USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN MOOC - INTEGRATION WITH THE MOODLE LCMS
USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN MOOC - INTEGRATION WITH THE MOODLE LCMS

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to study the impact social media has in the dissemination of online courses, as well as in the educational process itself, particularly with the integration of social media tools into the popular open-source Learning Content Management System Moodle. The concept of MOOC - Massive Online Open Courses - has gained popularity in the last years, along with new supporters, as well as active users. It represents a redefining of the direction mainstream eLearning is taking, both in content and in learning typologies. Online education is appreciated by students, as it allows them to study from wherever they want (provided they have an internet connection) and almost whenever they want as long as they respect the course assignment deadlines. Collaboration and discussion forums are tools that appeal to the student body, especially if we take into account the technologies the current students grew up with.Another widespread technology in day to day life has been social media, defined as the interaction of people by which they create, share and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and online social networks. One can sort social media into collaborative projects (for instance, Wikipedia), blogs and microblogs (Twitter), content communities (Youtube), social networking sites (Facebook), virtual game worlds and virtual social worlds. The conclusions thus obtained form the basis for developing a strategy/guidebook for new and existing MOOC systems, with concrete solutions for any and all Moodle based online learning platforms.

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