University social network benefits analysis and proposed framework

Social learning is a natural way of acquiring knowledge and approaching various problems. In high education, students widely use social learning which is to a large extent facilitated by todays' popular social network applications. However, as of yet high education systems typically do not recognise the value of the data produced by or embedded within these social network applications. In this paper we present survey results through which we examine certain recent learning habits among students in Croatia. We predominantly investigated their usage of Facebook, today's leading social network application, specifically for the purposes of learning. Based on these findings, and taking into account common communication problems we perceive in our work, we propose a framework for University Social Network construction. We presume various usages of it by different stakeholders, propose node construction within the network compliant with educational and research processes and recommend flexible privacy levels for communication units.