Using Social Network VKontakte for Studying Sociology

This paper describes an empirical study, which analyzes the quantitative data obtained from a survey by students at Kazakh Agro Technical University in Astana. The aim of our survey was to determine how the use of the social network VKontakte can help in studying the Sociology course. We studied the experience of use of social media in education systems of the former Soviet Union states. The results showed that the use of social networks for learning is still at an early stage of development. In September 2012 we created an educational group 'Sociology (Astana)' on the social network VKontakte. This social network is the most popular among students of Kazakhstan. We created five topics for seminars. After completion of the Sociology course, which lasted four months (from September to December 2012), we conducted a survey among 100 students. The survey data demonstrates that about a third of students had already used social network VKontakte for learning. Many students use not only personal computers for access to the educational group 'Sociology (Astana)' but also use mobile devices, in particular mobile phones. Students were actively involved in network discussions; they regularly added new comments, videos and other learning materials. Students noted that participation in the educational group VKontakte helped to develop a good relationship among classmates. The results of our study can be used by educators to further research work devoted to the use of social networks in Kazakhstani universities.