UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA TO FOSTER MEANINGFUL INTERACTION BETWEEN AND AMONG TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Nafisa MahmoodCECS 6000Summer 2014University of North Texas

What is Social Media?

Social media can be defined as web-based communication technologies such as social networking sites (SNS), wikis, blogging, etc. that allow users to connect, create, and share content with other users (McEwan, 2012).

Introduction

▪ Research shows that anywhere between 85 and 99% of college students use Facebook (Junco, 2012).

▪ 40% of faculty utilize social media (Babson Research, 2013).

▪ Student spend large amount of time in social media.

Literature Review

▪Evolution of Social Media in Higher Education

▪Growing use of Social Media in Higher Education

▪Various use of Social Media in Higher Education

▪Effects of Social Media in Higher Education

Evolution of social media in higher education

Nature of Facebook users has evolved from strictly college student users to adults (teachers) (Hew, 2011).

The advantages of social media within education is encouraging educators (Joosten et al., 2013).

Growing use of Social Media in Higher Education

▪ Opportunities for student-teacher interactions on Facebook are increasing (Young, 2009)

▪ University communities are beginning to get saturated with social media (Joosten et al., 2013).

▪ Facebook has educational, social and technological affordances (Idris & Wang, 2009).

Various use of Social Media in Higher Education

▪ Facebook groups for cooperative learning (Danciu & Grosseck, 2011).

▪ Facebook wall can be used to post relevant article.

▪ Virtual Office Hours (VOH) in Facebook using private group.

▪ Facebook as discussion tool exclusively.

Effects of Social Media use in Higher Education

▪Grade Point Average (GPA).

▪ Attitudes of students towards teacher’s use of social media.

▪ Apprehension related to legal implications (Joosten et al., 2013).

Discussion

▪ General consensus is positive.

▪ Social media for large audience and announcements.

▪ Students more receptive than faculty.

Conclusion

▪Educators must develop skills and guidelines for students

▪Knowledge of privacy laws and regulation

▪ Lack of research on :–Social media as a LMS (Learning Management System)–Social media impact on student performance

References

▪ Danciu, E. & Grosseck, G. (2011). Social aspects of web 2.0 technologies: teaching or teachers ‘challenges? Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences15 (2011) 3768–3773

▪ Hew, K.F. (2011). Students’ and teachers’ use of Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 27 (2011) 662–676

▪ Joosten, T., Pasquini, L., & Harness, L. (2013). Guiding Social Media at Our Institutions. Planning for Higher Education, V41 N2, pp. 125-132

▪ Junco, R. (2012). The relationship between frequency of Facebook use, participation in Facebook activities, and student engagement. Computers & Education, Volume 58, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 162–171

▪ McEwan, B. (2012), Managing boundaries in the Web 2.0 classroom. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 131, 15–28.

▪ Quinn, D. M. (2003). Legal Issues in Educational Technology: Implications for School Leaders. Educational Administration Quarterly. 2003 39: 187

▪ Roblyer, M.D., McDaniel, M., Webb, M., Hermand, J., & Witty, J.V. (2010), Findings on Facebook in higher education: A comparison of college faculty and student uses and perceptions of social networking sites. Internet and Higher Education, 13, 134–140.

▪ Wang, Q., Woo, H. L, Quek, C.L., Yang, Y., & Liu, M. (2012). Using the Facebook group as a learning management system: An exploratory study. British Journal of Educational Technology, Vol 43 No 3 2012 428–438

▪ Young, J. R. (2009). How not to lose face on Facebook, for professors. Chronicle of Higher Education, 55(2), A1-A13