A Semi-Social Media Platform for Teacher-Student Communication: MyU vs. WhatsApp and E-mail

Abstract

In the era of digital communication, online communication has become an integral part of the teacher-student relationship. With the increasing use of online platforms, such as e-mail and instant messaging, teacher-student communication has shifted from traditional face-to-face interactions to a more virtual setting. This paper’s main objective is to identify the effectiveness of communication between university students and faculty members through the MyU application, compared with WhatsApp and e-mail. A sequential mixed-methods approach is adopted through qualitative semi-structured interviews (3 participants) and one focus group (5 participants), followed by a quantitative tool, an e-questionnaire filled by 365 university students who use MyU in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Key findings can be summarized as follows: (1) 70% have been using MyU for 1 to 4 years, 50% of which are students at Kuwait University; (2) 87% believe that one of the advantages of MyU is the ability to join the academic section group; (3) 67% stated that if they had to choose between using MyU and using WhatsApp to communicate with their teachers, they would choose MyU, compared to 92% who stated that if they had to choose between using MyU and using e-mail to communicate with their teachers, they would choose MyU; (4) 84% hope that all students and faculty members get to know about MyU; (5) there is a statistical relationship between the length of using MyU and the knowledge of MyU features, namely: choosing a profile picture, recording voice messages, blocking users, and the option of knowing if a message was read (in private chats). In conclusion, this work has broadened the scope of research on social media as a new means of teacher-student communication. Future studies should consider teachers’ experiences with MyU compared to other platforms and means of communication with students. Keywords: social media, teacher-student communication, MyU application, educational technologies, Saudi Arabia.