Improving engagement and enhancing student interaction fosters learning.1 Social interaction is based on social learning theory,2 which supports the idea that individuals can learn through interactions with others. In the online environment, student-to-student interaction is an important component of learning, but achieving such interaction can prove challenging. Social media are one potential solution to enhance nursing student engagement in online courses. Social media are Internet-based tools that allow users to communicate through blogs, social networks, video or photo sharing sites, or wikis.3 These social networking platforms are free and easy to use, allow users to share information, are popular among all ages and professions, and are used by diverse cultures.4,5 Facebook (FB) is a social networking platform that may improve student-to-student interaction.

Facebook in Higher Education

A 2019 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center6 determined that FB is the predominant online social networking platform used by Americans (68%). Although there are newer emerging social networking applications, there are 2.23 billion FB users worldwide, and 88% of US college students report having an FB account.6,7 Facebook has been widely embraced by students, which indicates its potential as a learning resource to increase participation, communication, collaboration, and engagement.3,5,8 It is an ideal platform for student interaction, because users are instantly notified when they have a message.9 There is a significant lack of research about the use of FB in higher education, but some evidence suggests that it has potential for enhancing student learning and engagement.4,10 Chugh and Ruhi4 found a variety of benefits for using FB, including increased student-student interaction and improved academic performance. Similarly, Kent11 conducted a comparative study of FB and learning management system (LMS) course discussions concluding that FB enhanced student activity in online courses. Tower et al12 used FB as a learning tool with nursing students. Their results found that FB augmented student learning and interaction. Facebook provides a promising learning platform for interaction and engagement in the academic environment. The purpose of this article is to provide guidelines for the use of FB as an alternative to LMS discussions for online RN-BSN students.

Facebook Guidelines

Planning

Implementing the use of FB for online discussions requires meticulous faculty planning. The use of an instructional designer well versed in FB and the LMS can be an asset in setting up the course. Preparation includes creating the course FB page, establishing groups within the FB page, and inviting students to join specific groups. Detailed instructions distributed in short clips should be included in the course syllabus for obtaining a FB account, or adjusting their current FB account, "friending" the faculty, and joining an FB group.

One difference between FB and the LMS is the timing of when discussion assignments are posted for the students by the faculty. In FB, facilitators need to add the discussion prompts the week the case study is due given FB's chronological scrolling, but in the LMS, the faculty can add all discussion prompts prior to the start of the course. There are word limits imposed by FB, and this should be considered when creating assignments. When responses are lengthy, students may respond with more than 1 post to accommodate FB's word limitations and use an extra click to see the entire post. Shorter posts that do not exceed the FB word limits are ideal for this platform. It is also best for students to create a post rather than replying to an initial discussion prompt as posted by the faculty. This practice allows students to write more in their post and allows for threading for each student response as classmates respond to posts.

Privacy and Policy

Privacy issues are a known concern when working with social media4; thus, students should be provided clear instructions on how to keep information secure. Faculty should become familiar with FB's privacy settings and keep abreast of any privacy updates. Group pages created within FB should be restricted to students officially registered for the course.12,13 It is also recommended that nursing students complete confidentiality HIPAA education and review the American Nurses Association's 6 principles for social networking.14,15 Students should follow Netiquette guidelines for best practices in online discussions to be constructive, safe, inclusive, and polite and to avoid posts that may be offensive or appear to attack classmates in the online community.16 Finally, university and school of nursing policies about social media in the academic setting need to be reviewed with the students to understand that violation of institutional policies may warrant disciplinary action.17

Technology Management

Using FB in an online course requires students and faculty to use technology in a new way and learn new methods for delivering and receiving content.4 For those not familiar with FB, this can be challenging and time-consuming and for some participants may cause confusion and intimidation.18 Students need to learn how to navigate the FB platform to respond to discussions if they are accustomed to responding to discussions in an LMS. Transitioning between FB and the LMS can prove tedious, so faculty should provide links within the LMS to FB for seamless transitions between these two platforms. If the course requires discussion groups, links to assigned FB groups are most efficient. Grading assignments through FB is different than the LMS because FB and the LMS are not interconnected. Faculty must go to the FB page, search for each student's post and subsequent responses, and then transition back to the LMS to enter the grades. One tip for easing this process is to create a spreadsheet to track students' posts and responses.

Facebook Example

The guidelines were developed through the process of planning and piloting the use of FB in an accelerated, online, RN-BSN health assessment course. In this course, FB was used as an alternative to LMS system discussion boards. The assignment required students to answer a series of questions related to a case study posted by the faculty in FB; students were then required to respond to posts of two classmates by the end of the week. Unlike discussion boards, students not only completed their assignments by posting and responding to two classmates, but also responded to responses of other students. Students had increased engagement when compared with students using traditional discussion boards.

Implications for Nursing Education

Facebook is a tool that can be used to increase student interaction. If faculty choose to use FB in their courses, the social media skills of students and faculty should be considered. Jumaat and Tasir9 reported the importance for directions and guidelines to support students in online interactions using social media for online instruction. Detailed instructions should be included for course participants for setting up FB with privacy settings, submitting a post, responding to other students, and with information about word limits.

With the privacy challenges of social media and limited interconnectivity with the LMS, other platforms similar to FB used in nursing education may be more user-friendly. Discussions are but 1 option for using FB in nursing education. Ross19 described creating a case study "patient" who was a FB participant; students interacted with the patient via their FB page to complete assignments. Another option is to use FB for open-ended questions related to course content where students could actively participate in discussions using supporting course materials. These approaches also have potential to increase student interaction.

This article provides guidelines for discussions in FB as an alternative to LMS discussion boards. Although FB has the potential to increase student interaction and meeting course outcomes, implementing FB in nursing courses should be considered carefully based on time, resources, faculty and student proficiency in the platform, and, most importantly, how social media enhances the learning activity.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Elizabeth "Betty" K. Woodard, PhD, RN for her assistance with editing.

References