Social Media Use in Higher Education: Do Members of the Academy Recognize Any Advantages?
Keywords:
social media, higher education, faculty use of social media, effect of social media on learningAbstract
Existing research demonstrates that faculty in higher education are gradually relying more on social media to enhance instruction (e.g., Carpenter & Krutka, 2014; Jacquemin, Smelser, & Bernot, 2014). This study built upon this conclusion in two ways. First, the population of interest was expanded to include not only faculty, but researchers, administrators, and clinicians at a comprehensive university. Second, the study explored whether respondents perceived any change in student attitude or performance, in addition to advantages and disadvantages of social media use. Results of the study confirmed that, other than Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs and online forums, university members (especially researchers and clinicians) were slow to adopt social media for use in the workplace. Teachers and administrators were somewhat more active incorporating social media into their practices. The majority of respondents saw no change either positive or negative in their students’ communication skills. The one positive assessment noted that learner satisfaction and attitudes had slightly improved.
References
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Young, J. R. (2013). In a time of experimentation: Excitement and dread. Chronicle of Higher Education, 59(46), 60-64.
Andrade, A., Castro, C., & Ferreira, S. A. (2012). Cognitive communication 2.0 in higher education: To tweet or not to tweet? Electronic Journal of E-Learning, 10(3), 293-305. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ985431.pdf.
Carpenter, J. P., & Krutka, D. G. (2014). How and why educators use Twitter: A survey of the field. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 46(4), 414.
Charleson, D. & Lyal, M. (2014). The new communication: Using new and social media as a basis for instruction and assessment in higher education. Screen Education, 75(Sep 2014), 72-76. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=658890313267076;res=IELHSS/
Cheung, C. M., Chiu, P., & Lee, M. K. (2011). Online social networks: Why do students use Facebook? Computers in Human Behavior, 27, 1337-1343. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2010.07.028
Gonzalez, M. D., Davis, B. P., Lopez, D., Munoz, C., & Soto, G. (2013). Integration of social media in higher education environments. Insights to a Changing World Journal, 2013(3), 43-62.
Grosseck G., & Holotescu, C. (2009). Can we use Twitter for educational activities? Proceedings of the 4th International Scientific Conference: eLearning and Software for Education, Bucharest, Romania. Retrieved from http://adlunap.ro/eLSE_publications/papers/2008/015.-697.1.Grosseck%20Gabriela-Can%20we%20use.pdf.
Heiberger, G. & Junco, R. (2011). Meet your students where they are: Social media. NEA Higher Education Advocate. Retrieved from http://blog.reyjunco.com/pdf/HeibergerJuncoNEA.pdf.
Hewitt, A. & Forte, A. (2006). Crossing boundaries: Identity management and
student/faculty relationships on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30(3), 227-238.
Jacquemin, S. J., Smelser, L. K., & Bernot, M. J. (2014). Twitter in the higher education classroom: A student and faculty assessment of use and perception. Journal of College Science Teaching, 43(6), 22-27.
Katz, E. (1959). Mass communication research and the study of popular culture: An editorial note on a possible future for this journal. Studies in Public Communication, 2, 1-6.
Kennedy, B. & Funk, C. (2012). 28% of Americans are ‘strong’ early adopters of technology. FACTTANK~ News in the Numbers, July 12, 2016, Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/12/28-of-americans-are-strong-early-adopters-of-technology.
Lederer, K. (2012, January). Pros and cons of social media in the classroom. Campus
Technology. Retrieved from http://www.campustechnology.com/articles/2012/01/19/pros-and-cons-of-social-media-in-the-classroom.aspx?page=1
Mazer, J. P., Murphy, R. E., & Simonds, C. J. (2009). I’ll see you on “Facebook”: The effects of computer-mediated teacher self-disclosure on student motivation, affective learning, and classroom climate. Communication Education, 56(1), 1-17.
Nathan, L., & MacGougan, A. (2014). If not us, who? Social media policy and the iSchool classroom. Journal of Education for Library & Information Science, 55(2), 112-112. Retrieved March 16, 2015, from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1074308.
Neier, S., & Zayer, L. T. (2015). Students' perceptions and experiences of social media in higher education. Journal of Marketing Education, 37(3), 133-143.
Pempek, T. A., Yermolayeva, Y.A., & Calvert, S. L. (2009). College student’s social networking experiences on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30, 227-238. doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2008.12.010.
Pew Research Center (2016, October 18). Social media use by age group over time. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/data-trend/social-media/social-media-use-by-age-group.
Pomerantz, J., Hank, C., & Sugimoto, C. (2015). The state of social media policies in higher education. PLoS ONE, 10(5), e0127485. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127485.
Quain, B., Scales, M., & Whithem, C. (2014). A practical guide to giving students a competitive advantage for employment by teaching them social media tools. Consortium Journal of Hospitality & Tourism, 19(2), 17-34.
Riquelme, X. (2014). Social media and student support. Journal of The Australian & New Zealand Student Services Association, (44), 15-22.
Roblyer, M., McDaniel, M., Webb, M., Herman, 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. The Internet and Higher Education, 13(3), 134-140. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.03.002.
Short, J., Williams, E., & Christie, B. (1976). Theoretical approaches to differences between media. The Social Psychology of Telecommunication (pp. 61-76). London, New York: Wiley.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Subramanyan, V. (2013, August 15). Relevance of social media for universities. Business2Community. Retrieved from http://www.business2community.com/social-media/relevance-of-social-media-for-universities-0586454.
Wilson, C. D. (2013). Making Connections: Higher education meets social media. Change, 45(4), 51-57.
Young, J. R. (2013). In a time of experimentation: Excitement and dread. Chronicle of Higher Education, 59(46), 60-64.
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2018-05-31
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