Student Learning Through Social Media

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed an increased interest in using social media/social learning with online courses. Many students value the social aspects of their university education and hesitate to take online courses thinking them to be devoid of socialization. On the other hand questions have arisen with regard to privacy and instruction into the social dimension of students. This study examined the following questions: 1) Does social media and social learning promotes educational opportunities for improved student understanding? 2) Do students view social media as an asset to courses -does it enhance understanding and keep student engaged? 3) What do university students see as problems with the use of social media? An online survey was developed consisting of 34 questions relating to the demographics of the sampled 1376 university students and questions relating to the previously mentioned questions. Percentages, t-tests, and correlations were analyzed. Results found subtle nuances and interesting trends (as well as further questions), but overall the results indicated positive attitudes and confirm the value of using social media/social learning in online courses. The findings of the study also suggest implications for teaching improvement with online courses at the university level.

Using social media applications for educational outcomes in college teaching: A structural equation analysis

“…The use of social media applications in college teaching has theoretical basis from pedagogical theories and technology adoption theories. Pedagogical theories supports that social media applications can enrich student learning experience and improve educational outcomes (Redecker, Ala-Mutka & Punie, 2010;Taylor, King & Nelson, 2012). Technology adoption theories explain the cause and effect of different factors of social media such as Twitter and blogging as valuable contemporary curriculum content and learning experience (Ajjan & Hartshorne, 2008;Giannakos & Vlamos, 2012;Park, Nam & Cha, 2012).…”

Development of an integrated GIS and land use planning course: impacts of hybrid instructional methods

“…A review of the literature suggests that the most commonly applied method to assess the impacts of technologies on student performance is the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA; Blanchard et al, 1998;Herron et al, 2000;Mahdjoubi & A-Rahman, 2012;Zhang & Chawla, 2012;Zhang et al, 2006). Other frequently used methods included x 2 and Kruskal -Wallis test (Fagin & Wikle, 2011), and t-test (Taylor et al, 2012). Researchers have also used more advanced statistical methods such as linear regression model (Willson, 2008) and structural equation model (Huarng et al, 2010).…”

“…However, their applications in planning programs are rare. Note also that a number of studies have recently examined the impacts of using social media (Facebook, Twitter) (Jahan & Ahmed, 2012;Taylor, King, & Nelson, 2012), and Podcast (Kidd, 2012) on students' learning outcome. Since these are not the focus of this research, they are not discussed here in detail.…”

Higher Education Students’ Attitude Involving Cognitive Process in Using Social Media

“…Publishing and commenting on social media posts were among the strategies to receive inputs and find valuable information. In the activity, students socialized with experts like practitioners, professors, or other students to build interaction and better understanding [21]. By using social media of social networking, students had the opportunity to involve in social interaction by being in community groups or as the follower of professional groups that actively share ideas in the social media.…”