“To Use or Not to Use-That Is the Question!” Using Facebook as an Educational Tool in Recreational Leadership Course

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of the Social networking site “Facebook” in “recreational leadership course” as an educational tool to facilitate the learning environment for sport management students. In this study qualitative research design and action research approach (emancipating/enhancing/critical science mode) were used. This research was based on the “by doing-experiencing” concept and focused on the usage of a Facebook group (as a closed group between students-lecturer/student-student) and on sharing course related topics inside and outside of the class under the supervision of the lecturer. The research was carried out with a total of 31 university students who participated in a “recreational leadership” elective course during the fall semester of 2015-2016. The data was collected both from the evaluation notes which were kept by the students at the end of the semester, and from observation notes of the researcher. According to the results based on the analysis of the evaluation notes of the students and the observation notes of the lecturer it appeared that “Facebook” as an educational tool in “recreational leadership course” was perceived mostly positive by students and the lecturer. In addition, according to the students’ evaluation notes, four themes were established: 1. Personal Development, 2. Emotional Development, 3. Performance Development and 4. Cognitive Development. On the other hand, the analysis of the notes of the lecturer revealed four main themes as gains:1. Improving the Quality of Class Management, 2. Systematic Application of Technology, 3. Improving the Quality of Education/Students, and 4. Learning by doing.