Descriptive Analysis of Curricular Activities Used in a Disciplinary Social Network Based on Mastodon: Iztasocial

Abstract

Mastodon is an open-source social network that allows users to create communities with a common interest. Using Mastodon, a Disciplinary Social Network (RSDis) has been created. It focuses on discussing psychology topics, called Iztasocial. It has been used by students and professors in the distance learning psychology program at UNAM, Mexico, since August 2020. Professors of this program used Iztasocial over five years in curricular activities which had not been previously documented. Thus, a course syllabus which groups together the most important elements about the use of Iztasocial as a teaching resource was created. 
The objective of this research is to describe and quantify the characteristics of the activities proposed by teachers who use the RSDis Iztasocial, using a course syllabus for this purpose. This was achieved by compiling 91 descriptive letters, sent by 12 teachers, which allowed the analysis of the information contained in their elements. It was found that 24 course syllabus belong to 8th semester subjects, and the most frequent type of activity was debates and discussions on psychology topics. Teachers used hashtags so that students could locate and post content related to each subject. 75.8 %, or 69 course syllabus, do use assessment methods, assigning weight to subject grades (between 5 % and 10 %), so the use of RSDis Iztasocial was mandatory for these students. 
It is concluded that Iztasocial has become a space that promotes interaction between teachers and students, but it is important to continue researching its academic use, especially to understand how to promote its use among students or teachers in this degree program and other schools.