The case of a workshop on the History of Cinema in Mozambique

1. DIANA MANHIÇA
UNIVERSIDADE ABERTA, LISBOA
DIANA.MANHICA.27@GMAIL.COM
JOSÉ BIDARRA
UNIVERSIDADE ABERTA, LISBOA
JOSE.BIDARRA@UAB.PT
Exploring the use of Facebook in the
classroom:
The case of a workshop on the History of
Cinema in Mozambique

2. INTRODUCTION
01.

3. TODAY´S STUDENTS
- Interact with information and communication
technologies (ICTs) creatively and
collaboratively through personal mobile devices
such as smartphones and tablets.
- Tell their own stories on YouTube, Facebook,
and many other platforms.
- Have well-defined patterns in the use of
mobile devices.
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TODAY´S EDUCATORS
- Use these technologies to foster learning,
creativity and enthusiasm
- Have an attitude of openness to knowledge
- Organize and create new learning situations
- Apply tech in all steps of the process
- Reflect on his/her own pedagogical practice
- Possess and develop a set of new skills,
knowledge and attitudes

5. 02.
DIGITAL MEDIA AND
SOCIAL NETWORKS IN AN
EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT

6. ARGUMENTS
- The learner has become an active player, capable of expressing a critical opinion about
what he sees, able to select what he wants to see and to create his own content;
- Digital media in support of learning acquire multiple forms, in many cases with
advantages for project-based learning;
- However the pedagogical model in universities and schools continues to be essentially
teacher-centred and based on one-way communication, exclusively based on the
"recommended manual", on the teacher's dominance as "source of knowledge” and in
the observance of an “established curriculum”.

7. E-LEARNING PLATFORMS VS. SOCIAL MEDIA
- Although e-learning platforms today represent a secure investment for educational
institutions, they constitute an overly closed environment, and in the context of
developing countries, financially challenging for the institutions' budgets;
- There was a need to expand this environment through social networks - such as
Facebook - free of charge and offering spaces that extend the classroom, having both
risks and opportunities for educational processes.

8. 03.
A CASE STUDY IN MOZAMBIQUE

9. BENEFITS
- Facebook compensates for the lack of
interaction in the classroom;
- It allows for a better organization of homework
and assignments;
- Promotes extra motivation among students.
CHALLENGES
- Evidence of a slow learning curve;
- Poor internet quality and access;
- Need to integrate Facebook in teaching
practice.

10. MOZAMBIQUE
- a developing country with an estimated 28 million inhabitants;
- 2,409,500 registered Facebook users in December 2018, 67% between 18 and 34 years old.
STUDY
- during the 1st semester of the academic year of 2018, a class of 23 students (3 female) in the
3rd year of the degree on Cinema and Audiovisual, topics on the History of Cinema;
- a “restricted group” was created on Facebook to facilitate and expand communication between
teacher and students, and amongst students.

11. EMPIRICAL STUDY
- Two questionnaires;
- Classroom observation;
- Analysis of Facebook posts and interaction:
I. authorship and initiative;
II. reactions;
III. content typology, quantity, regularity;
- a total of 159 posts reviewed.

12. FINDINGS
- 87% own mobile devices (MD)
- 87% use MD more than once a day
- 72% use internet more than once a day
- 66% prefer to use the campus Library and Computer Room
desktop computers for internet services for learning purposes
- 35% say MD use in the classroom is rare
- 76% use internet for study between 1-5 hours per week
- Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube are all used in learning
activities
- 65% say less than 3 teachers use social media to
communicate on regular basis
- 100% of students find Facebook motivating or very motivating
for use in learning activities

13. 04.
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

14. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
We acknowledge the limitations of our study, with a small
group of students, and indicate as first recommendation the
need for more studies, and more diversified research in this
area, specifically in the African educational context.
The attitude of all students was very positive and the resulting
motivation improved. It shows that institutions need to adopt
these innovative models and bring them into education in order
to meet the expectations of new generations of students, who
have “grown up digital”.
This study suggests the need for future research, for instance,
to provide data for reflection on teachers' pedagogical issues
with the use of social media for teaching and learning activities.

15. 05.
CONTACTS
diana.manhica.27@gmail.com jose.bidarra@uab.pt