**Author details**

of computerized instruction with tutor support accessible. In every Middle Eastern country, there are individuals with English fluency who would be able to assist citizens and refugees who need to learn English to facilitate marketplace employment. This is a second currently

Virtual Academy increases student access, individual achievement, and secondary graduation potential. It does not assign career paths. It does assist students in learning at their own speed. In the educational conditions existing in most of the refugee camps and remote locations, access to the internet, ipads, and electricity would be needed to operationalize such programs. However, the prototype, improvement of academic knowledge, and opportunity to increase student enrollment has educators encouraged with these multi-state and poten-

The academic achievement and learning conditions in most countries in the Middle East partially explain why unrest exists across the region. Failure to provide promised employment with a livable wage has frustrated thousands of government school graduates. They can see through media and technology how their lives might be. In order to supplement the low government salaries, most countries have solicited external funding from international organizations and other wealthy countries. Pacifying a large and growing population by paying salaries and subsidies from foreign funding is a precarious position at best. In order to control the unrest of the people, rulers have closed and censored internet access, maintained

Few countries have considered reorganizing their educational and economic systems in order to develop responsible citizens, prepare graduates to work in the marketplace, and prepare students with skills for upward mobility. This would mean a shift toward the demo-

Instead, many are expanding government education in order to admit refugees with the knowledge that the results will be low academic achievement scores. The pressure in all Middle Eastern countries with the exception of Saudi Arabia is how to employ thousands of refugees, children, youth and adults, without the facilities, teachers, and resources to do so. No country can afford to feed, house, provide health care, and educate hundreds of thousands of refugees. Refugees must be able to earn their own living. However, the high unemployment rate of citizen graduate government schools has shown the disinterest of local and international businesses in hiring native graduates. Furthermore, they are even more reluctant to hire refugees, if the refugees are allowed to work. Fortunately, the democratic goal of preparing youth to prepare for upward mobility appears to be innate in the graduate and refugee populations. The unemployed graduates and refugees will try to not starve. Their numbers will increase and will require external financial support for their survival. Informal education through the Internet, non-government agencies, international organizations, and apprenticeships can meet their needs to expediently enter the marketplace. Religious and

existing prototype.

12 Public Management and Administration

**3. Conclusion**

cratic goals.

tially multi-country opportunity for youth.

or expanded religious education, and solicited external funding.

government education is failing to help them get employed.

#### Judith Cochran

Address all correspondence to: cochranju@msx.umsl.edu

University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO, United States of America

### **References**


**Chapter 2**

**Provisional chapter**

**Facebook Tools and Digital Learning Achievements**

During recent years, there has been a significant increase in the usage of technological tools in general and in academic teaching in particular. Many programs have been developed, including online teaching and online courses, at educational institutions. In this chapter, we discuss the Facebook social network and its use at the University. The research shows that Facebook groups are used to facilitate communication between students, to foster a positive social climate, to create dialog, and to share learning material among group members. This chapter examines students' achievements and their satisfaction with the impact of the Facebook group on the academic course, in order to examine whether the use of Facebook groups in academic courses can improve course quality and

**Keywords:** Facebook, information resources, online courses, higher education,

It is evident that there is a new generation of students known as members of the "digital and network generation," who are surrounded by information and communication technologies that include Internet, smartphones, and mass media. Course Facebook groups are used to facilitate communications among students to foster a positive social climate in the classroom, to create dialog, to engage students, and to serve as a learning tool. This chapter examines the level of achievements of students and their satisfaction as part of an educational Facebook group.

The changes created by the technological age have had a great impact on universities. Many students now come to class equipped with laptops that offer great access to the Internet at any time, including during lectures. These mobile devices support students' active learning

**Facebook Tools and Digital Learning Achievements**

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.77189

Nitza Davidovitch and Margarita Belichenko

Nitza Davidovitch and Margarita Belichenko

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.77189

students' achievements.

structural analysis, digital learning

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**


#### **Facebook Tools and Digital Learning Achievements Facebook Tools and Digital Learning Achievements**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.77189

Nitza Davidovitch and Margarita Belichenko Nitza Davidovitch and Margarita Belichenko

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.77189

**Abstract**

[5] www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/02/10/press.freedom. midest/Feb 09, 2010

Erdoğan. In: Telegraph. London, England; April 20, 2015

The World Bank Group; www.worldbank.org/en/region/mena

8, 2013

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2017;**23**(3):32-55

Jordan; April 2013

August 16, 2016

2015

I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd.; 2007. p. 154

[16] World Bank Databank. New York; 2017

Middle East. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books; 2011

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[7] Akkoc R. Turkey's most powerful president since Ataturk: A profile of Recep Tayyip

[8] World Bank. Unemployment rates for youth 18-24 in middle eastern countries. Geneva:

[9] Cochran J. Israel: Divided by religion and education. Digest of Middle East Studies.

[10] Alon Y. The Making of Jordan: Tribes, Colonialism and the Modern Stat*e*. London:

[12] Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey, TIMSSandPRLS.bc.edu/timss;

[13] Akour M, Shannah R. Jordan educational reform for the market economy-supplemental project. Microthink Institute, Journal of Management Research. 2009;**4**(4):4-8

[14] Ii E. www.moe.gov.jo/uploads/ERfke/ERfKEII. Amman: The Hashemite Kingdom of

[15] Van Elsveld B. We are afraid for their future, barriers to education for Syrian refugee children in Jordan. In: Children's Division of Human Rights Watch Report. New York;

[17] Akerman Lior, Is Israel a democracy, Jerusalem post, Israel, Jerusalem; May 15, 2014

[18] Cochran J. Palestinian education throughout the Middle East. In: Democracy in the

[19] UNHRC. Global Focus. Islamic Republic of Iran; November 13, 2017. unhr.org/publications [20] UNWRA. Evaluation. unwra.org; November 17, 2017. unwra.org/publications/evaluation

[11] Program for International Science Achievement. 2015. nces.ed.gov/survey/pisa

During recent years, there has been a significant increase in the usage of technological tools in general and in academic teaching in particular. Many programs have been developed, including online teaching and online courses, at educational institutions. In this chapter, we discuss the Facebook social network and its use at the University. The research shows that Facebook groups are used to facilitate communication between students, to foster a positive social climate, to create dialog, and to share learning material among group members. This chapter examines students' achievements and their satisfaction with the impact of the Facebook group on the academic course, in order to examine whether the use of Facebook groups in academic courses can improve course quality and students' achievements.

**Keywords:** Facebook, information resources, online courses, higher education, structural analysis, digital learning

#### **1. Introduction**

It is evident that there is a new generation of students known as members of the "digital and network generation," who are surrounded by information and communication technologies that include Internet, smartphones, and mass media. Course Facebook groups are used to facilitate communications among students to foster a positive social climate in the classroom, to create dialog, to engage students, and to serve as a learning tool. This chapter examines the level of achievements of students and their satisfaction as part of an educational Facebook group.

The changes created by the technological age have had a great impact on universities. Many students now come to class equipped with laptops that offer great access to the Internet at any time, including during lectures. These mobile devices support students' active learning

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

and serve as substitutes for traditional classmates, creating a personal learning environment in the classroom and outside. The use of laptops allows students to be connected to learning resources even when they are not at the university, creating a learning continuum independent of time or place. In other words, even at home, students can continue learning continuously. The contribution of online instruction is reflected not only in the effective learning of students but also provides faculty with a rich and knowledgeable approach to the transfer of lesson content [1, 2]. It has been shown that lecturers who refer students to real and relevant information during class produce interesting and diverse learning experiences for their students [3].

The main uses of Facebook learning groups include posing questions about homework, test

Facebook Tools and Digital Learning Achievements http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.77189 17

As a tool of learning, Facebook has also reached universities. The ability of higher education to utilize social media to advance professional development, to expand institutional development, and to increase students' success is no less than revolutionary. A few decades ago, most students came from society's elite classes, but today, the student population has changed and students come from all levels of the population, increasing cultural diversity among students, with all the implications. In addition, today's students are digital natives: they have grown up into a reality with sophisticated technology, availability, and intensive use of mobile and social media. Despite the development of technology and the fact that every student now has a mobile device and a laptop, teaching methods in most academic courses have retained a traditional form. The students' learning environment must be updated to include classroom teaching and home tasks that utilize the capabilities of mobile media and social media [8].

Motivation refers to the process in which goal-oriented activities are energetic, directed, and sustained. A student's motivation was found to be a major factor in learning achievements. Other studies have explored basic questions such as how and why some students succeed in the learning process, while other students struggle to develop knowledge and cognitive resources necessary for academic success. Therefore, in designing a new learning environment that makes use of new technologies, the role of motivation must be taken into account. Researchers and educators have focused on new design projects, curriculum reforms, and

The penetration of social networks into everyday life has attracted the interest of many organizations and researchers to explore the influence of social networks on teaching and learning and has triggered efforts to use social networks for teaching and learning purposes. According to a learning process model developed by Biggs and Moore [10], the learning process contains

**1.** A well-structured knowledge base: The quality of the knowledge base is assessed by three characteristics: the quantity of knowledge, the quality of the organization of knowledge, and the accessibility of the knowledge. Anything that helps the student know more, organize the material in their minds or increases its accessibility, will improve the quality of

**2.** Motivational context: Certain conditions encourage students' intrinsic motivation. Two key conditions are clear goals and instructions, and a warm, positive climate that the

**3.** Interactions: Learning comprises three main interactions: teacher-student, student-student, and content-student, with an emphasis on the essential role of the teacher-student

innovative technological tools to raise motivation [9].

four key components that influence learning outputs:

**5. The learning process model**

students' knowledge base.

interaction in the teaching process.

teacher creates.

material, exams, and assignments, and sharing summaries uploaded by students [7].
