For some years now it is alleged, that it would be foolish to ignore the great opportunities, the Social Web offers to education (Wheeler 2009) and that Social Media enables participation and helps people to build knowledge bases that perfectly fit their needs (Owen 2006). International textbooks on web 2.0-based learning (Lee & McLoughlin 2011) within institutions on the one hand and monographs about the “Challenges of a Participatory Culture” (Jenkins et al. 2010) on the other hand claim a more or less dramatic turn in education, society and in lifelong learning. Some colleagues are talking about “Pedagogy 2.0” (McLoughlin & Lee 2011). Other skeptic voices, e.g. Neil Selwyn, point out, that neither school (Selwyn 2011) nor informal adult learning (Selwyn 2005) in UK has changed fundamentally. And Buckingham has noted the unfulfilled promises of technological change (2007). The ongoing question is, if learning in the age of digital culture is just another circle of “hype, hope and disappointment?” (Gouseti 2010).

The aims of our study were (1) to construct a clear picture of the failures of implementing Social Media in different educational settings and (2) to critically discuss the attempts to reduce unintended side-effects concerning equal educational opportunities. 

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