Social networks as an educational tool: the perception of students of agricultural sciences

Abstract

It is a factual fact that the technological revolution generated from the emergence of the Internet has been inserted into the spaces related knowledge. It is particularly interesting to know the links that the so-called social networks, especially Facebook, have with the academic world; more specifically what is the perception that students in agricultural sciences have about its utility as a tool for university study. A survey was conducted to students of Agronomy, Zootechnics and Veterinary who studied the subjects taught from the Department of Agrarian Sociology of the School of Agronomy and Zootechnics of the National University of Tucuman. Open mode responses were analyzed by a computer program which the analysis of lexicometric verbatims. The results indicate that social networks, in this case particularly Facebook, are able to occupy an important place as a classroom tool enabling better use of available resources. Facebook is a website with high communicative value networks; but according to the perception of the study group, further research is required to determine if this corresponds with a high educational value. Inevitably it has placed the teaching practice face new scenarios that should be considered and increasingly functionalized to concrete educational activity. The results presented in this study represent a first contribution on this subject within the community of students tested and provides baseline information for future studies in this and other educative centers.