Responses to COVID-19 in Higher Education: Social Media Usage for Sustaining Formal Academic Communication in Developing Countries

Abstract

The worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 has forced higher education institutions to shift from face-to-face to online education. However, many public institutions, especially in developing countries, often do not have access to formal online learning management systems (LMS) for facilitating communication with students and/or among faculty members. This research empirically examines the extent to which social media sites are adopted by faculty members and students for sustaining formal, i.e., sole and official tools, academic communication. For this purpose, online questionnaire surveys, supplemented with in-depth interviews, were undertaken with both faculty members and students. The results showed that students’ personal usage of social media has promoted its effective usage for sustaining formal teaching and learning. However, significant differences were found between faculty members and students regarding social media usage for student support and building an online community. Students used social media for building an online community and supporting each other, whereas faculty members were focused on teaching and learning exclusively. The results confirm that proper usage of social media could promote a new era of social learning, social presence and an alternative platform to foster online learning. Research implications for higher education policymakers, especially in developing countries, and scholars are discussed.

Sustaining Language Skills Development of Pre-Service EFL Teachers despite the COVID-19 Interruption: A Case of Emergency Distance Education

“…In fact, various opportunities have been introduced to the field of education so as to continue education practices during emergency circumstances and maximize online platforms [13]. Considering higher education in particular, higher education institutions were forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to sustain education through online facilities instead of traditional face-to-face education in physical classrooms [14,15]. Thus, many universities rescheduled their academic calendars and started to utilize various methods to enable the continuity of the curricula through virtual campuses, the media, or other digital environments.…”

Development and Preliminary Validation of Social Media as an Educational and Professional Tool Student Perceptions Scale (SMEPT-SPS)

“…Third, in a context where the COVID-19 pandemic effects have redefined the education system [13], social media is a powerful channel through which to develop university classes and a pedagogical resource that can give sustainability to the educational system in the face of the future that will define the pandemic. Indeed, authors such as Sobaih et al [18] and Williamson et al [19] have pointed to the growing importance of online or hybrid educational methodologies. Therefore, SMEPT-SPS can be a valuable option to assess the educational impact of future educational experiences that rely on social-media inclusion in sports-management classes to create sustainable online learning environments.…”

“…Furthermore, in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media provides sustainability to the educational sector by giving it continuity through online learning environments, overcoming possible physical restrictions associated with social policies designed to stop spreading the COVID-19 disease. In fact, the pandemic has forced a shift from face-to-face learning to distance-learning methods [18,19]. Nevertheless, the United Nations [20] in the framework of the fourth sustainable development goal (e.g., "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all"), reports that distance learning remains out of reach for at least 500 million students.…”

Exploring the Impact of Online Teaching Method on Higher Education during COVID-19 Pandemic: Students’ and Teachers’ Perspective

“…COVID-19 has adverse effects on almost all the human activities of the world (Tria, 2020;Baadani and Abbas, 2020). But its impact on education remains unparalleled (Aristovnik et al;Sobaih, Hasanein & Elnasr, 2020). The unexpected closure of academic organizations affected the students mentally, physically, and socially (Miller, 2020).…”