A apropriação das ferramentas de uma rede social pelos alunos: um estudo com o SAPO Campus

Abstract

Social network proliferation has facilitated access to information and the way we communicate and collaborate. Schools should follow this trend and should thus integrate them into their daily routines, particularly in their students’. This study aimed at analyzing the process of appropriation, use and evaluation of social networking tools from SAPO Campus, within the school context. Taking this into consideration, and in order to characterize the students and see how they use the tools of the platform, a study with the use of the SAPO Campus tools was conducted. Subsequently, data was collected using instruments which were analyzed in order to understand how the pedagogical approach of the teacher influences the way students use social networks and appropriate its tools, and also if the profile of students would have influence in the characteristics of such appropriation. The results demonstrate that an essential element in the use of social networking tools is the teacher him/herself, since s/he is an agent that can enhance the use of these tools by the students. Another important result underlines that the students’ profile affects how they use the platform. A further conclusion is that the students’ most valued tools by in the platform are the groups and blogs and the tool that students would mostly like to see implemented would be an application for instant messaging. Another conclusion was that the focus on the use of such platforms in schools can bring benefits to the students’ training process.