ROLE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FACULTY OF PEDAGOGY AND INNOVATIVE EDUCATION

Internet means have delineated non-geographical territories for communication and meeting. Their accessibility as well their mobility, are bringing people closer together through cyberspace. Internet enables a way of ubiquity for it makes physical borders invisible. This allows us to be in different virtual places simultaneously.

Social networks represent cyber scenarios for social interactions in which dynamic exchanges are performed in the Web. Networks are formed by people that share common needs and problems. For Digital Natives (DN) the issue of being active members of Networks appears to be a natural life fact. For DN personal motivations treated interactively in the Web are public matters too, which plays a determinant role in certain physical behaviors.

Among the students of the Faculty of Pedagogy and Innovative Education there may be several individuals that could be considered as Digital Natives. In this respect, it becomes a relevant matter to investigate about the influence that social networks imprint on the students´ school work and professional formation. The information generated in this study will make possible to reflect over the functional posture on the consideration that the young people´s immersion in the Web is futile, and on the other hand, that immersion in the Web is driven by evident individual motivations and habits that are motivated by the need of information and communication. Also, this study seeks to identify better strategies that allow the optimization of the available resources in order to establish an effective communication as well as to create appropriate environments for the young students´ development.