“A real double-edged sword:” Undergraduate perceptions of social media in their learning

Smith, Erika E.

doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2016.09.009

Cited by 73 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…There is much debate about the ethical, pedagogical, and social ramifications of the increasing prominence of SNTs in classrooms and schools, both in popular media outlets as well as in academic literature (e.g., Chang-Kredl & Kozak, 2017;Fewkes & McCabe, 2012;Greenhow, Robelia & Hughes, 2009;Hew, 2011;Junco & Cotton, 2012;Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010;Smith, 2016). However, the majority of existing research has focused on adult, higher education (e.g., Deng & Tavares, 2013;Hew, 2011;Jones, Blackey, Fitzgibbon, & Chew, 2010;Junco & Cotton, 2012;Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010;Manca & Ranieri, 2016;Wang, Woo, Quek, Yang, & Liu, 2012), on researcher-initiated interventions (e.g., Puhl, Tsovaltzi, & Weinberger, 2015;Wang et al, 2012), or on the potential of such tools (e.g., DeGroot, Young, & VanSlette, 2015;Labus, Despotović-Zrakić, Radenković, Bogdanović, & Radenković, 2015;Roblyer, McDaniel, Webb, Herman & Witty, 2010;Teclehaimanot & Hickman, 2011).…”

Section: Teacher-student Social Network Technologies Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“WhatsApp, Teacher?” - Student Perspectives on Teacher-Student WhatsApp Interactions in Secondary Schools

Rosenberg

Asterhan

2018

JITE:Research

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Aim/Purpose: In this paper, we analyze the phenomenon of “classroom WhatsApp groups”, in which a teacher and students from a particular classroom interact with one another, while specifically focusing on the student perspective of these interactions. Background: The instant messaging application WhatsApp enables quick, interactive multimedia communication in closed groups, as well as one-on-one interactions between selected group members. Yet, very little is known about the extent, nature, and purposes of these practices, the limitations and affordances, the type of discourse and conflicts that develop in these spaces, and the extent to which it affects teacher-student interactions outside of WhatsApp (e.g., the social climate in class, the teacher’s status, teacher-student and student-student relations), especially from the students’ perspective. Methodology: Our methodology combines questionnaires, personal interviews, and focus groups with Israeli secondary school students (N = 88). Contribution: The present study adds to the expanding body of empirical research on social media use in educational settings by specifically focusing on a heretofore underexposed aspect, namely, secondary school student-teacher communication in the popular instant messaging application WhatsApp. We report on findings from the student perspective and discuss the advantages and limitations of this form of communication sphere, and on the social functions of the different classroom WhatsApp groups in secondary school students’ everyday life. Findings: The combined findings reveal that classroom WhatsApp groups have become a central channel of communication for school-related topics. It is used primarily for organizational purposes (sending and receiving updates and managing learning activities), as well as a means for teachers to enforce discipline. Students mentioned many advantages of WhatsApp communication, such as easy access, the ability to create communities, the ability to safeguard personal privacy, and the communication format (written, mediated, personal, or group). However, they also recognized limitations (i.e., communication overload) and challenged teacher ability to monitor and affect student interactions in social media, even when they are present in these WhatsApp classroom groups. Finally, we report on the role of parallel, sans-teacher WhatsApp groups, which are characterized as back stage discourse arenas that accompany the front stage offline classroom activities and the “official” classroom WhatsApp group. Recommendations for Practitioners: The combined findings of this study indicate how WhatsApp-based, joint teacher-student groups can serve a variety of educational purposes, namely, organizational, instructional, and educational-disciplinary. In addition, and in spite of teachers concerns, students are aware of the challenges inherent to the use of WhatsApp for communication with their teachers. Some of the main characteristics that prevent teachers from using other ubiquitous digital communication media, such as Facebook or Twitter, are not relevant when it comes to WhatsApp. Both teachers and students view WhatsApp as a favored channel of communication because of the low exposure to personal information and minimal invasion of privacy. Future Research: The qualitative methodology of this paper limits the ability to generalize the current findings to other contexts and population groups. Future research should preferably explore the generalizability of our findings to larger sections of teenage populations. It should also explore similarities and differences with other age groups. Finally, the present study was set in a particular country (Israel). Local norms of cellphone use and of appropriate teacher-student interaction, as well as locally developed media domestication patterns, may differ from country to country and/or from one cultural group to another. Future research should then include and compare the current findings with data from different countries and cultures in order to complete the picture.

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Section: Teacher-student Social Network Technologies Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“WhatsApp, Teacher?” - Student Perspectives on Teacher-Student WhatsApp Interactions in Secondary Schools

Rosenberg

Asterhan

2018

JITE:Research

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“…Throughout this study, undergraduates across disciplines often described social media as "a real double-edged sword" that can either help or hinder learning depending on the context, purpose, or intention of the interaction -in other words, depending on what can be afforded by the technology (Smith, 2016a;2016b). Willcockson and Phelps (2010) have defined an affordance as "the way a technology or software can be used and what it allows the user to do or not to do" (para.…”

Section: Affordances Of Social Media For Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Digital native arguments are often used as a warrant for adoption and integration of emerging web technologies, particularly social media technologies (SMTs) that fall under this umbrella of emerging technologies, in higher education settings (Smith, 2012;2016a). This study aims to move beyond the digital native debate by developing research-informed understandings of the ways in which Net generation students may perceive technologies, specifically social media, to be a meaningful part of their undergraduate learning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is up from 60% in 2013 and provides context for why just one in three students said they wish their instructors would use social media as a learning tool more, fewer than those who said they wish their instructors would use it less. (Dahlstrom & Bichsel, 2014, p. 12) Other recent studies have demonstrated students' separation of academic and social spheres, especially concerning technologies (Jones, Blackey, Fitzgibbon, & Chew, 2010), though further research is required to understand the reasons why and how this separation occurs, and how it impacts students' perceptions and uses of social media for learning (Smith, 2016a;2016b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social media in undergraduate learning: categories and characteristics

Smith

2017

Int J Educ Technol High Educ

Self Cite

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This study investigates the core categories and characteristics of the social media technologies (SMTs) that undergraduate students choose to use in their own learning, outside of the formal curriculum. Within a mixed method research methodology, this inquiry employed 30 semi-structured interviews and an online survey (N = 679) to explore why and how undergraduates across disciplines view SMTs to be a meaningful part of their own university learning. Together, the qualitative and quantitative results demonstrate that several contextual relationships exist, including an important relationship between the particular ways of meaning making students identified and the specific social media technologies they use for their university learning. While no differences were found for general social media use, there is a significant relationship between particular ways of making meaning and use of specific SMTs, indicating the importance of learning context and social media affordances.

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“…The majority of respondents, however, reported checking validity prior to incorporating information from websites into their learning materials. This reported behaviour indicates that students are able to separate their personal and professional use of social media to maintain and model professionalism, and retain their privacy [37]. Peer connection through social media was also reported by some respondents as enhancing opportunities for peer learning.…”

Section: Social Media As a Resource For Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying Opportunities to Integrate Digital Professionalism into Curriculum: A Comparison of Social Media Use by Health Profession Students at an Australian University in 2013 and 2016

2017

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Social media has become ubiquitous to modern life. Consequently, embedding digital professionalism into undergraduate health profession courses is now imperative and augmenting learning and teaching with mobile technology and social media on and off campus is a current curriculum focus. The aim of this study was to explore whether patterns of social media use for personal or informal learning by undergraduate health profession students enrolled at an Australian university across four campuses has changed over time. A previously validated online survey was administered in 2013 to a cohort of health profession students as part of an Australian survey. In 2016, the same survey was distributed to a later cohort of health profession students. Three open-ended questions to elicit descriptive information regarding the use of social media for study purposes were added to the later survey. A comparative analysis of both cohorts was undertaken and social media acceptance and penetration was shown to increase. Health profession students are now more interactive users of Facebook and Twitter, and they have become more familiar with career development sites, such as LinkedIn. The maturation of social media platforms within a three-year period has created realistic opportunities to integrate social media for personal and study purposes into the health profession education curriculum to ensure student understanding of the necessity for maintaining digital professionalism in the workplace.

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“A real double-edged sword:” Undergraduate perceptions of social media in their learning

Cited by 73 publications

References 23 publications

“WhatsApp, Teacher?” - Student Perspectives on Teacher-Student WhatsApp Interactions in Secondary Schools

“WhatsApp, Teacher?” - Student Perspectives on Teacher-Student WhatsApp Interactions in Secondary Schools

Social media in undergraduate learning: categories and characteristics

Identifying Opportunities to Integrate Digital Professionalism into Curriculum: A Comparison of Social Media Use by Health Profession Students at an Australian University in 2013 and 2016

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