Abstract:

Virtual teaching is increasingly included in our lives, above all after the events experienced worldwide in the last year due to COVID-19 pandemic. Virtuality has become the only tool available for teachers to approach students from any area and educational stage, including University. Social networks were born with the aim of bringing people closer in order to be “connected” with each other without the need to be present. Its use has increased over time and today there are different communication platforms, such as Instagram. Nowadays, this is a network also used to connect professionals and often used as a place for acquiring knowledge since “instagramers” share what they know with their followers. For this reason, Instagram can be a potential way to transmit knowledge, friendly for young people. These possibilities can be profited by university teachers as its design makes possible to display contents in a visual and attractive way, completing the teaching given by other methods.

On the other hand, the social networks used as a source of information are not always reliable. Depending on the knowledge of the sender of the message, information that is not entirely correct can be sent, and confusion or wrong ideas may be created in the population. These fake news can be dismantled through social networks by experts in the field and thus generate through them a place of reliable knowledge.

With these previous considerations, the main aim of this work is to improve the knowledge acquired by students from Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), through the use of Instagram as a communication platform.

The experience is implemented in subjects of the Pharmacy, Food Science and Technology and Human Nutrition and Dietetics Degrees of the UCM. A seminar has previously been held to recognize fake news. Then, students receive, by Instagram, real and false news related to food and nutrition field, in order to learn how to distinguish between the true and the false. Audiovisual materials are shared and students have to corroborate true ideas, or correct wrong messages. After this period, a test was made to the students to know the impact of the activity. The assessment has also been made by the teaching team in relation to the subjects involved.

This project is valued as a positive experience and it could be considered as one more way for the development of teaching, with an innovative and attractive character. In addition, this could constitute a first step to the use of social networks for nutritional education, not only at the university, but also at the population level.

References:
[1] Belanchea, D. Lozanob, N., Pérez-Ruedac, A. Instagram como herramienta de aprendizaje en el aula universitaria. V Congreso de Innovación educativa y Docencia en Red. IN-RED 2019. Valencia, 11 de julio de 2019.
[2] Al-Ali, S. (2014). Embracing the Selfie Craze: Exploring the Possible Use of Instagram as a Language mLearning Tool. Issues and Trends in Educational Technology, 2(2),. University of Arizona Libraries. Retrieved November 12, 2020 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/150766/.
© 2014 University of Arizona Libraries
[3] Instagram as an Education Platform for EFL Learners, Erarslan, Ali, Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology - TOJET, v18 n3 p54-69 Jul 2019

Keywords:

Network, instagram, fake news, virtual teaching.