The Effect of Social Media-Supported Learning on the Academic Achievement of Nursing Students and the Levels of Use of Social Media in Nursing Education: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Aim The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of social media-supported learning on the academic achievement of nursing students and the level of social media use in nursing education.Bacground: Social media in nursing education has an important place.Method The study had a RCT.CONSORTchecklist was used to guide the reporting of this RCT. Students were asked to fill out the necessary forms as a pre-test.The subject of parenteral drug administration was explained interactively to all students by the same instructors for a total of 12hours for3weeks.After the theoretical lesson, each skill was demonstrated by the instructor in the laboratory setting in a24-hour laboratory lesson with the demonstration method in line with the checklists.After the training was completed, the necessary forms were filled out by the students.Videos and informative images about parenteral drug applications were shared with the intervention group for 4weeks through an Instagram page that was created for social media-supported learning. Questions and answers were shared on the subject every day in the story section.The answer to the question was shared in the story section the next day with explanations.At the end of the 4th week of the training, the students were asked to fill out the necessary forms as a post-test.Results After social media-supported learning, it was found that the difference between the post-test mean scores of the nursing students in the intervention and control group was statistically significant(p < 0.001).It was also found that the average of the exam results after the training increased compared to the average of the exam results before the training and the difference between the two scores was statistically significant(p < 0.001).Conclusion It was concluded that social media-supported education had a positive effect on the academic achievements of nursing students and the level of social media use in nursing education.Relevancetoclinical practice: The use of social media in nursing education increases the permanence of education.