The Facebook social network and the development of human resources - support for interaction and collaboration in learning

Abstract

Web 2.0-based technologies and tools enable organizations to foster collaboration and sharing of knowledge and learning among themselves. This is due to the way management, and more specifically Human Resources Management, have been able to use Web 2.0 in their favor. Featuring tools that provide opportunities for collaboration, learning, sharing and communication, Web 2.0, through social networks, has become a democratic architecture for participation, encouraging the sharing of ideas, promoting discussion and fostering a sense community. Also increasingly, social networks are present in learning environments. This allows the exploration of new forms of teaching and learning. Facebook, as an alternative to traditional platforms, focuses on the collaborative spirit, combining the user's individual profile and the group's interactive tools. With this project, we intend to analyze how Facebook can be used as a support to face-to-face higher education, allowing the creation of interaction and collaboration environments that promote learning. To do so, we will use the DesignBased Research methodology, in order to empirically test and refine to gain new insights and develop related theories. This methodology will be applied in three classes of the degree of Human Resources of the Polytechnic Institute of Oporto, through the use of a Facebook group that will be used as a support for face-to-face classes. This methodology will be based on the triangulation of data (conjugation and confrontation) collected through questionnaires, analysis of electronic records and semi-structured group interviews. With this study, we intend to understand the reflexes of the pedagogical use of social networks, perceiving more concretely the role of Facebook (the main social network used in Portugal, promoting group learning, interaction, sharing and collaboration.