Digital literacies, social media, and undergraduate learning: what do students think they need to know?

Abstract

This research addresses an identified need to further understand digital literacies (DL) and whether undergraduate students view DL as being important in their lives and in their learning. Using a cross-sectional survey sent to a stratified random sample of 2500 undergraduates representative of the overall student population at a medium-sized Canadian undergraduate university (survey response rate of 19.8%, N = 496), we explored the relationships between social media and digital literacies, particularly in different disciplinary contexts. We also explored the ways in which students report using social media in their university learning, showing that students value social media for collaboration, discussion, information finding and sharing, and practise activities related to their learning. Additionally, we examined the importance students place on DL, and how they perceive and rate their own abilities with digital literacies across three domains: procedural and technical, cognitive, and sociocultural. Findings illustrate an observable gap between the high importance that students place on digital literacies (including DL for social media) in their learning and their lives and the lack of coverage students reported receiving about these topics in their undergraduate education. Based on the study’s findings, we discuss the specific ways that those in the higher education community can address this gap by engaging with and fostering development of digital literacies within specific disciplinary and professional contexts, and in interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary learning settings across the curriculum.

From clicks to credits: examining the influence of online engagement and internet addiction on academic performance in Chinese universities

“…Existing literature on internet use and engagement underscores a focus on gender disparities and academic levels. While Smith and Storrs (2023) emphasize a bias towards undergraduate participants, Smith and Caruso (2010) delve into gender-specific engagement patterns, revealing variations in participation, communication styles, and preferences. Sun et al (2020) highlight gender differences in internet use patterns, prompting further exploration into their impact on online learning environments.…”

“…The distribution of participants across different study levels is consistent with the existing literature. This literature often reports a higher prevalence of undergraduate participants Jiang et al Int J Educ Technol High Educ (2024) 21:41 in studies involving large populations (Smith & Storrs, 2023). A significant majority of Chinese university students allocate 1-2 h (17.8%), 3-4 h (33.9%), and 5-6 h (20.9%) to internet usage daily.…”

Cultural Kaleidoscope in Digital Discourse: «create» and «destroy» Dynamics in Social Media Phraseology

“…Furthermore, E. Smith and H. Storrs (Smith & Storrs, 2023) examine the essential topic of undergraduate students' digital literacy (DL). Their study, which included 2500 undergraduates, revealed a large gap in students' digital literacy instruction, particularly in the context of social media.…”

Opportunities and Challenges of Hybrid Learning in Higher Education in Terms of Student’s Digital Literacy Capabilities

“…Research finding showed that the aplication of hybrid learning benefited the lecturers and also the students in some aspects; one of them is the students' improvement in grammar achievement and their digital literacy (Vonti & Rahmah, 2019). Students report using social media in their higher education learning, showing that students value social media for collaboration, discussion, information fnding and sharing, and practice activities related to their learning (Smith & Storrs, 2023).…”