Examination of the Conversations in a WhatsApp Group Created for Communication in a Bachelor’s Level Astronomy Course

Abstract

The aim of this research on an astronomy course is to examine the situations that arose when WhatsApp, a social media application, was used as a tool for cooperation and interaction. In this work, a case study design was adopted. The WhatsApp group created for the research was composed of 87 participants and the messages exchanged in the WhatsApp group were used as research documents. Data were analyzed through descriptive and content analysis methods. The sharing in the WhatsApp group and the topics of the messages were revealed in the content analysis. The research results showed that the students used the WhatsApp group as an interaction tool in an extracurricular environment. It was also determined that they used this platform in order to inform each other about daily events and share and discuss information.

“We are much closer here”: exploring the use of WhatsApp as a learning environment in a secondary school mathematics class

“…Saritepeci et al ( 2019 ) reported that the students used the WhatsApp group for information sharing and extracurricular activities. While Yuzbasioglu et al ( 2020 ) reported that the students increased their academic knowledge via exchanges in a WhatsApp group, Saritepeci et al ( 2019 ) emphasised that students’ learning in WhatsApp groups tend to be superficial rather than meaningful.…”

Metaphoric Perceptions of Teachers, Students, and Parents towards Social Media

“…Students consider social media valuable as it facilitates participation in class discussions (Neier & Zayer, 2015). WhatsApp, in particular, is one of the tools students use for extracurricular interaction and communication (Bozdemir Yuzbasioglu, Candan Helvaci, Ezberci Cevik, & Kurnaz, 2020). Online platforms are known to make language learning an easier, interactive, and interesting process (Faizi, El-Afia, & Chiheb, 2013).…”