1. THE EFFECT OF FACEBOOK & LORE ON
STUDENTS ENGAGEMENT
ACADEMIC EMOTIONS
& PERFORMANCE
AN EDL@B EXPERIMENT
Gaby Lutgens & Gwen Noteborn
Maastricht University Library, dep. Education & Research Support
20 november 2013
Online Information Conference
Publication of these slides only with explicit consent of the author

2. What is the EdL@b?
An educational
laboratory for
teachers, educators,
students and
companies.

3. Who is Ed?

6. Events to share experiences and ideas
• Inspiration sessions
• Special events

7. Zooming on one specific experiment…

8. “Standard ELO does not
offer enough tools to
interact”
Teachers use Blackboard mainly as a one-way
device; offering lots of information on the course
and documentation like literature, but students
do not feel invited to start interaction within this
environment: they tend to go ‘outside’ and make
their own Facebook pages and shared
Dropboxes.

9. “Lore and Facebook fulfill
students need to
communicate with their
peers on course topics”
Yes!
Students like the possibility to interact outside the
official ELO and have the opportunity to add
links, attachments and pictures. Even the picture
next to the post has its effect (on social presence
and bonding). The teacher is welcome to
participate, but it feels like ‘their’ environment.

10. “There are no
differences between
Lore and Facebook”
Not true… Lore is created according to Facebook
(simple, intuitive interface where you can perform
all you want), but with ‘walls’ so no invited persons
can enter, copy right issues are taken care of and
you can more easily make a clear distinction
between private and professional
communication (posts do
not show up on your
personal FB-page).

11. “Can we increase
meaningful usage of tools
like Facebook or Lore?”
The role of the teacher is important here!
Make what you want the students to do well structured,
e.g. around a project or clear assignment(s).
•
have the students take up roles and give them responsibility
•
not too much freedom
•
and provoke the students to be critical and share ideas and
opinions.

12. “Did the tools have impact on behavior?
Or in other words: did they lead to other
learning and teaching activities?”
Does the platform increase engagement?
Teachers willing to experiment already
created an atmosphere making students
more willing to participate
and engage.
Did the platform increase student satisfaction?
Having the teacher dedicate to increase
engagement (aiming for more attractive
education), made the appreciation of the
course higher.

13. “So, what did we find out?”
• Make use of what is appreciated to create
engagement (notifications, personalization,
pictures) and make participation worthwhile
• Lesser then more platforms; if necessary
stick to what you must use and organise it
from there
• The higher the appreciation, the more
engagement and (not surprisingly) higher
grades

14. Questions?
Who wants to make ‘my’ picture?
and send it to
edlab@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Thank you!

15. www.edlab.nl