CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Statement of the problem and rationale for the study There has been a bombard of social networking into every single aspect of our lives all over the world. In the early 2014, according to Pew Research Center reported in “Social Networking Fact Sheet”, the number of online adults use social media is 74%. Moreover, in another research named “The Demographics of Social Media Users 2012” by Pew Research Center, 67% of social media use Facebook every day with the age from 18 to 29. Our study’s participants are secondyear students, who are at that age. With such great interaction of Facebook, the application for academic purposes is dramatically potential. Facebook enables the learners to contact their peers or exchange information, which frequently happens in group collaboration. As a result, the use of Facebook for group collaboration is needed to be investigated. Besides, group work is considered to be a more effective tool than individual learning in terms of efficiency (David Bass, 1993). Helen Keller a famous American author, political activist and lecturer said “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”. Or there is one famous idiom that “two heads are better than one”, which means people working have more opportunity of coming up with the solution more quickly than one. Mabrouk (n.d, as cited in Felder Brent, n.d.) suggested that it may boost the understanding of materials, lessen the pressure or create a good relationship with other teammates. Consequently, group work can be applied both inside and outside class. As a fasttrack student in ULIS, I myself realize the importance of group collaboration for effective learning. Most of the assignments or projects are taken under the form of group work because this process will support the students both in academic skills and other soft skills. Consequently, group collaboration has been widely concerned and discussed by many scholars around the world. This is a not new topic so various aspects of group collaboration has been exploited. Digital strategies for group collaboration was given but the author only mentioned Web 2.0 or Google doc as a means (Atkins, n.d.). Burke (n.d) also suggested some strategies for group collaboration in a team; however, only in class activities. Besides, with the global spread of Facebook among the youth, it has been investigated in the area of academic aspect. O’Brien (2011) studied the relationship between the use of Facebook and academic performance, specifically GPA. Furthermore, in the context of ULIS, VNU, very few studies about these problems have been conducted. From my own experience as a fast track student, group collaboration is one of the most important parts in our course at school. As a group, we contact a lot via many ways, but notably Facebook. However, the parents often assumes that we use Facebook just for social entertainment, not for academic purposes. As a result, I would like to find out more about the use of Facebook among fasttrack sophomores.
TABLE OF CONTENT LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ULIS University of Languages and International Studies VNU Vietnam National University, Hanoi ICT Information Communications Technology CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study There has been a bombard of social networking into every single aspect of our lives all over the world In the early 2014, according to Pew Research Center reported in “Social Networking Fact Sheet”, the number of online adults use social media is 74% Moreover, in another research named “The Demographics of Social Media Users - 2012” by Pew Research Center, 67% of social media use Facebook every day with the age from 18 to 29 Our study’s participants are second-year students, who are at that age With such great interaction of Facebook, the application for academic purposes is dramatically potential Facebook enables the learners to contact their peers or exchange information, which frequently happens in group collaboration As a result, the use of Facebook for group collaboration is needed to be investigated Besides, group work is considered to be a more effective tool than individual learning in terms of efficiency (David & Bass, 1993) Helen Keller- a famous American author, political activist and lecturer said “Alone we can so little; together we can so much” Or there is one famous idiom that “two heads are better than one”, which means people working have more opportunity of coming up with the solution more quickly than one Mabrouk (n.d, as cited in Felder & Brent, n.d.) suggested that it may boost the understanding of materials, lessen the pressure or create a good relationship with other teammates Consequently, group work can be applied both inside and outside class As a fast-track student in ULIS, I myself realize the importance of group collaboration for effective learning Most of the assignments or projects are taken under the form of group work because this process will support the students both in academic skills and other soft skills Consequently, group collaboration has been widely concerned and discussed by many scholars around the world This is a not new topic so various aspects of group collaboration has been exploited Digital strategies for group collaboration was given but the author only mentioned Web 2.0 or Google doc as a means (Atkins, n.d.) Burke (n.d) also suggested some strategies for group collaboration in a team; however, only in class activities Besides, with the global spread of Facebook among the youth, it has been investigated in the area of academic aspect O’Brien (2011) studied the relationship between the use of Facebook and academic performance, specifically GPA Furthermore, in the context of ULIS, VNU, very few studies about these problems have been conducted From my own experience as a fast- track student, group collaboration is one of the most important parts in our course at school As a group, we contact a lot via many ways, but notably Facebook However, the parents often assumes that we use Facebook just for social entertainment, not for academic purposes As a result, I would like to find out more about the use of Facebook among fast-track sophomores 1.2 Research questions Firstly, the present study aims at identifying the most frequent purposes of using Facebook Afterwards, obstacles will be defined during group collaboration with the use of Facebook Last but not least, further suggestions and implications are suggested by ICT teachers at the Faculty of English Language Teaching (FELTE), University of Language and International Studies (ULIS), Vietnam National University (VNU) with the hope of improving the effectiveness of group collaboration for fast- track sophomores at FELTE, ULIS, VNU These afore-mentioned aims are specified into the three following research questions: How is Facebook often used by fast- track sophomores at FELTE, ULIS, VNU? To what extent does Facebook influence on group collaboration as reported by fast- track sophomores at FELTE, ULIS, VNU? What are the obstacles when using Facebook for group work collaboration as reported by fast- track sophomores at FELTE, ULIS, VNU? 1.3 Significance of the study This research is conducted because of three main reasons In the first place, it is admitted that there are not many studies or articles about the use of Facebook for academic purposes, particularly among college students Besides, the teaching method needs to change from day to day; therefore, learning via technology or social networking is not a brand-new trend any more This source can be an informative source of ideas for teachers, especially language teachers, to take use of Facebook for their teaching strategies which can be suitable for the students Last but not least, this may serve as a useful and reliable source of literature for related studies about social networking or group collaboration 1.4 Scope of the study Since group work covers a wide area, this research focuses only on the use of Facebook for out-of-class discussion with the target participants of fast-track sophomores at FELTE, ULIS, VNU It refers to online discussion among members in a group for their assignments, not offline ones This study is considered to be a quantitative one with a number of participants are students from fast-track classes Moreover, the researcher would like to focus on the difficulties when taking part in online discussion via Facebook; hence, the solutions are given by ICT teachers, who are experienced in applying technology in teaching 1.5 Thesis structure This research consists of five core chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter aims at stating the research problems, the significance of the study and proposing questions to answer Chapter 2: Literature review This includes the explanation of social networking (Facebook), the application of Facebook in Vietnam, particularly in group work and reviews other works Chapter 3: Methodology This chapter consists of the description of research participants, data collection method and data analysis method Chapter 4: Findings and discussion In this chapter, research findings will be presented The discussion taken from participants’ interview with an aim to elaborate further on their choices Chapter 5: Conclusion Lastly, major findings, pedagogical implications, the limitation and suggestions for further research will be presented CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Group collaboration 2.1.1 Definition of group collaboration Group work is a prevailing form of learning toward Vietnamese students in general and an integral part of ULIS students In fact, there are numerous given definitions for group work According to Oxford dictionary, group work is defined as “work done by a group in collaboration” Doff (1988) makes it more detailed that group work is a process in which “the teacher divides the class into small groups to work together (usually four or five students in each group), all the groups work at the same time.” So what is collaboration? Collaboration is “the action of working with someone to produce something” (Oxford dictionary) or to be more specific, it is “the situation of two or more people working together to create or achieve the same thing” (Cambridge dictionary) Harasim, Hiltz, Teles and Turoff (1995) gave a more general definition for collaboration , which is " any activity that in which two or more people work together to create meaning, explore a topic, or improve skills" Besides, from information technology aspect, collaboration is defined as: A joint effort of multiple individuals or work groups to accomplish a task or project Within an organization, collaboration typically involves the ability of two or more people to view and contribute to documents or other content over a network (WhatIs Com) It can be obviously seen that from any point of views, group work or group collaboration is the process in which the learners cooperate with others in a group to achieve the final goals without or little the teacher’s judgment In this type of learning, members contribute equally to the work by sharing ideas, commenting on each other That is when the students work independently from the teacher and learn from themselves as well as their teammates Furthermore, with the previous definitions, group work is considered as group collaboration so that in this study, these two terms are used interchangeably Group collaboration is clearly a kind of collaborative learning, when the learners cooperate with each other to achieve the aim of the assignment 2.1.2 Types of group collaboration There are some examples of activities requiring group collaboration suggested by Cornell University: - “Stump your partner”: The process of asking and answering questions related to the lesson between the learners and the one beside them - “Think-pair-share/ Write-pair-share”: The learner needs to answer some questions after some minutes to present about their ideas for the whole class - “Catch-up”: After a main idea of the lesson, there is a discussion among learners about what they have learnt or some questions are raised to check understanding - “Fishbowl debate”: It is a kind of a debate, which includes participants with different viewpoints The difference here is that students work in groups of three only - “Case study”: Each group is given a case study After the duration of sharing with other group, the instructor will call for a team to present about their investigations and solutions - “Team-based learning”: Students work in groups to complete some tasks or quizzes, especially some assignments requiring problem-solving skills The assessment is for both individual and group work - “Group problem solving”: This kind of learning is applied for classes which the learners are focused and the main target of the lesson The students are given a problem and their task is figuring out the suggestion It requires the learner critical thinking and synthesis mind to solve the problem In general, according to Johnson, Johnson and Smith (1991, as cited in Davis & Bass, 1993), there are three types of group collaboration: ● “Informal learning groups” are types of learning for a number of learners, which requires them to use what has learnt to the given task in the length of a lesson ● “Formal learning groups are teams” – where learners work with each other in either short or long time to fulfill the assignment ● “Study teams are long-term groups”, which requires the learner much more effort and commitment for the assignments in several months As a result, the members are unchangeable and it is a need for them to cooperate fully with each other This study focuses on the online group collaboration; therefore, the formal learning teams and study teams are more suitable to work on 2.1.3 The pros and cons of group collaboration It is inevitable that collaboration in the group brings many benefits According to assessment policy from University of Wollongong: Group work, under proper conditions, encourages peer learning and peer support and many studies validate the efficacy of peer learning Under less than ideal conditions, group work can become the vehicle for acrimony, conflict and freeloading It may also impose a host of unexpected stresses on, for example, students with overcrowded schedules living long distances from the University (University of Wollongong assessment policy, 2002; as cited in Assessing Learning in Australia Universities) As can be seen that, group work supports the learner in three following aspects: In terms of learning outcome, group work can create a friendly learning environment where the learners exchange ideas and learn from each other Through such activities, the knowledge is employed from different sources so that there is a comprehensive insurance for the learning quality when working in the group Moreover, when collaborating in a group, if students have any misunderstanding or fail to figure out the topic, they can be realized and correct for each other for correct perception (Gayatan & McEwen, 2007, as cited in Chiong & Jovanovic, 2012) In terms of skill development, the students are learned implicitly some essential skills by practicing them during the group collaboration process (Assessing Learning in Australia Universities) In fact, to master intellectual skills such as problem-solving skill and critical thinking skill, the learner had better performance when working in a cooperative situation, partially because of the various contribution of knowledge throughout the collaboration As a result, they may adapt more insight (Vygotsky, 1978 as cited in Gockhale, 1995) Besides, the process of exchanging knowledge backward and forward between members about the given situation can promote the problem-solving skill, which facilitates mental development (Bruner, 1985 as cited in Gockhale 1995) Sharing the same ideas with these two scholars, according to Gockhale’s research (1995), cooperation in 10 Facebook would limit face-to-face call as Video call on Facebook is not popular as Skype or Google Hangouts Can’t think of any solutions THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION! 70 STUDENT C According to your information, you live on it Facebook What you use Facebook for and explain more about your answer? (academic purpose or social purpose) Both Most of the time for social purpose but Facebook is also a very convenient way to discuss and get my work done In the 2nd question, you ticked all the given ideas so could you clarify which activity is most frequently and least done? - The most frequent activity is Post information for group projects As Fb has Group function, it helps members from the same group have a place to gather together and all the necessary information about group projects can be informed quickly -Personnaly, the least frequent action I use Fb for in group projects is Discuss group assignment Fb is originally a social network and I mainly use it for entertainment so it is very difficult to focus on academic stuff Others may also have the same idea and I don’t find it effective if using Fb to talk about my homework According to your choice in 3rd question, in terms of advantage, you disagree with the perception “I would feel more relaxed when discussing on Facebook” How you feel and kindly explain why? Mentioned above Do you have/think of any solutions for these difficulties when using Facebook for group collaboration? ( The disadvantages are provided below) 71 Internet connection would sometimes interrupt the group discussion The members would easily distract from group discussion by chatting or playing games on Facebook Files with heavy properties would not be uploaded Some members would not online in time It would be difficult to follow on Facebook Messenger to read old messages The members online at any places so the concentration would not be constant It would waste time when the members involve in other applications on Facebook Typing would time- consuming The member’s contribution would be hard to control and measure Facebook would limit face-to-face call as Video call on Facebook is not popular as Skype or Google Hangouts I would only suggest that not using Fb for group work The disadvantages are so obvious and there are already many other applications that can be used more effectively for this purpose 72 STUDENT D In the 2nd question, you ticked all the given ideas so could you clarify which activity is most frequently and least done? Answ er: The most frequently is discuss group assignment and least done is set schedule for group meetings According to your choice in 3rd question, in terms of advantage, you agree that “Facebook Messenger would allow more than two people to chat at a time” Can you kindly clarify how useful it is to you group collaboration? Answer: Facebook messenger is very convenient because it allows people to add more than two members to the same group, so a lot of people can chat at the same time This makes the dicussion become easier as we can share the ideas, give comment, feedbacks,… like a face-to-face conversation Move to the disadvantage part, you disagree with the idea “The members would easily distract from group discussion by chatting or playing games on Facebook” Have you ever been in that situation or in the same group with that type of member? How did you deal with in that situation? Answer: Actually, I haven’t been in the situation as my teammates focus on discussing assignments 73 Do you have/think of any solutions for these difficulties when using Facebook for group collaboration? ( The disadvantages are provided below) Internet connection would sometimes interrupt the group discussion The members would easily distract from group discussion by chatting or playing games on Facebook Files with heavy properties would not be uploaded Some members would not online in time It would be difficult to follow on Facebook Messenger to read old messages The members online at any places so the concentration would not be constant It would waste time when the members involve in other applications on Facebook Typing would time- consuming The member’s contribution would be hard to control and measure Facebook would limit face-to-face call as Video call on Facebook is not popular as Skype or Google Hangouts I often have back-up plan, instead of using wifi, I can use 3G connection This helps me to avoid interruption The difficulty is very challenging to solve as it depends on awareness of teammates I will use other social networks such as Gmail I will set appropriate time for everybody in advance If anybody is not online, I will send message or make phone call to remind them I think I can set up a Facebook group instead of group chat I don’t have any solutions I don’t have any solutions I think typing is not very time-consuming, however, we can use Skype to discuss to avoid typing We can assign exactly work for each member 10 If I want to make video call, I will use other social networks STUDENT E In the 2nd question, you tick all the available options but could you kindly explain more about the idea “Share knowledge and technique problems”? 74 We can share the link of references so that we can enhance our range of knowledge or information about the projects As well, in the process of projects, there are many technique problems related to computer softwares appearing We tend to solve that problems through online chatting more than meeting According to your choice in 3rd question, in terms of advantage, you disagree with the perception “I would discuss with other members at any time and place with a smartphone” Why you think so? Could you please kindly provide one or some examples to illustrate your point? Our teammates cannot always be online because of their timetable We tend to discuss with each other at the evening from 8p.m to 12p.m which are the most suitable for members to join the discussion At the morning, we’re busy with schooling and houseworks Move to the disadvantage part, you almost agree with given disadvantages when using Facebook but totally disagree with the perception “Typing would be time- consuming” Can you explain more? Actually, from my perspectives, typing is not too time-consuming and thanks to it, I can have second thoughts on what to say Compared to speaking, I like the idea of typing more and I find my speed of typing faster and faster while discussing Do you have/think of any solutions for these difficulties when using Facebook for group collaboration? ( The disadvantages are provided below) 75 Internet connection would sometimes interrupt the group discussion The members would easily distract from group discussion by chatting or playing games on Facebook Files with heavy properties would not be uploaded Some members would not online in time It would be difficult to follow on Facebook Messenger to read old messages The members online at any places so the concentration would not be constant It would waste time when the members involve in other applications on Facebook Typing would time- consuming The member’s contribution would be hard to control and measure Facebook would limit face-to-face call as Video call on Facebook is not popular as Skype or Google Hangouts About the internet connection and time, the members should choose the fixed time which is the most suitable for everyone to discuss with a good internet connection About Facebook Messenger, to avoid that problem, the group should have its own group on Facebook instead of using Facebook Messenger, which will help members more easily to track the information and discussion THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION! 76 STUDENT F In the 2nd question, you ticked all the given ideas but can you explain further about the idea “Inquire about details of project assignment”? What type of information that you often inquire? Answer: In my opinion, all project assignments’ details would be inquired by using other searching tools such as google, etc… to look for further information Furthermore, details of project assignments should be discussed face to face to be understood clearly by all members When utilizing Facebook for group collaboration, we only confirm our responsibilities (the parts we have to complete) and set the deadline to submit our work According to your choice in 3rd question, in terms of advantage, you almost agree with the given perception but disagree with the idea “I would discuss with other members at any time and place with a smartphone” Could you kindly explain more? Answer: - Sometimes my smart phone (or my friends’ smart phones) has some technical problems which prevent me from contacting other members - Lacking wifi or 3g also a reason for failing to contact with each other - The mobile phone is out of money Move to the disadvantage part, you disagree with the idea ‘Some members would not online in time” So how did you and your team deal with in that situation? 77 Answer: we set a mutual time that everyone has to online to discuss our work if a member has to something that he/she cannot online at that time, he/she has to explain the reasons carefully if anyone fails to follow the rule without explaining the reason, he/she will get more work to next time Do you have/think of any solutions for these difficulties when using Facebook for group collaboration? ( The disadvantages are provided below) Internet connection would sometimes interrupt the group discussion The members would easily distract from group discussion by chatting or playing games on Facebook Files with heavy properties would not be uploaded Some members would not online in time It would be difficult to follow on Facebook Messenger to read old messages The members online at any places so the concentration would not be constant It would waste time when the members involve in other applications on Facebook Typing would time- consuming The member’s contribution would be hard to control and measure Facebook would limit face-to-face call as Video call on Facebook is not popular as Skype or Google Hangouts Answer: The member’s contribution would be hard to control and measure => group leader must be a capable one who could divide balanced workload and check each member’s part if it is qualified or not Internet connection would sometimes interrupt the group discussion The members would easily distract from group discussion by chatting or playing games on Facebook The members online at any places so the concentration would not be constant It would waste time when the members involve in other applications on Facebook Typing would time- consuming Facebook would limit face-to-face call as Video call on Facebook is not popular as Skype or Google Hangouts Set time to meet face to face When doing this, it will minimize the drawbacks APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION AND NOTES TEACHER Interviewer (I): Good afternoon Mrs Khoa Anh Viet Thank you so much for accepting my interview request My name is Minh Hang and I am doing my thesis on “The use of Facebook for group collaboration among fast-track sophomores at FELTE, ULIS, VNU” Teacher (T1): Ok I: Do you use Facebook? 78 T1: Yes I use Facebook I: What you often use Facebook for? T1: I use Facebook for many purposes, for connecting friends and relatives or people with the same interest Secondly, I use Facebook for my business or in another way to earn money In short, I use Facebook for connection and business I: So you often use Facebook to cooperate with your colleagues or students? T1: Yes, very often I: And you find any drawbacks of using Facebook that way? T1: In terms of drawbacks, when about more people are in the same group, they may misunderstand others’ ideas and then the messages ……., it’s hard to catch up with As writing is different from speaking so sometimes, it is a disadvantage in that way I: I got your points What about advantages for students to use Facebook for group collaboration? T1: Of course, Facebook is very popular Instead of calling for each member by phone, you just need to send a message for people in a group and they are all informed I: Here are some drawbacks of using Facebook for group collaboration In terms of technique problems, you have any solutions? T1: The Internet connection or broken phone is common problems The smartphone nowadays is relatively cheap and people can easily get one for their studying The cost of 3G is cheap as well So I think this is not a big problem I: What about the members who are easily distracted from the discussion? T1: In fact, I myself experience that distraction as well When discussing in a group, I am also distracted by a notification or message To keep people’s attention, sometimes questions are given for members who are silent for a long time to check their understanding as well I: Some say that it’s hard to measure members’ contribution So what is your opinion? 79 T1: I agree that it’s hard It’s better to use another tool such as Google docs to work and send the link to people The Message group is hard to divide the work so it’s suitable for quick discussion, the detail should be work on via other tools I: I think it’s the end of my interview Thank you so much again and wish you success in life! 80 TEACHER Interviewer (I): Good afternoon Mrs Lan Huong Thank you so much for accepting my interview request My name is Minh Hang and I am doing my thesis on “The use of Facebook for group collaboration among fast-track sophomores at FELTE, ULIS, VNU” Teacher (T2): Ok I: My very first question is you use Facebook? T2: Yes, I I: What you use Facebook for? Academic or social purpose? T2: Both I: So which purpose is more dominant? T2: Social purpose is more dominant I: So you often collaborate with your colleagues or students on Facebook? T2: Yes I: What are the disadvantages when using Facebook that way? T2: Yes The comments or posts are in the order of time so it is a little bit hard to follow The message group makes me difficult in reading old messages I: What about benefits for students? T2: It seems that almost everyone has a Facebook account, so it’s easy for them to find an online course or scholarship I: Here are some disadvantages to students when using Facebook for group collaboration Firstly, in terms of technique problem, sometimes Internet connection is not good to interrupt the connection So what is your solution? T2: I think they should be active in case the connection is bad In fact, I myself use 3G In fact, it is nor expensive, just 70.000VND/ month so they can afford it I: Yes I got your point Secondly, when facebooking, people can both chat with others or play games, which distracts them from group discussion Do you have any suggestions? T2: If a person opens the layout of Facebook and everything will appear in front of them But if he/she is online on mobile phones, the layout of a message box appears only so that you cannot be distracted by other things and totally concentrate on a conversation I myself can focus better, too 81 I: Yes, I agree with you What about some too heavy files that cannot be uploaded on Facebook? T2: I rarely upload directly on Facebook I use other means such as Google drive, Drop box and then upload the link on Facebook for people I: Some members are not online as scheduled Do you have any solutions? T2: When working in a group, it should have a rule that every member needs to follow, both online and offline But I think online is more convenient when all of the conversation is recorded and they can follow I experienced as well There are solutions in this situation Firstly, he/she will lose his/her rights for giving opinions or commenting and everything cannot be changed Secondly, there should have a scribe to jog down main ideas of the discussion That’s the way we use And then the outline will be given for every member in that group I: I couldn’t agree with you more Too many messages in the box can cause the trouble to find back T2: I see I often try to read through to catch the main ideas only and everyone needs to be aware of following old conversation I: Typing sometimes takes time What you think? T2: I see students nowadays type so fast They are born in the century of technology, unlike us Maybe typing on mobile phones in a long time can be slow, but to important conversations it should be on computers, but open the layout of that conversation only to avoid distraction I: When working online, the measurement of members’ contribution is relatively important What is your suggestion? T2: I think it’s easier than offline working So I don’t think it is a disadvantage I: Have you ever used Video call on Facebook? T2: No, I haven’t It’s quite new and recently I have never had such kind of discussion But if it’s available, just use it However, like video calls on Skype or Google Hangouts, it takes a lot of memory If members in groups not know each other beforehand, video calls should be conducted for the first meeting and then turn of the camera for better connection I: I got your point It’s the end of my interview, Thank you so much for your cooperation I wish you happiness and success in life 82 TEACHER Do you have a Facebook account? Yes I What you often use Facebook for (in terms of academic purpose and social purpose)? I used my FB for social purpose only I hardly use FB for academic purposes, except for Facebook group, where I check my students’ progress on News bulletin assignment Do you often connect with other people (colleagues, students) for group collaboration? If yes, how you you connect with them? Usually Often via a Facebook group or a group chat Do you find any obstacles when using Facebook for your group collaboration? - If yes, could you kindly clarify some obstacles? (1) hard to keep track of all discussion going on (2) easy to miss important information – there are no bullet points during a chat (3) members are distracted by various irrelevant stories (4) I myself am distracted by other things - If no, could you imagine any obstacles? What advantages you think that Facebook can bring out for the student in group collaboration? (1) free – no charge applicable (2) userfriendly – very easy to use (3) instant – they not have to install anything Could you kindly give the students any solution/ advice for the use of Facebook for group collaboration for each disadvantage below? In terms of technique problem: unstable Internet connection would sometimes interrupt group discussion (1) go to public Internet access places (2) turn on wifi using 3G if they can afford (3) switch to traditional ways such as using phone call if they can afford Members would be easily distracted from group discussion by chatting or playing games on Facebook (1) they have to control themselves against all distractors Files with heavy properties (>2Gb & & >25 Mb) would not be uploaded (1) using another host such as GG drive, file for share, dropbox, etc Some members would not be online as scheduled (1) punishments should be placed for disobeyed participants It would be difficult to follow on Facebook Messenger to read old messages (1) try your best to summarise yourself (2) take turn to summarise everything after discussions The members online at any places so the concentration would not be constant (1) try your best to accommodate yourself to the group work Typing would be time- consuming (1) any work is time consuming (2) using voice-to-text softwares / build-ins Members’ contribution would be hard to control and measure (1) it is not hard to control and measure member’s contribution Everything is displayed in written language and it is easy to count the number of ideas raised 83 Facebook would limit face-to-face call as Video call on Facebook is not popular as Skype or Google Hangouts (1) it is available for all devices already It is not popular because students think it is not popular They have to spend time getting to know and use it 84 ... Simonds 20 07, as cited in Collin, Kitty, Richardson & Third, 20 11) In conclusion, SNSs dramatically contribute to the college students’ lives 2. 2 .2 The definition of Facebook As mentioned above, Facebook. .. Watson & Seymour, 20 11) 14 Figure 2: The layout of Facebook in 20 04 As a result, at the early stage of 20 05, Facebook has been more open to other groups of users such as high school students, professors... Kouame, Watson & Seymour, 20 11) 2. 2.3 Functions of Facebook According to Rainie and Wellman (20 12) , social networking systems include three main characteristics and Facebook is considered to