Social Networks in Education:Theoretical Dimensions and Applications

Mofet international Ami salant

January 27 2010

Why social networks ?

During the past decade the conceptual impact of social capital and internet-based networks has become been more influential in the academic world in general and in the education fields in particular.

The rise of the internet and social networks

Online social networks are Web sites that enable people to create a network of connections to other Individuals.

Through the Internet communities that make up social networks, people can contact others they would like to know for personal or professional reasons but whom they

might otherwise be unlikely to meet .

Sociological dimensions

Social scientists have investigated three kinds of networks:

ego-centric

socio-centric

open-system networks

Socio-centric networks

Socio-centric networks are, in Russell Bernard’s term (personal communication), networks in a box.

Connection between children in a classroom, between executives or workers in an organization are closed system networks.

Open system networks

Open system networks are networks in which the boundaries are not necessarily clear, they are not in a box – for example, the elite of the United States, or connections between corporations, or the chain of influencers of a particular decision, or the adoption of new practices.

In some ways these are the most interesting networks. Social networks in the internet are a manifest of the open system networks.

Looking-Glass Self

Now let us proceed to the notion of an important sociological concept :

Charles Cooley and his concept of the Looking-Glass Self

The looking-glass self is a sociological concept that a person's self grows out of society's interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others. Cooley clarified it in writing that society is an interweaving and interworking of mental selves.

The term "looking glass self" was first used by Cooley in his work, Human Nature and the Social Order in 1902.

The Looking-Glass Self: An example

The Looking-Glass Self is the notion of how we view ourselves reflected back from others and the feelings that we develop as a result of what we imagine they see in us .

For example, if someone posts the “25 Most Random Things About Me” on facebook and a parent, friend, or relative reads that they automatically form a new opinion about that person- depending on what “things” they see and read.

SOCIAL COMPARISON

Let’s see another sociological concept:

Social comparison

Social comparison theory suggests that we form our own attitudes and behaviours by comparing ourselves with other people and their opinions.

Mostly we compare ourselves against people whom we believe we're reasonably similar to.

Facebook and the theory of social network

Facebook capitalises on people's drive for social comparison by offering a plethora of applications like the visual bookshelf that lets you see what books your peers are reading and the 'Compare me' application that allows you to find out where you stand relative to your friends for various categories like cutest, sexiest and smartest.

Albert Bandura

Ok, now it’s time to meet one of the most important personality who has an important role in researching social networks:

Who is professor Albert Bandura ?

Albert Bandura (born December 4, 1925, in Mundare, Alberta, Canada) is a psychologist specializing in social cognitive theory and self-efficacy. He is most famous for his social learning theory

Albert BanduraBiographical Sketch

http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/bandurabio.html

Albert Bandura and Social learning theory

Social learning theory is a broad theory developed by the psychologist Albert Bandura.

The premise is that people learn new attitudes by observing others and noting the consequences of these actions. If those observed are rewarded positively then those observing are more likely to behave in the same way.

Social learning theory: An example

Observing others succeed and being able to interact with them is hugely encouraging. Sites that are designed to highlight success and which reward people succeeding set up a strong social learning dynamic. For example,

QuitNet.com, a site for those who want to stop smoking, highlights success stories throughout the site and provides a discussion forum for interaction.

Open networks vs. closed networks

More open networks, with many weak ties and social connections, are more likely to introduce new ideas and opportunities to their members than closed networks with many redundant ties. In other words, a group of friends who only do things with each other already share the same knowledge and opportunities

A group of individuals with connections to other social worlds is likely to have access to a wider range of information.

Bridging two networks

It is better for individual success to have connections to a variety of networks rather than many connections within a single network.

Similarly, individuals can exercise influence or act as brokers within their social networks by bridging two networks that are not directly linked (called filling structural holes

Social Networks Provide a Trust Filter

When implemented right, or by closing the loop tighter on your network, a social network can help you better sort data and information by helping you surface the information that matters.

A great example of this in action is Robert Scoble’s Link Reader

http://www.google.com/reader/shared/scobleizer

Another example related to education

http://www.downes.ca/news/OLDaily.htm Stephen Downes OLDaily ~ by Stephen

Downes

Do you trust Robert’s taste

If you trust Robert’s taste in information and subscribe to his Link RSS reader, then you’re doing this.

Another level of doing this is through things like the Blog Friends application on Facebook, which allows you to see what’s of interest to the people you’ve friended on Facebook.

Similar premises in both cases, and another way that social networks (according to Rachel Happe from IDC) deliver value.

Social Networks Improve Information Speed

The speed of trusted, relevant information matters, Twitter shows us this all the time

Twitter is faster in lots of cases than more official places for information.

Velocity and trust filter

There are opportunities to build and fine-tune information sharing networks that would improve velocity, filter by trust, and capture organic unstructured information in an easy-to-use method.

Think about how this might work for you as an individual consumer of data, as a researcher of information, and as someone in a network of people who share information.

From online communities to social networks

“Social Networks” are really, in a way, collections of Web 2.0 technologies combined in a way that help to build online communities.

However , the information sharing within the online communities could not be extended beyond the boundary of the particular community. Whereas in social networks the information sharing evolves without any boundaries.

Another aspect which is stronger within the social network is the ability have stronger articulation of "self" in terms of writing (such as blogs), editing ( such a WIKI)

Social networks shortcomings

According to new research conducted by psychologist Dr. Tracy Alloway at the University of Stirling in Scotland, we’re not only facing an increasingly thinning state of focus and awareness, we’re either enhancing intelligence or actually diminishing it based on the networks in which we participate.

LINK