University Students’ Perceptions of Social Media as a Learning Tool
Keywords:
Social media, learning, student perception, student preference, social media tools, gender differenceAbstract
This study aims to investigate university students’ perceptions of social media as a learning tool. Data were collected using a specially designed survey during the academic year 2013/2014 at King Abdulaziz University (KAU). The sample size was 2,605 students of different ages and genders representing various KAU colleges. The results indicate that a moderate majority of KAU students are using social media tools in their learning and have the desire to integrate social media as a tool in their learning at university. The paper also reports gender significant differences on preferred social media tools and purposes of social media usage. The findings support the advantages of social media in learning and do not indicate any obvious disadvantages. Such findings can encourage academic planners and instructors to adopt and implement social media tools in the learning context.
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Wang, Q., Chen, W., & Liang, Y. (2011). The Effects of Social Media on College Students. (MBA Student Scholarship), Johnson & Wales University. Retrieved from http://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=mba_student
Ahmed, I., & Qazi, T. (2011). A Look Out for Academic Impacts of Social Networking Sites (SNSs): A Student Based Perspective. African Journal of Business Management, 5(12), 5022–5031.
Alshareef, M. (2013). Evaluate Student Satisfaction for Social Learning Network at King Abdulaziz University. Advances in Internet of Things, 3, 41–44.
Chen, B., & Bryer, T. (2012). Investigating Instructional Strategies for Using Social Media in Formal and Informal Learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13(1).
Ellison, N., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The Benefits of Facebook “Friends”: Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143–1168.
Guimaraes, T. (2014). Revealed: The Demographic Trends For Every Social Network. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/2014-social-media-demographics-update-2014-9.
Junco, R., Merson, D., & Salter, D. W. (2010). The Effect of Gender, Ethnicity, and Income on College Students' Use of Communication. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 13(6).
Liu, Y. (2010). Social Media Tools as a Learning Resource. Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange, 3(1), 101–114.
Mazman, S. G., & Usluel, Y. K. (2011). Gender Differences in Using Social Networks, Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 10(2), 133-139.
Pempek, T. A., Yermolayeva, Y. A., & Calvert, S. L. (2009). College Students' Social Networking Experiences on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30(3), 227–238.
Sheskin, D. J. (2011). Handbook of Parametric and Nonparametric Statistical Procedures. Boca Raton, Florida: Chapman and Hall/CRC.
Thompson, S. H., & Lougheed, E. (2012). Frazzled by Facebook? An exploratory study of gender differences in social network communication among undergraduate men and women. College Student Journal, 46(1), 88-98.
Valjataga, T., Pata, K., & Tammets, K. (2011). Considering Students’ Perspectives on Personal and Distributed Learning Environments in Course Design: Applying Social Informatics for Tertiary Teaching Information Science Reference. New York: Hershey.
Wang, Q., Chen, W., & Liang, Y. (2011). The Effects of Social Media on College Students. (MBA Student Scholarship), Johnson & Wales University. Retrieved from http://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=mba_student
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2016-05-31
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