Facebook as an Instructional Tool in the Secondary Classroom : a Case Study

The purpose of this study is to describe how social media networks impact secondary students when utilized as an instructional tool . The problem this study seeks to address is exploring the roles that social media play in the lives of high school students and the experiences they encounter by utilizing these networks academically and socially. A case study approach was utilized to evaluate the impact of technology integration via social media networks in a secondary English classroom. The focus of the study was to determine the academic and social impact the social media network, more specifically Facebook, has on these students. The theoretical framework driving this study is motivational theory. Participants in this study completed surveys and interviews and participated in a series of classroom observations. Data collected was then used to tell the story of Facebook as an instructional tool in a secondary classroom. Findings revealed that teacher and student perceptions aligned in relation to student behavior academically and socially when Facebook was utilized as an instructional tool.