Abstract

The study of the impact of Facebook in academy has been mainly based on the qualitative evaluation of the academic performance and motivation of students. This work takes as starting point the use of the Facebook app Sigma in the Universidad Técnica de Ambato. Students of this university share educative resources through Sigma. This constitutes an informal learning process. We have proposed to construct Gamma, a tool for the generation of statistics and charts that illustrates the impact of the social network in the resulting learning process. This paper presents the results of the study of how Gamma is valued by those who like to do informal learning. It was checked that 1) Gamma gives feedback about the value of educative resources and social actions and that 2) it allows the quantitative measurement of the impact of using Facebook in the informal learning process. As an added value, Gamma supports the communication between supporters and detractors of the use of Facebook in the academia.