With the rise in smartphone technology this could potentially distract students- Facebook can be logged in on an application from a smartphone all day, therefore the user will receive constant notifications direct to the phone, I believe this is an issue as it cuts into study time and concentration.
ReplyDeleteAs someone previously mentioned, there are people obsessed and addicted who may use the majority of their time on Facebook rather than other educational tools, therefore they will probably get lower grades.
Facebook could be used be used effectively in an educational context as the article outlines it has been used for class discussions, however there is always the risk of getting distracted by status updates, amusing photos and gossip, especially at important times.
Students need to use Facebook and their time wisely, to ensure the social networking doesn't make them 'dumber' and 'ruin their grades.'
I really don't think that Facebook is making us dumber. Yes, it is a big distraction and sometimes we are checking it like crazy, but I believe that if someone wants to pass, then he will eventually pass, I mean, there are millions of things we could do to not study, Facebook is just one more of them.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do think is that, the more "connected" we are, the less "connected" we truly are. A total paradox.
I believe facebook could have an impact on your concentration skills and your overall performance of study. Users spending to much time posting, reading others statuses and busy looking at unnecessary links to youtube videos.
ReplyDeleteThe article suggests that on average students spend 106 minutes on Facebook per day which is think is far too high. Students should try to spend their time more effectively.
Also users tend to have facebook running in the background while they try to study a topic, which i think isn’t a good idea, as this overall effects concentration levels, and possibly having an effect on your performances at exams.
Education today requires students to use the internet more than ever; in the classroom and at home. At home, there is a tendency to do other things other than focus on what you planned to do in the first place.
ReplyDeleteLogging on to Facebook is a common activity, you check it more than you check your emails (and a good chunk of your emails are just notifications from Facebook anyway buddy)
Whilst drafting this blog entry, it took me fifteen minutes to drift off to Facebook to check what was on people’s minds. Try this one time, go on Facebook when you really aren’t supposed to and go on Facebook when you have nothing else to do. I bet you’ll find yourself there longer than when you’re supposed to be doing your work. Procrastination is one a hell of a drug.
The Mashable article talks about a study conducted about the relationship between Facebook use and low grades. Reynol Junco mentions “It depends how it’s used”. This social network has become ground-breaking because of the ways it has allowed you to communicate and interact with your friends, workmates, classmates and family. Indeed, it all depends on how you use it. He touches upon posting status updates (Twitter says hi) and using Facebook chat generally mean a lower GPA. Summing it up as if you use Facebook to interact with your friends a lot, talking about who fell asleep in lecture than actually talking about what the lecture was about, then your grades will drop.
I don’t necessarily agree with this. How many students really use Facebook to communicate about their studies? I spend a total of about an hour on the network; I do nothing related to my education when I’m logged in. Only because I have more hours that I can use to focus on that, I do appreciate that the educational uses of Facebook are out there, I have yet to explore them myself but I am open to it. Until then I use it for what I signed up to use it for; interaction with my friends and family. There is so much you can do on Facebook once you’ve logged in. But it can be obsessive; there is no doubt about that, but I don’t believe it can be that detrimental to your educational performance. It’s all about control.
I personally think that facebook does not have an impact on grades and passing unless you become obsessed with using facebook 24/7. As long as you have self-discipline, then you can balance facebook and your studies effectively. Obviously, by being obsessed by facebook and not focusing on your studies, then this can certainly be detrimental to your studies.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in the right hands, facebook and social networking benefit education, so there can be advantages. What thoughts do you have on social networking being combined in the learning environment?
I generally think that Facebook is not solely responsible for ruining the grades of students. Reason being, there are a number of aspects which can affect student grades such as lifestyle, hobbies, relationship, employment and family just to name a few.
ReplyDeleteI guess it is true to some extent that Facebook can impact your grades, but it is the same for a number of different elements as mentioned above. Yes, Facebook is as addictive as a drug and yes, Facebook is what’s currently in between students, but I personally believe that there has to be a balance between work and fun.
In addition, I feel the two elements of work and fun in Facebook can be combined, as Junco states “he sets up Facebook groups for each of his classes to continue discussion online.”
Furthermore, Facebook can also be used as an informative tool as many companies use Facebook to advertise jobs and to form some kind of relationship with potential graduates, as shown here: http://www.facebook.com/networkrailgraduates
I guess my overall thoughts are that social networks are helping us.
What does everyone else else think about this? and inaddition the tactics used by employers to educate/ form a relationship with students?
Social Media keeps users up-to-date on what happening around the social theme, for example if a user has a key interest in music social media could benefit the user by allowing people to share music and ideas on social website such as Facebook or twitter. Keeping up with the latest music or someone sharing the latest music video all plays a part of knowing, as Facebook has become very powerful on sharing. Also many people may too busy to watch the news or knowing what’s happening around them, for example having a user who has a busy lifestyle could user Facebook or twitter to read all the latest news etc. My opinion Facebook has the power to aid users towards keeping up to date with the environment around them.
ReplyDeleteTo some extent I believe excessive use of Facebook may make some people dumber. The reason for this is because Facebook distracts people more than they may choose to believe. Especially whilst studying, people surfing on Facebook may not know it, but subconsciously they may still be thinking about what they read on Facebook. This thought pondering in our heads is likely to pose a continual distraction, even if we think it’s not. I can talk out of experience here when I say that whilst working if I log on to Facebook it will take me even longer to finish my work. This is simply because Facebook ruins my train of thought as I am continually bombarded with updates and notifications.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Facebook is a great place to gain different people opinions on a subject matter. By starting up discussions online, one can gain an endless amount of knowledge through a host of different types of people, thus widening ones scope to a subject matter. Although, very few people use Facebook in this way, but for those who do could in fact further their knowledge.
To sum up, Facebook may not necessarily make you dumber, however, if used whilst working will certainly lower your potential which will ultimately affect your grades. If used properly could also further ones education.