Instruction over online social networks: Where does the platform lead?

Online social networks or OSNs are an emergent Internet-based technology that is changing the way people connect and communicate, attracting the youth and adults alike. This study examined the content applications of five popular OSNs, namely Facebook, MySpace, Orkut, Friendster and Hi5; and explored multi-sectoral constructs of students, teachers and parents, who are members of online communities. It utilizes a dominantly qualitative design, following phenomenological and network ethnographic traditions, to estimate the potential of OSNs in facilitating instructional communication. Findings reveal that OSNs are generally perceived as a communication space, and being embedded in an information-rich environment of the Internet, it offers opportunities for users to create and construct knowledge. Informants believe that it can be useful for instruction as a communication tool. Likewise they agree that OSNs can be maximized to facilitate instructional communication in various contexts, but they stressed some concerns that teachers need to consider in its integration to instruction.