Role of social media tools in online teaching: perception of physiotherapy students and knowledge translation

Abstract

Background During the COVID-19 lockdown period many education institutions have shifted their focus from the traditional face-to-face education to online instruction mainly through various social media (SM) tools. However, it is not known if these results can be generalized across locations where infrastructure facilities are unevenly distributed. Further, no previous work has explored the role played by SM tools in knowledge translation. The objectives of this work are 1. To evaluate the students perceptions on the accessibility and acceptability of SM tools via an anonymous online survey and 2. Assess the efficacy of SM tools as an educational medium in imparting knowledge change. An online survey using an anonymous web-based questionnaire was conducted to assess the student’s accessibility and acceptability of SM tools as a direct information sharing pathway between the faculty and students. A randomized comparative design was utilized to evaluate knowledge change via an online examination administered 10 min before and after an online class delivered via 2 different SM platforms (Google meet, YouTube) and e-mail. Results Data were obtained from 627 participants through a survey. Though 71.1% of the respondents believed online classes have helped them in their study, only 21.4% and 22.6% of the participants strongly agreed that social networking platforms are helpful for teaching and will be used for teaching/learning in the future respectively. The ANOVA responses to evaluate knowledge transfer from 224 participants who were randomized to receive course content through Google meet, YouTube, and e-mail showed no significant differences in outcomes before and after the delivery of contents. Conclusion Our findings suggest that multiple external and internal factors need to be addressed before substituting classroom teaching with online teaching, especially during emergencies.

Using Online Discussion Forums to Enhance and Document Students’ Workplace Learning Experiences: A Semi-Private Emirati University’s Context

“…In this study, we collected and analyzed data from the online discussion forum employed to complement students' workplace learning in an internship course. Like previous studies, students' participation in the forum was encouraging as the collaborative cum nonthreatening platform allowed them to reflect and share learning experiences [6,15,48,49]. From our findings, students appreciated the orientation week in their various internship sites through the learning conversations on the system.…”

“…Further, it helps students develop and foster reflective and self-directed learning skills by critically analyzing issues and connecting them to real-life experiences at an appropriate pace [46]. In maximizing the benefits of online discussion in workplace learning, learning facilitators must incorporate multimedia into the adopted online forum that is secure, safe, inclusive, and promotes active interactions [47][48][49]. Additionally, educators must provide clear guidelines and monitor learning conversations through online discussion forums [50,51].…”

Association of ergonomics and musculoskeletal disorders among school teachers

“…The Online teaching trend came into fashion with the corona virus pandemic and calling for more tech-savvy attitudes and regular use of devices like smart phones and computers resulting in sedentary postures and body alignments leading to MSD symptoms in individuals, both the teachers and students interacted online for educational purposes, as partial opening of schools, and blended mode of teaching proved to be useful. Research has shown that using online platforms for learning interaction was achieved by whole-class combined video-/audio-based lessons which were one of the most frequently used ways, irrespective of the learning stage, and the arrangement done by teachers of combined text-based discussions depended on the learning level [5,6].…”

Students' Tips for Enhancing Writing Skills using Social Media in Pandemic Era

“…As a result, learning innovation is required to sustain global education development. This transition has been difficult for both teachers and students because it requires them to embrace the online teaching-learning process (Almaiah et al, 2020;Ganesh et al, 2022;Yuzulia, 2021). The teachers and the students must have strategies to achieve their goals.…”