The Use of Social Media as a Platform in Education: Ramifications of COVID-19 in Iraq

Abstract

Social media applications have become a vital tool for human daily communication and are widely used in the education process worldwide. Regardless of the use of social media by some instructors as a personal initiative, in Iraq, social media's use for educational purposes has been neglected. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the world to implement online teaching using varying technology applications including social media as an essential tool in the learning process. This shifted the Iraqi government’s understanding of social media's role in education to the extent that they formally recommended that the educational departments, schools, universities use social media as a formal platform to keep the education going. However, there were concerns about using social media for several factors such as internet services, information and communication technology skills of instructors and students, integrity, and quality insurance of education. This study investigated the teachers' and students’ perceptions regarding these concerns by adopting a survey method through an online questionnaire using 'google forms' (N= 2010) with responses from teachers and students of universities and high schools and parents of students of basic schools. This study revealed that less than half of the respondents were in favor of using social media in the learning process. The findings suggested that the educational level, age, and geographical hierarchies and jobs of respondents are also correlated with using social media and e-learning.
 
 Received: 12 September 2020 / Accepted: 11 February 2021 / Published: 10 May 2021

From face-to-face to screen-to-screen instruction: Pakistani students’ experiences, challenges, and learning effectiveness

“…As for the first research question, this study finds that social media has been massively used as technological platforms to assist online teaching and learning activities in Pakistani higher education. The massive use of social media such as Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Twitter for educational purposes is not surprising since the users of social media in Pakistan reach 61.4% of the total population in the end of 2021 (Makki & Bali, 2021). By receiving such a great attention from users in Pakistan, social media surely becomes frequently-used platforms for conducting daily activities, including for educational purpose in terms of online teaching and learning.…”

“…At this moment, the use of digital technology for educational purposes has been urgently needed. In Pakistan, the integration of technology, particularly social media, has seemly been neglected except for the personal initiatives from some teachers who really enjoy using technology for teaching (Makki & Bali, 2021). The need of online learning as resulted by COVID-19 pandemic, then, foster the awareness of Pakistani teachers toward the importance of technology integration in education setting, particularly in higher education (Ali Ahmed et al, 2021).…”

“…The platforms have been tested in about three academic years in some universities in Pakistan, and it was the first trial by Pakistani higher education institution to adopt blended mode in daily learning activities (Mustafa Radif, 2019). Besides the e-learning platforms, social media receives an ample of attention from teachers and students as an alternative digital platform to assist digital learning environment (Makki & Bali, 2021). Since it is still at the time for trial and error, some obstacles including poor internet connectivity and access to digital equipment are encountered, particularly for students.…”

Technological Acceptance Model for Social Media Networking in e-Learning in Higher Educational Institutes

“…Teachers and students have been paying close attention to the Internet's impact on education in the last few years. Web 4.0 and Web 5.0 have sparked a new wave of interest and intrigue among internet users, especially those who use social networking sites on a regular basis [2]. Young adults, many of whom are in college, make up the majority of those who use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter [3].…”

Media Branding and Brand Management: Promotion Strategies of Ukrainian National TV Channels during COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The coronavirus pandemic has impacted all sectors: it has altered functioning of educational institutions (Makki & Bali, 2021); it has shaken strongly tourist business (Dimitrios, Christos, Ioannis, & Vasiliadis, 2020;Fernández-Bedoya, Meneses-La-Riva, & Suyo-Vega, 2021;Ocheni, Agba, Agba, & Eteng, 2020); it has forced state officials to reconsider state-governing practices (Machmud, Irawan, Karinda, Susilo, & Salahudin, 2021) as well as to review issues related to human rights (Rusi & Shqarri, 2020); it has kept in limbo show business and made celebrities look for alternative channels to maintain contact with their audiences (Chaiuk, Alyeksyeyeva, Borysovych, Karpova, & Gayevska, 2021). This study explores branding and brand management strategies employed by Ukrainian media companies in the national media market hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.…”