The Third Wave of Informatization
Mobile Learning and Social Networks in the Modern School for Upgrading the
Educational Process
Diana O. Koroleva
Institute of Education of the National Research University Higher School of Economics,
Myasnickaya Street, Moscow, Russia
1 RESEARCH PROBLEM
Since the mid of 1980s Russia is going through
series of educational reforms related to a number of
initiatives on computerisation and informatization of
secondary schools. The first wave of informatization
of educational institutions started in the 1980s, when
as part of the federal reforms, and then at the
regional level, Russian schools were equipped with
computers and basic information technologies. In
addition, a new course - “Informatics” was
introduced and included into curriculum. It also
involved training for teachers and school
administrators. At the same time the reforms were
challenged by a number of problems due to a huge
gap between urban and rural schools.
The second wave of informatization started in
the 1990s and aimed to increase the accessibility to
computers through the provision of schools and their
administrative units with the modern IT computing
technologies, audio-visual equipment as well as
access to Internet. In order to advance and integrate
modern technologies into the learning process
teachers were provided with a series of trainings
courses. Despite the initial resistance from teachers,
the implementation of the initiative was successful
and had a significant impact on the educational
process (OECD, 2015). The federal program of
informatization of the Russian schools has been
completed in 2010, and from that moment all
responsibilities regarding informatization of schools
were transferred from federal to the regional level.
Meanwhile, computer and Internet technologies
are developing very dynamically in Russia. Between
2010 and 2015 there were major changes in Internet
access technologies, the speed of information
transmission, and the range of devices to interact
with the web. Currently 97 percent of Russian
adolescents have they own mobile devices
(D.Koroleva, 2016). Despite an official ban, K-12
students still use their cellular phones or tablets at
school. Social network sites are most popular
resource among adolescents; they use the service for
communication, information distribution and its
consumption. Thus, the observation shows that the
educational landscape changes rapidly because of
several reasons:
Schools are filled with students’ mobile
devices;
The access to high speed Internet in
classrooms;
The availability of information;
The communication mediated by social
networks.
Despite of the extensive usage of the web in
Russian schools there are no concrete
recommendations for mobile learnings or social
networks for educational use. Moreover, education
legislative framework is full of contradictions: some
official documents envision Internet as a resource
which is full of risks and dangers, and it is necessary
to prohibit its usage in the schools. At the same time
other government paper gives a recommendation to
use E-learning at schools; however, it does not
specify how and why it should be used for
educational practices. Thus, this research will
attempt to investigate the peculiarities of schools’
reactions to these changes, which implied not by the
federal government, but brought by students
themselves as main users of the web and mobile
devices.
The following research questions will guide this
study:
How do mobile technologies and social
networks change the educational space in
Russian schools?
How the use of mobile phones and social
networks in schools is described in official
documents?
How do instructors incorporate the Mobile
learning and social networks into their
instructional strategies within their
Koroleva, D.
The Third Wave of Informatization - Mobile Learning and Social Networks in the Modern School for Upgrading the Educational Process.
In Doctoral Consortium (DCCSEDU 2016), pages 9-15
9
courses?
What kind of administrative and
psychological difficulties teachers
experience while using the modern
technology?
What are the technical and psychological
readiness of students for using the modern
technologies in the learning process,
including the involvement of mobile
devices and social networks in the
educational process at school?
2 OUTLINE OF OBJECTIVES
This research project will attempt to investigate the
peculiarities of schools’ reactions to changes related
to the use of mobile technologies and social
networks, which implied not by the federal
government, but brought by students themselves as
main users of the web and mobile devices.
Objectives:
To describe the existing and most promising
educational practices of mobile phones and social
networks usage in education for making learning
more active, increase students motivation, update
curricula without needing to change their nature, etc.
(Russian and international experience).
To examine the actual stage of mobile phone
and social networks usage for educational purposes
among high and middle school Russian teachers.
To analyze students attitudes and desire to use
they own mobile phone and social networks due to
the teacher instructions.
To identify the administrative and technical
terms of use mobile phones and social networks in
the modern Russian schools.
3 STATE OF THE ART
Many notions were created to describe the modern
adolescents generation and they high interest to
Internet and modern technologies: it is "net
generation" (Tapscott, 1998), "digital natives"
(Prensky 2001), "generation digital" (Montgomery,
2007), "generation Z" etc. Social media becomes
one of the most used types of websites by
adolescents. According to statistics on social
networks 90% of U.S. teenagers (Perrin, 2015), 63%
European students from 9 to 16 year olds (EU Kids
Online, 2013) and 97% of Russian adolescents
(Koroleva, 2016) use social networking sites as a
platform for interaction and communication. The
phenomenon of social media emerged in the 1990s
and received the mass distribution over the past 10
years. The interface of the majority of social media
has been adapted for touch screen displays and
social networks become available on mobile devices.
This proved to be an important factor in social media
diffusion among teenagers. Nowadays, aided by the
convenience and constant access provided by mobile
devices, especially smartphones, 92% of teens report
going online daily - including 24% who say they go
online “almost constantly,” according to Pew
Research Center study (Lenhart, 2015). This raises
the question of schools’ reactions to social situation
of child’s development change according Vygotsky's
social constructivism theory (Vygotsky, 1978).
The use of mobile technologies as a unique
element of education reform is discussed in Shuler’s
work (Shuler, 2009). This report draws on
interviews with a cross-section of research, policy,
and industry experts to illustrate how mobile
technologies such as smartphones, iPods, and
portable gaming platforms might be widely used for
learning. The idea of personal mobile systems for
life-long learning was given by Educational
Technology Research Group from UK (Sharples,
Corlett, Westmancott, 2002). According to the
authors, the re-conceptualisation of learning is that
the environments where contextual life-long learning
occurs cannot be pre-specified, but are created
through the activity of learning: how schools
designed curriculum for mobile technology
implementation, as well as how students and
teachers responded to this innovation afford a case
in point (Looi, Chee-Kit, et al., 2016). A
constructivist manner study realized by Bielaczyc
and Collins describes “Learning-communities”
approach to education (Bielaczyc & Collins, 1999).
According to authors, in a learning community the
main goal is to advance the collective knowledge
and in that way to support the growth of individual
knowledge. An opportunity to transform the rules
and processes relevant to face-to-face
communication in the context of web-based e-
learning described in Hung and Chen paper (Hung &
Chen, 2001). Hung and Yuen claim that a sense of
community appearing in a social network is an
essential element for successful e-learning (Hung &
Yuen, 2010). Social networks in schools as a barrier
or facilitator for educational reforms is a key issue
discussed in the book "Social Network Theory and
Educational Change" (Daly, 2010).
DCCSEDU 2016 - Doctoral Consortium on Computer Supported Education
10
4 METHODOLOGY
The mixed methods design was chosen to conduct
this research. According to Creswell, research
strategy consists of two stages. First stage includes
the process of quantitative data collection, and the
second step implies on qualitative data in order to
explain or elaborate on the quantitative results
(Creswell, 2005).
The following quantitative research tools are used
in this study:
Document Analysis;
Meta-analysis (Analytical review of
empirical studies);
Survey among High school students
(Stratified random sampling);
Survey among public schools principals
(Random sampling);
Survey among public and private schools
teachers (Random sampling).
Qualitative Research Tools included:
Middle and High school students interview;
School teachers interview;
Public schools principals interview;
Workshops and focus group discussions for
teachers.
5 EXPECTED OUTCOME
In order to provide a general picture of the research
problem the initial data was obtained through meta-
analysis, state documents analysis and surveys.
On the second stage, qualitative data such as semi-
structured interviews with adolescents and teachers,
as well as focus group discussions for educators
were used to gain additional information that further
riches the research base.
Meta-analysis
First the meta-analysis of foreign studies
(publications in English) on the use of social
networks in teaching practice was prepared. Russian
articles have not been taken for analyses because
this problem is not articulated in Russian
publications (the lack of empirical data).
The review of the literature provided descriptions
of social media as a potential new resource, which
provides the organization of teacher-student
interaction, students’ group communication, and
increases student’s involvement in the learning
process. For meta-analysis I have selected
publications about social networking in education
over the past 3 years, which satisfies the criteria of
describing the details of empirical research.
Literature search was organised in the following
databases: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global,
ProQuest Education, Dissertation Abstracts Online,
Google Scholar. In total, 205 English language
publications was obtained, and 8 studies were
selected for compliance with the specified criteria.
The obtained literature had to provide with
information on which social networks are mostly
used for educational purposes and what kind of
services are involved, as well as what kind of social
media is used in education. The received data are
presented in Table 1.
Another step included finding data about positive
and negative aspects of social networks in education.
The analysis showed that social media is used in
two main ways: 1) as service for support and
operationalization of existing forms of learning, and
2) for uupgrading the educational process. It also
confirmed the presence of the «digital gap» between
students and teachers. Positive aspects of the use of
social networks for education are associated with a
variety of activities of students, and negative aspect
included low ICT literacy and higher workload of
teachers. These data are presented in Table 2.
High school student survey
The survey included 16–18-year-old students of
Moscow schools was conducted in order to assess
how the Russian schools use mobile technologies
and social media in the learning process. Stratified
random sampling was chosen for the study, the
sample covered 3,194 respondents with percentage
45.2% of males and 54.8% females. Data was
collected in 2014 and analyzed in 2015. The results
showed that 97 % of urban teenagers have their own
mobile devices. Social network sites are most
popular web-sites, and they use them for
communication, information distribution and its
consumption. Despite official school bans students
use their cell phones or tablets while at school both
for the entertainment (70%) and self- education
purposes (70%). While technologies such as BYOD
(Bring Your Own Device) are not welcomed by
teachers, analysis of intensity and scope of
unauthorized Internet usage during the learning
process among adolescent and their academic
performance did not give statistically significant
correlations. Speaking about school computer
equipment, more than half of respondents (56%)
noted that access to school computers or other
devices (laptop, tablet, etc.) is limited. Students can
visit computer class only in special hours and
The Third Wave of Informatization - Mobile Learning and Social Networks in the Modern School for Upgrading the Educational Process
11
usually during the “Informatics” course. At the same
time, even at home, teens prefer to use their personal
mobile devices than desktop computers.
Simultaneously, survey data shows the obvious
progress of the schooling system: present-day
teachers communicate with their students by email
and via social networks and occasionally give
homework assignments online or using internet
services. Thus, survey data shows that school
institution suddenly found itself in a situation when
the auditorium began to represent itself as a
community of advanced Internet users who are
constantly online and switch easily between
education, communication, and entertainment. On
one hand the school system is trying to control the
situation through bans on the use of mobile
telephones, and the limitation of Internet access. On
the other hand, teachers use innovative practices, but
it depends only from teacher’s willing and interests.
It was assumed that usage of modern technologies in
schools and availability of personal devices for
schoolchildren in Moscow and other big cities are
ahead with respect to small towns in the province.
For this reason in the parallel with the key study was
conducted the study with smaller sample to examine
the actual stage of modern technologies usage for
educational purposes in different contexts. The
survey included 16–18-year-old students who live
and study in Moscow (population 10 m),
Krasnoyarsk (population 1m), Achisk (population
0,1 m) and Bolshaya Murta (0,07 m). The study
covered 252 respondents. Collected data showed
small differences in availability of personal devices
for school children, at the same time according to
the responses the usage of modern technologies in
schools in the region and province is significantly
lower than in Moscow. This once again underlines
the existing deficit of existing educational practices
of mobile phones and social networks usage in
education against the background of social situation
of child’s development change.
Document Analysis
About 100 documents of the school’s and regional
and state level have been analyzed. Data obtained
through document analysis highlighted the
contradictions regarding usage of mobile technology
and social network in education. As mentioned
above, the analysis shows two waves of
informatization programs in Russian schools. The
first wave of informatization of educational
institutions started in the 1980s, when as part of the
federal reforms, and then at the regional level,
Russian schools were equipped with computers and
basic information technologies. During the second
wave, which started in the 1990s, the goal of the
federal government was to increase the accessibility
to school computers and to provide them with
modern IT computing technologies and audio-visual
equipment as well as to provide access to Internet.
Described waves were accompanied by teachers and
school principals training programs; however, initial
resistance was observed from teachers to incorporate
new practices into their work. The described
initiative of informatization of Russian schools has
been completed in 2010 and from that moment all
responsibilities regarding technologies was
transferred from the federal government to the
regional level. A number of policy documents
indicate some E-learning in education, but general
policy in this field is not observed. In addition,
policy documents contain many contradictions
regarding usage of mobile technology and social
networks in education. For example, in some
program documents indicate that in the
modernization of the education system educators
should use new forms of learning and
communication, including online network forms of
interaction with students; others speak about
responsibility of schools for the student network
activity and that schools should limit their access to
Internet and social media.
Middle and High school students interview
The aim of the interview was to find out how
modern teenagers use mobile phones and social
networks while at school, how they switch between
online and offline activities, and if there any
resources associated with education in the social
networks. In total, 15 semi-structured interviews
were conducted. The interviews confirmed the data
obtained in the previous survey. Students say that
they use mobile phones while at school almost all
the time, usually when they experience emotional or
psychological state as boredom (when the subject is
not interesting, when there is a lecture material, and
when they are not required to participate). At the
same time adolescents go online to find educational
information too; sometimes this kind of task is given
by teachers. Many students noted that they are glad
to add their teachers as “friends” in social networks
and often turn to them with questions or get a
feedback. Teens also claimed that usually there are
younger teachers in social networks. In social
networks teenagers find all needed learning
materials, even to prepare for state exams, but none
of these resources are established by representatives
of the education system. Social network sites also
contain opportunities for cheating and plagiarism,
obsolete forms of knowledge testing
DCCSEDU 2016 - Doctoral Consortium on Computer Supported Education
12
question-answer students solved quickly and easily.
Interview with school teachers
10 semi-structured interviews were taken between
2014 and 2015. The average age of participants is 35
years old; respondents are mostly teaching in public
schools (90%). The questionnaire included 30
questions about teacher attitudes regarding usage of
modern technology in education, such as BOYD
(bring your own devise); applying social networks in
educational practices for communication with
students; and organizing school projects on internet.
Responding to general interview questions, all
respondents have stated that modern technologies
are the indispensable part of the educational process.
At the same time, on specific questions about how
they personally use modern technologies and
whether they consider them as useful, majority of
respondents said that they do not know how to do it
and find it useless. One of the identified barriers to
the usage of mobile phones during the learning
process for educators is a lack of understanding on
what are the possible functions and services to use.
We assume that it is due to the fact that teachers
themselves do not use smart phones to access the
web. According to interview data teachers face
limitation of Internet access in schools and social
network sites usually are blocked there. So they
usually have to connect from home computers. In
this case it is not clear how this work should by
taken into account in their workload. The analysis of
interviews shows that teachers also experience
psychological difficulties in using of modern
technology. Students use unknown/unclear terms for
teachers ‘emoticons’ (:), :(, ), ‘likes’, and different
tones for conversation (more informal). Teachers
said that they do not know how to react to ‘this
language’ used in the social network. There is a fear
of saying something ‘wrong’ or to be misunderstood
and recorded in the space of the social network.
Workshops and focus group discussions for
teachers
Workshops and focus group were organized for the
teachers team (collective) work for development of
new practices for modern technologies such as m-
learning and social network implementation into
educational practice. One day training included 35
teachers who mostly teach in public schools (94%).
The average age of participants is 37 years old.
Communication during focus group discussions with
teachers revealed that many of them do not have
smartphones and social networks account.
Teachers were divided into 4 groups of 7-9 people
and discussed where exactly there is a need for
communication with students in the educational
process, and how it can be organized with the use of
modern technologies. At the second stage, educators
developed concrete tasks such as the usage of
gadgets and social networks incorporation into the
learning process. During discussions, educators were
enthusiastic and showed interests in this subject;
however, at the final part of the seminar, the analysis
of answers on the question about their readiness to
use some of the tools developed in the workshop in
everyday practices shows their extra willingness to
communicate with students outside the classroom;
and unavailability to spend extra time on additional
preparation as well as their fear of doing something
“wrong” on social networks.
6 CONCLUSIONS
It is too early to make final conclusions. It is
necessary to complete the planned research, but the
preliminary data shows that usage of mobile
technology is the indistinguishable process for
adolescents due to face-to-face and online
communication, which happen simultaneously.
Penetration of the online communication in
everyday lives of school children is ignored by the
compulsory education, and the educational potential
of social networks is not considered. The study
identified a new third wave of education
informatization, which is coming not from the state
as the previous two waves — the '80s and 1990s, but
provoked by users students as owners of the
mobile devices.
7 STAGE OF THE RESEARCH
At this stage of the research quantitative and
qualitative data obtained. On the first stage of the
project the meta-analysis of foreign studies
(publications in English) on the use of social
networks in teaching practice was prepared, state
documents analysis was done and high school
student survey (Stratified random sampling, N=3194
respondents, men (45.2%) and women (54.8%), 16-
18 years old students) were completed. It is still
necessary to conduct principals’ survey in public
schools.
The series of semi structured interviews of
adolescents and teachers have been conducted (10
teachers and 15 adolescents), workshops and focus
group discussions for teachers were organized (35
The Third Wave of Informatization - Mobile Learning and Social Networks in the Modern School for Upgrading the Educational Process
13
respondents who are mostly teaching in public
schools). It is necessary to increase the number of
respondents for both groups as well as to conduct
public schools principals interview and schools
teachers survey in 2016.
REFERENCES
Bielaczyc, K., & Collins, A., 1999. Learning communities
in classrooms: A reconceptualization of educational
practice. In R. C. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional design
theories and models, A New paradigm of instructional
theory (pp. 269- 292). London, England: Erlbaum.
Creswell, J. W., 2005. Educational research: Planning,
conducting, and evaluating quantitative and
qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Merrill.
Daly A. J., 2010. Social Network Theory and Educational
Change. – Harvard Education Press. 8 Story Street
First Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138.
EU Kids Online, 2014. EU Kids Online: findings,
methods, recommendations (deliverable D1.6). EU
Kids Online, LSE, London, UK.
Hargittai, E. 2010. Digital Na(t)ives? Variation in Internet
Skills and Uses among Members of the ‘‘Net
Generation.’’ Sociological Inquiry, 80(1), 92-113.
Hung, D. W., & Chen, D. T., 2001. Situated cognition,
Vygotskian thought and learning from the
communities of practice perspective: Implications for
the design of web-based e-learning. Educational
Media International, 38(1), 3-12.
Hung, H. T., & Yuen, S. C. Y. (2010). Educational use of
social networking technology in higher education.
Teaching in higher education, 15(6), 703-714.
Koroleva, D., 2016. Vsegda onlajn: ispol'zovanie
mobil'nyh tekhnologij i social'nyh setej sovremennymi
podrostkami doma i v shkole, Voprosy obrazovaniya
2016, V.1.
Lenhart, A., 2015. Teens, Social Media, and Technology
Overview 2015. Pew Research Center.
Looi, Chee-Kit, et al. 2016. "Bridging Formal and
Informal Learning with the Use of Mobile
Technology." Future Learning in Primary Schools.
Springer Singapore. 79-96.
Montgomery, K. C., 2007. Generation digital: Politics,
commerce, and childhood in the age of the Internet.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
OECD, 2015. Measuring Innovation in Education.
Available at: http://www.oecd.org/education.
Perrin A. 2015. Social Networking Usage: 2005-2015.
Pew Research Center. October 2015. Available at:
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/08/2015/Social-
Networking-Usage-2005-2015/
Prensky, M. 2001. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On
the Horizon 9:1–6.
Sharples, M., Corlett, D., & Westmancott, O., 2002. The
design and implementation of a mobile learning
resource. Personal and Ubiquitous computing, 6(3),
220-234.
Shuler, C. 2009. Pockets of Potential: Using Mobile
Technologies to Promote Children’s Learning, New
York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame
Workshop.
Tapscott, D., 1998. Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the
Net Generation. New York: McGrawHill.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society
. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
APPENDIX
Table 1: Ways to use social media in education.
Category Number of
observations
Social network
Facebook 9
StudiVZ 1
Twitter 3
Blog 1
Using service
Group 6
Newsline 2
User wall 2
Page 3
Forms of use of social networks
Aggregation data, images and
information (8)
Previous lessons materials
publishing
2
Additional learning materials
publishing (by teacher)
3
Additional learning materials
publishing (by students)
3
Classified ads (1)
Extracurricular activities
information publishing
1
The platform for the interaction (14)
Teacher-student interaction (the
opportunity to ask a question)
5
Peer interaction (student
discussion)
3
Peer interaction (Students'
Project activities)
4
Student – community interaction 2
Learning management space (4)
School assignments publication 1
Student research and class
assignment publication
3
DCCSEDU 2016 - Doctoral Consortium on Computer Supported Education
14
Table 2: Positive and negative aspects of using social
networks in education.
Category Number of
observations
Technical features of social network use for
education
The positive aspects 12
Free access 5
Technical simplicity of use (for
students)
2
Convenient aggregating of data
and information
1
A wide range of services 4
The negative aspects 3
Absence of access to social
networks from classroom
3
Pedagogical features of social network use for
education
The positive aspects 21
Lifelong learning (for students) 4
Completing school assignments
at any convenient time (for students)
3
Easy feedback (for teacher and
students)
2
New forms of work (for teacher
and students)
2
Involving Parents in the
Education
1
Creative thinking development 2
Self-education (using aggregate
resources for students)
4
Engagement increase (for
students)
3
The negative aspects
4
Teachers low ICT competence 4
Psychological features of social network use
for education
The positive aspects
4
Consolidation of the class 1
Destruction of hierarchical
forms of interaction (the appearance
of horizontal communication)
2
Social integration 1
The negative aspects
3
Distractions when studying (for
students)
3
Management features of social network use
for education
The positive aspects
4
Students high interest in sites 3
Absence of necessity for training
in the use of social network (for
students)
1
The negative aspects
5
Teacher time and resources
investment (higher workload of
teachers)
2
Figure 1: Possibility to use personal mobile device during
class (N = 3194)%.
Figure 2: Availability and types of student’s personal
mobile devices (N = 3194) %.
The Third Wave of Informatization - Mobile Learning and Social Networks in the Modern School for Upgrading the Educational Process
15