Taking social media to a university classroom: teaching and learning using Twitter and blogs

Abstract

Social media has taken many sectors including the higher education by storm. However, with wide spread fears that social media may be a distractor to pedagogy, this paper investigated how social media facilitates teaching and learning. Unlike most prior studies which relied much on soliciting mere views from students and lecturers about their intentions to use or not to use social media, this study incorporated Twitter and blogs into two undergraduate courses offered in the Department of Library and Information Science at Mzuzu University which is a public university in Malawi. Data were collected in two ways: first, analysis of blog and Twitter posts by students and second, a questionnaire was sent to 64 students to find out their perception towards the use of blogs and Twitter in a classroom environment. Results suggest that if appropriately deployed, Twitter and blogs are catalysts for the much hyped learner-centred approach to teaching because using these technologies, it emerged that students shared and discussed course materials, posted their course reflections and interacted amongst themselves and with their lecturer 24/7. Challenges faced include cost of internet data bundles, inaccessible Wi-Fi, poor bandwidths and insufficient computers.

Factors affecting the use of social media in the learning process

“…This is about 62.8% of all respondents. This observation agrees with other studies which concluded that social media could comfortably facilitate the learning process for college students, if used appropriately (Chawinga 2017;Odom et al 2013;Qureshi, Raza & Whitty 2014).…”

“…Regardless of the negative experience that users of social media may have experienced, a well-planned use brings positive benefits to the society (Chawinga 2017;Jovanovic & Chiong 2012). One of the areas to be benefited is the learning process.…”

“…Accordingly, the study by Chawinga (2017) investigated how social media facilitated teaching and learning. The study by Chawinga (2017) was an extension of the earlier study on how Twitter can be integrated into the learning environment of African institutions (Chawinga 2016). Both studies concentrated on the process of integrating social media to learning environment.…”

“…Furthermore, factors that influence the adoption of social media in the learning process are not universal. Since the use of social media may extend academic discussions (related activities) beyond physical classrooms, they can become a powerful tool in enhancing the goal of the government for increasing enrolment, while enhancing the quality of higher education (Chawinga 2017;Chawinga & Zozie 2016). Therefore, it is important to understand their usefulness and how they can be enhanced in the Tanzanian environment.…”

Understanding student use of twitter and online forums in higher education

“…Firstly, learners report that its use is beneficial because of increased connectedness with other learners meaning that they are less reliant on the lecturer, indicative of Twitter supporting independent learning (Chawinga 2017;Dhir et al 2013). Secondly, it allows learners to participate effectively in course discussion (Chawinga 2017) by creating i) continuous and transparent communication between practitioners and learners ii) information learning and communication iii) social and transparent group work, and iv) a space for learners to express views without restriction (Dhir et al 2013). Thirdly, and similar to forums, Twitter results in rapid responses (Chawinga 2017;Ricoy and Feliz 2016).…”