A case study examining the implementation of social networking technologies to enhance student learning in a second language

Purpose – The Monetary Theory course at Dubai Men's College used a very traditional knowledge transfer model of learning. The purpose of this paper is to describe a change to a student centered, social constructivist framework to try to increase student engagement and obtain deeper levels of learning by using Web 2.0 tools to encourage students to form a learning community and find, discuss, annotate and debate some of their own learning resources among the community. Design/methodology/approach – This was approached as a case study that examines the pedagogical arguments for introducing social and collaborative learning and then examines the success and challenges of implementing these in the course. It is a very small scale piece of action research aimed at improving student success and teaching practice. Findings – Although the research is a very limited, small scale, applied action research paper, it does show that the learners were very positive about the possibilities of social bookmarking and collaborative learning and were happy to move away from a knowledge transfer model. Originality/value – Although there is an abundance of literature on the benefits of social and collaborative learning and the formation of learning communities, there is very little literature available on the specific use of Diigo in social bookmarking or of Ning, especially with students who are learning in a second language environment. Overall, there is very limited literature about United Arab Emirates Nationals as learners and how best to help them be successful. This paper gives a small insight into the successes of one transformational class.