Collaborative Learning Using Social Media Tools in a Blended Learning Course

The concept of collaboration is rooted in social constructivist theories. With social theories as the theoretical base, collaborative learning is extended to online collaborative learning with the support of new technologies. In blended learning, students learn in collaborative situations using online tools to support inquiry and discovery learning. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework is a popular framework for blended learning from a socio-constructivist perspective where teaching, cognitive and social presence are required in collaborative constructivist learning. With the continued advances in technology, online collaborative learning via social media initiates new learning experiences. The purpose of this paper is to explore the student experience in collaborative learning using social media tools in a blended learning course. In this study, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted in a blended learning course. The results show the students engaged in learning through use of WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook to transfer, share and construct knowledge among peers in asynchronous and synchronous modes. Relationships of the collaboration with learning outcomes, engagement and other influential factors were also found. The collaboration was found to be initiated independently by the students and was a non-prescribed activity as it was not designed in the course nor instructed by the teachers. This study asserts that the element of autonomy could be considered in the Community of Inquiry in reflecting the learning experience without a teaching presence in blended learning.