This paper presents language learners as social networkers and describes and discusses the types of users that can be identified by analysing the content created by them using a situated mobile language learning app, LingoBee, based on the idea of crowd sourcing. Borrowing ideas from other studies conducted on social network users, we can identify…

Social networking and electronic channels of communication are effective tools in the process of teaching and learning and have increasingly improved the quality of students' learning outcomes in higher education in recent years. The process encourages students' active engagement, collaboration, and participation in class activities and group…

In Pacific Rim countries parents of children with developmental disabilities have organized peer support organizations. One form of peer support is Parent to Parent based on one to one connections between two parents. The movements to create and sustain peer support in the U.S., New Zealand, China, and Korea are described. Qualitative evidence…

The present study examines the interactions within 4 Facebook groups devoted to supporting people who self-injure. Content analysis was used to analyze posts made to the group during the 3-month period of the study to explore the nature of interactions and the frequency of themes. High prevalence themes included responses to verbal abuse against…

Numerous recent media accounts indicate that teachers are being fired, put on probation, or otherwise censured because of information found on their social networking sites (SNS). While the literature in business, psychology, and pharmacy shows initial investigations of the impact of SNS information on hiring decisions, this area has not been…

Views about the role of Facebook and other social networking sites in education are extremely varied. Facebook threatens academic success and yet "certain kinds of Facebook use" can support study; indeed, Facebooking students may perform better than their unwired peers (Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe 2007). Facebook is emphatically a…

This study investigates how teenagers use social networking sites (SNS) and other online communication applications, to what extent they are exposed to online contact risks related to the use of these online tools and how they cope with these risks. A written survey was administered among 815 Flemish adolescents aged 14-19. The study controls for…

Facebook is a popular social networking site. It, like many other new technologies, has potential for teaching and learning because of its unique built-in functions that offer pedagogical, social and technological affordances. In this study, the Facebook group was used as a learning management system (LMS) in two courses for putting up…

This article discusses the informal learning of English by non-native speakers with particular reference to the role of virtual communities. The concept of informal learning is presented and related to current areas of interest in the literature such as incidental learning, and dynamic systems theory. Our research investigates how non-specialist…

Educational blogs are currently gaining in popularity in schools and higher education institutions, and they are widely promoted as collaborative tools supporting students' active learning. However, literature review on educational blogging revealed a lack of a complete and consistent framework for studying and assessing students' engagement and…

The practical goal of graduate education is placement of graduates. But what does "placement" mean? Academics use the word without thinking much about it. "Placement" is a great keyword for the graduate-school enterprise. For one thing, its meaning certainly gives a purpose to graduate education. Furthermore, the word is a portal into the way of…

Drawing on the theoretical lens of organizational learning, and utilizing the methodological approaches of social network and case-study analyses, our exploratory study examines whether schools under sanction exhibit the necessary processes, relationships, and social climates that support organizational learning and improvement. We also…

Models of user generated content (UGC) creation such as Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube are facing robust growth accelerated by the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies and standards. These business models offer a fascinating avenue for exploring the role of social influence online. This dissertation is motivated by the success of YouTube, which is…

Ethnographic and interview data from a long-term study of "NetU," a wired community and college, are used to investigate the effects of computer-mediated communication on social relationships. During the course of this research "LAN" residents of NetU are compared with a similar group of non-LAN residents who lived in the same neighborhood, but…

Social media have the potential to improve educational opportunities for high school students, but also present legal and policy challenges for public school principals. Those were among opinions expressed in the 2010 Principals' Partnership Poll. The most frequently-cited request by the 306 respondents was help in integrating social media into…