SELF-CONSCIOUSLY CLEVER: AN EXPLORATORY SURVEY ON THE USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS AT THE UNIVERSITY

Social networks are a noteworthy opportunity to build a more caring and responsible society, a practice that is assimilated by learning to use the Web in a conscious way. The media competence takes the form of expertise both to active participation to the Web and to society. The focus is on the need to acquire the know-how to exploit the media, with particular reference to social networks, in a clever way so as to meke them intelligent instruments (Rheingold, 2013). From an educational point of view, social networks offer a different potential because they are able to support the functions of socialization, of sharing and of coordination (Anderson, 2009); to encourage dialogue, promote resources sharing and improve the development of communication skills (Siemens and Weller, 2011); to support learning by facilitating peer support in the performance of tasks (Greenhow, 2011); to consolidate both cognitive and mnemonic development thanks to structural and quantitative correspondence between synaptic networks and social networks (Kanai et al., 2011). The main critical issues arise from the contrast between the patterns of use of social networks in formal educational settings and their use within the informal educational settings (Halverson, 2011). As to the relationship between social networks and the teaching/learning processes, on the one hand there is an urgent need to use them to increase intelligence as well as to find the most effective solutions to complex problems, on the other hand it is necessary to learn how to do so consciously, critically, with respect and responsibility. The present work documents an exploratory survey on the critical and conscious use of social networks at the university. The survey carried out during the academic year 2015- 2016, involved 967 students from the University of Palermo. The research aimed to explore whether and how students actually use social networks; moreover, it explored on how future teachers and educators can guide the young towards a conscious and critical use of social networks. The tools used for the study were: a questionnaire specially constructed and validated, a brain-based test (EAC), and a focus group. The results reveal Keywords: social networks, universities, media competence, intelligence avenues of research and interesting application areas.