Is mobile instant messaging (MIM) useful in education? Examining its technological, pedagogical, and social affordances

Tang, Ying; Hew, Khe Foon

doi:10.1016/j.edurev.2017.05.001

Cited by 158 publications

(117 citation statements)

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“…Tang and Hew () argue that there is currently a growing obsession with smartphone applications, in particular instant messaging, which is probably the most popular, especially among young adults. Among such applications, WhatsApp is now leading the worldwide market by owning more than 1 billion customers in over 180 countries (https://www.whatsapp.com/about).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Participation in Distance Education Online Discussion Forums Using Social Network Analysis

Silva

Barbosa

Gomes

2018

Asso for Info Science & Tech

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Distance Education professionals have been constantly coming up with methods and techniques to increase student participation in an environment where learning happens continuously and asynchronously. An online discussion forum (ODF) is one of these mechanisms, but it will only be successful if students are willing to participate. Stimulating students is a challenge many institutions currently face. The objective of this study was to analyze the social interaction among participants in ODFs using Social Network Analysis. Knowing the characteristics of these networks and its participants is important to design actions to improve the use of ODFs. As a case study, data were collected from ODF logs of the majors in Business Administration and Accounting in a Brazilian private university. This study found out that these interaction networks are sparse, which shows that students could be more engaged in interacting and collaborating with others. Students, in general, tend to interact more in the first semester and interaction diminishes as time passes. The number of active ODF participants has been around 45–50%, which shows that students currently do not participate very often in ODFs. Their main incentive seems to exist when they are graded. Popular ODFs were also analyzed.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Participation in Distance Education Online Discussion Forums Using Social Network Analysis

Silva

Barbosa

Gomes

2018

Asso for Info Science & Tech

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“…It is important to notice that it is the rich use of these platforms that makes a difference for students and teachers alike (Mazana, 2018;Tang & Hew, 2017). Indeed, when limiting the use of these potentially rich online environments to include only academic-related discussions with teachers, no differences are observed in their use by students, compared to other (online or offline) alternatives (DeSchryver, Mishra, Koehleer, & Francis, 2009;Li & Pitts, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

WhatsApp is the Message: Out-of-Class Communication, Student-Teacher Relationship, and Classroom Environment

2019

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Aim/PurposeTo study associations between elementary-, middle-and high-school students' perceptions of classroom environment and student-teacher relationship and their out-of-class communication practices via WhatsApp app. BackgroundCommunication between students and teachers is usually extended beyond the classroom's time and space. This communication, referred to as out-of-class communication (OCC), may impact students' academic, social, and emotional development. Today, OCC is facilitated via social media and instant messaging services, which may have impact on its nature. MethodologyMethodology was quantitative in nature. Data was collected using an online questionnaire (implemented on Google Forms, http://forms.google.com , during June-July 2016. Participants (n=300), from 5th-12th grades (11-18 years old), were recruited in schools in a few Arab villages in northern Israel, with the assistance of their teachers. ContributionThe present study expands the growing body of knowledge about studentteacher communication via online social networks, specifically regarding out-ofclass communication. We identify the unique aspects of WhatsApp-based outof-class communication, which shed light on student-teacher relationship at large. Findings from this study may assist educators (while in training and/or professional development programs) to reflect upon their own educational agenda and to check if and how they and their students can benefit from OCC.WhatsApp is the Message 74Findings Overall, we identify WhatsApp's important, unique role in promoting good student-teacher relationship and positive classroom environment. Recommendations for PractitionersThe findings regarding the unique contribution of WhatsApp to studentteacher out-of-class communication should be taken into consideration by policy makers while formulating policies for the use of online social networks in educational settings. Teachers should be aware of the important role this type of communication plays for their students and for their classroom. Both teachers and students should communicate respectfully, with teachers serving as role models for their students regarding proper digital behavior. Recommendations for ResearchersThis study should be replicated to more populations and to more communication platforms, in order to validate its findings.Impact on Society The associations between out-of-class communication via online social networks and student-teacher relationship have two main effects on society at large. First, promoting better student-teacher communication could improve learning and teaching. Second, if this communication is to be carried out properly, the students -who are the future citizens -will learn how to behave correctly in the digital age. Future ResearchIt is advised to explore the studied associations in other populations and regarding other communication platforms. Also, qualitative exploration is advisable, as it may shed more light on the unique aspects of WhatsApp-based studentteacher out-of-class communication.

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“…Higher level of social presence contributes to stronger sense of community in online learning, and it is positively related to student participative behaviors and perceptions (Gunawardena & Zittle, 1997). Related to MIM use, studies have shown that it is easier to demonstrate social presence on MIM platforms compared to other forms of online communication, such as asynchronous online discussion forums (Tang & Hew, 2017). Two possible reasons were provided by previous studies: the easy expression of emotions with emotional icons in MIM applications Wang, Fang, Han and Chen (2016), and the possibility of immediate responses afforded by the notification function.…”

Section: Mobile Instant Messaging In Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tang and Hew (2017) reviewed extant related literature and summarized the following ways in which MIM was used academically: 1) Journaling: using MIM for self-reflection; 2) Dialogic: using MIM to conduct either structured or free-flow conversations among participants; 3) Transmissive: using MIM for information dissemination; 4) Constructionist with peer feedback: using MIM to facilitate co-constructing a meaningful learning product; 5) Helpline: using MIM as a helpline platform to answer students' questions; 6) Assessment: using MIM to conduct summative assessment. Among the six ways of using MIM for teaching and learning, the dialogic use of it was proven the most frequent (Tang & Hew, 2017). Facilitated by multiple technological affordances, including its multimodality, free-of-charge, flexibility and portability, MIM have provided channels for information flow and idea exchange that no other tools (e.g.…”

Section: Mobile Instant Messaging In Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Student Cognitive Presence in Small Group Collaboration Facilitated by Mobile Instant Messaging

Qiao

Tang

Hew

2018

International Journal of Educational Technology and Learning

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Cognitive presence describes the co-construction of knowledge in an online learning community. Few previous studies examined the development of cognitive presence in using mobile instant messaging (MIM) for academic purposes. Specifically, students nowadays set up small-size MIM discussion groups to work on group projects in higher education. No study has examined the establishment of cognitive presence in these small groups. This paper reports a multicase study, investigating three self-initiated discussion groups in higher education. Data were collected primarily from the online interactive records and students' semi-structured interviews. The Community of Inquiry framework was utilized as the guidance for coding process. The results show that students demonstrated cognitive presence in the group discussions, yet only 36% of the total messages contained indicators of cognitive presence. The majority (64%) of messages were on non-academic topics, such as greetings and casual social talks. In the interviews, we found students like using MIM for social purposes, but not for academic purposes, due to the social nature of MIM, the possible delayed responses, and the lack of -facilitators‖.

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Is mobile instant messaging (MIM) useful in education? Examining its technological, pedagogical, and social affordances

Cited by 158 publications

References 46 publications

Measuring Participation in Distance Education Online Discussion Forums Using Social Network Analysis

Measuring Participation in Distance Education Online Discussion Forums Using Social Network Analysis

WhatsApp is the Message: Out-of-Class Communication, Student-Teacher Relationship, and Classroom Environment

Student Cognitive Presence in Small Group Collaboration Facilitated by Mobile Instant Messaging

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