The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Whatsapp in Collaborative Learning

Abstract

The advancement of technology can support people in doing everything for almost all human aspects. WhatsApp is a famous communication platform used by people in the world, especially young generations. Furthermore, students nowadays are aware of utilizing technology for enhancing their learning process. WhatsApp is the most platform used by students to do online collaborative learning. This study aimed to find out the advantages and disadvantages of the use of WhatsApp for online collaborative learning. This study performed qualitative research, which explored the use of WhatsApp in collaborative learning. This study conducted in the Faculty of Language and Arts especially the English Language Education Program at Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Salatiga, Central Java. The data collected by interviewing sixteen participants. The type of interview was a semi-structured interview. The interview session selected students from 2016 and 2017 who experienced online collaborative learning through WhatsApp. Based on the interview, the researcher found out some advantages and disadvantages of using WhatsApp for collaborative learning. The advantages were sending real-time messages, saving money, protecting the user’s privacy, having sophisticated features, chat history, effectiveness, and instant messenger. Meanwhile, the disadvantages were overflow messages, misconceptions, network connectivity, unfocused, and technical problem. Therefore, this study expected students to maximize the use of technology for academic purposes by considering the advantages and disadvantages of the application.