Credibility and Involvement of Social Media in Education—Recommendations for Mitigating the Negative Effects of the Pandemic among High School Students

Abstract

In the context of considerations on the potential attenuation of the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic with the use of credible social media in online education during a pandemic, the subject of our own research was the fulfillment of two goals. The main research goals were to identify, categorize, and evaluate the possibilities of using social media in online education during the pandemic from the perspective of selected teachers and students from secondary schools in Slovakia. The research methods of the first phase (qualitative) of the research involved brainstorming among nine secondary school teachers. The second research phase (quantitative) used a questionnaire, which was completed by 102 high school students from all over Slovakia. The collection of both quantitative and qualitative data was used in this research. The research results revealed the most representative opinions of teachers on the current and real possibilities of engaging credible social media in online education and the views of high school students on their desired use and involvement of social media in online education. The intersection of the two findings presents a picture of the possibilities of using credible social media in online education, which can help maintain students’ interest in online education during a pandemic. Based on these findings, it can be stated that the opinions identified in the research group of teachers correspond to a large extent with the desired use of social media in education from the perspective of students. In addition, however, students would welcome more opportunities to use and engage social media in today’s online education. The result of this research is an analysis of social media patterns applied to online education, which are of greater interest to students and could act as elements for reducing the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e., six forms of online education and 24 educational activities that could contribute, inter alia, to mitigating the different negative effects of the pandemic among youth generation. The findings also benefit from the presentation of many specific options and recommendations for the use of social media in online education during a pandemic.

Sustainable Development Goals in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review

“…Changes in the teaching process have usually been relevant to the stage of pandemic development [79]. The benefits of Information and Communication Media Technologies (ICMTs) have been widely studied and in educational contexts these are multiple.…”

“…The efforts of the education system were directed towards promoting partnerships with technology and data providers to give laptops and Internet access to the students who did not have these resources [85]. However, not only technical and curriculum support are key components for success, but well-being and affective support are also determinant factors influencing education success [79,86]. These issues can be developed through the encouragement of a feeling of belonging and identification with the University, so the students have certainty that they are going to be supported and pushed to achieve their degree [87].…”

“…Specific training methods should address sustainability as a goal for future graduates [78]. Education also has a very significant role to play in preventing the academic community from suffering psychological diseases due to their isolation and lack of socialization, so there is a need to promote contingency plans in case of a pandemic, that fosters both offline and online approaches in case they are needed [79,81]. In Europe, some studies are being carried out which develop a novel method of education of the elderly, such as promoting the quality of life of the students of the newly created U3As in Belarus and Ukraine, which have copied the Polish model.…”

Urban-Rural Dichotomy of Quality of Life

“…The aforementioned works of researchers [11,27,30,[54][55][56][57][58][59], as well as other organizations-Aspen Institute [57], and Municipalities in the Data [50] cannot be easily compared because the urban-rural dichotomy of the QOL in Czechia was investigated by different methodologies, and different subjects formed the units of research. Nevertheless, we present them because the findings that link them are meaningful:…”

Sociodemographic and Digital Education Factors Are Associated to General Health, Coping Strategies, and Academic Outcomes of Undergraduate Students during the Post-Pandemic Period

“…For example, online teaching practices may have more serious implications for the academic outcomes of students attending courses requiring practical training [ 34 ] than those in which training in practical skills is not required [ 35 ]. Moreover, recent research has highlighted that the integration of credible social media use in online learning may attenuate the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of both teachers and students [ 36 ]. The online learning-related difficulties encountered during the pandemic have been classified by Baticulon et al [ 37 ] into personal, community, technological, familiar, and institutional categories.…”