Tutor 2.0: a moderation proposal in Social Networks

The communities of Italian university students are generally created institutionally as part of the Learning Management Systems of the academic organizations. Aided by the massive expansion of social networks among the younger generation, many groups are spontaneously opened by students on Facebook, while it is rare that such spaces are opened and moderated by a university Tutor. Some recent studies emphasize the complexity of managing in a functional way not only the communication stream, but also the production of contents. The aim of this case study, focusing on a Community of freshmen enrolled in the Early Childhood Education Degree course at the Catholic University of Brescia (2011 /12 academic year), is to advance a proposal of a moderation model in the 2.0 environment. The research methodology was based on the mixed method approach: 10 structured interviews were conducted with some members of the group, in addition to the analysis of 100 posts. The results bring out data about the usefulness of being part of a group created in an informal space and the importance of the role of the Tutor within the group, as a representative of the University.