The Educational Use of WhatsApp

The mobile phone has become the preferred means of communication, especially among young people, and there are many teachers who are committed to introducing it as a resource in their classrooms. Therefore, the objective of this work was to describe the educational uses of WhatsApp. The methodology was a systematic review of published work on the subject, based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and similar phases in the process. The sample was made up of 192 papers, which shows the large amount of research that has gone into the subject. WhatsApp's educational use comes from the creation of groups-students alone or including the teacher. It is applied in both formal and informal education in all educational stages and in numerous subjects. It is also related to improvements in active learning, decision-making, and motivation, in addition to skills related to efficiency, planning, and time organization. Although the application was not designed for the educational environment, its advantages have shown it to be an adequate educational and support resource in teaching and learning at all educational stages.

Automated summary

The mobile phone, especially among young people, has become the preferred means of communication, and many teachers are committed to incorporating it as a resource in their classrooms. This study aimed to describe the educational uses of WhatsApp and found that it is widely used in both formal and informal education, across different subjects and educational stages. It has been shown to improve active learning, decision-making, motivation, as well as skills related to efficiency, planning, and time organization. Despite not being designed for educational purposes, WhatsApp has proven to be an effective educational and support resource for teaching and learning.