Utilization of social media for different business purposes: A social media age?

The utilization of social networking sites (SNSs) and social networking information (SNI) as parts of broader social media (SM) for various business purposes and practices have gained substantive importance from the academicians and practitioners in recent years. This paper theoretically aims to highlight some of such utilization based on published papers. We carefully selected 132 such papers from “Google Scholar” searching for most frequently used keywords such as SM, SNS, SNI, business, human resource management (HRM), marketing, branding, talent search & acquisition, recruitment & selection etc. After reviewing those papers, we identified that, in general, SM is an increasingly used platform for different business purposes. We anticipate that, despite of several flaws, SNSs will continue to gain momentous attention of all types of users in upcoming years creating a social media based business world. We are hopeful that the paper will be useful for the academicians, practitioners and policymakers from a number of viewpoints

Hamish the Coo

The antics of Hamish the Co

From tweeting to tweetposium. So what? A reflection.

In this reflection, a learner shares their experience of engaging with other like-minded individuals in the online higher education community, @SocMedHE. Furthermore, how engaging the community has enabled their development from observing from a distance to active participation (e.g. #SocMedHE20 tweeposium) and subsequently using that knowledge and experience for other online activities

Accessibility Matters: Supporting Inclusive Social Media in Academic Libraries

While visual content provides a fun and expressive outlet for people, the experience isn’t the same for everyone, particularly when it comes to social media. For a large portion of the population, some kinds of content are inaccessible. The Open University’s mission is to be open to people, places, methods, and ideas, and this means that a commitment to equality is embedded in all that we do, including our social media activity. People of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities study with The OU – for instance, 30,791 students declaring a disability studied with us in 2019/20 – so it is crucial that we consider inclusive design practices on social media to benefit as many people as possible. This reflective piece will look at the journey taken by the OU Library’s Engagement and Insight team to create an ‘Inclusive & Accessible Social Media’ guide, that can be shared amongst other academic libraries and beyond, to help them also use social media in a way that promotes diversity, equality, and inclusion. If the effort is made to make content inclusive and accessible, then more people can enjoy it, feel connected with it, and engage with it

Social Media as a Pedagogical Tool in Class: Tiktok Case Study

Social media has been an ever-growing medium with the expansion of multiple platforms and user adoption around the globe. According to Hootsuite’s Annual Digital Data Report for the year 2022, there are 4.62 billion users of social media across the globe, with a 10.1% increase from the subsequent year.  This paper aims to explore Tiktok platform as a pedagogical tool for learning in the classroom for University Students in an "Online Behavior Class" at the American University in Cairo. Results show that Gen-Z University students indeed prefer integrating social media to their educational experience, and even prefer expressing through short video content over other assessment alternatives. Beyond that, short video content creation allowed them to express more creatively, and also reflecting on the class curriculum through using short video content production, was a more effective method of material reflection than other reflective methods

Computer Science Educators’ Use of Twitter for Conference Engagements: A Grounded Theory Analysis

This study explored how computer science education community used Twitter as a conference backchannel. Using Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology, four themes and ten categories emerged. These themes are: Promote Scholarship; Connect, Promote and Extend the Research Community; Engage in Professional Learning; Humanise the Conference Space. Participants using the conference backchannel contributed to the scholarly discourse, extended the reach of the conferences they attended. They benefitted from various discourses, gained publicity, engaged in networking opportunities, enhanced their own professional learning while extending care for other participants. The findings of this study have implications for the computer science education research community. The study provides insights to organisers on how to extend and enhance conference experiences. For researchers, attendees and users of research output, the study demonstrates tangible benefits of connecting, networking and professional learning. For those responsible for assessing researchers’ contribution to scholarship, this study highlights researchers’ engagement in public scholarship. Opportunities for future research are identified

Using Learning Management Systems to Scaffold Collaborative and Interactive Teaching and Learning

The Sustainable Development Goal 4 of the United Nations advocates for inclusive and equitable quality education for all despite the unique circumstances faced by the learners and the teachers. Such circumstances could be economic, social or natural such as the COVID-19 Pandemic, which led to disruptions on the school calendar. Although several institutions of Higher Learning transited to online teaching using Learning Management Systems (LMS), the use of technology in ensuring interactivity and collaboration, which are crucial aspects of learning, needs to be examined more closely to establish its effectiveness. Given the fact that COVID -19 will be with us in the unforeseeable future, online teaching is here to stay. It is thus imperative to improve it so that the quality of education is not compromised. Previous research has shown the importance of Technology, Pedagogy and Content knowledge in effective delivery. LMS and related tools have been used to change the view of technology in the classroom, and the facilitator’s role is being re-evaluated. Successful facilitators look for innovative ways to scaffold the learning process. Instructional scaffolding is the process of supporting students in order to enhance learning and aid in the mastery of tasks. The aim of this study was to establish how LMS tools are used to improve collaboration and interaction in online teaching. The objectives were to establish which LMS tools are used to aid in interactivity and collaboration, how these tools are used to scaffold the teaching and learning process and how different elements interact to complete the scaffolding process. This study used a qualitative methodology where two virtual focus groups consisting of faculty and students in online graduate courses were used to review the scaffolding process.  The findings were analyzed qualitatively and the results indicate that synchronous and asynchronous tools found in LMS and their plugins are used to scaffold collaboration and interaction. LMS tools were found to improve learning outcomes and to build a sense of community. The need for flexibility and the ability for LMS to be integrated with other tools and plugins was identified as crucial. The study established the need for both learners and faculty to be trained on the use of the tools was proposed as an additional requirement for the success of the scaffolding process. &nbsp

Social Media Usage and Coping Strategies among University of Ghana Undergraduate Students

The emergence of the internet has propelled the influence of social media among tertiary students all over the world. This study investigates the effect of social media on the academic lives of University of Ghana undergraduate students as well as their coping strategies in dealing with the social media pressures. By relying on a mixed method approach and a sample of 420 students from the University of Ghana, the study shows that WhatsApp is the mostly used social media platform among University of Ghana students for academic purposes. Also, the study showed that social media platforms are often used to communicate with their family and friends rather than for academic purposes. While the use of social media positively impacted on academic performance through research, the study also showed that it impacts negatively on academic lives given its addictive nature. Thus, to cope with this effect, the study revealed that respondents prefer to put off their mobile data or WiFi when studying. It is recommended that the University of Ghana must embark on sensitization to educate students on how to balance their studies with social media usage so that they can use the internet productively

\u27In it together\u27: “In it together”: Staff-Student Facebook groups promote collaborative learning and formation of a cohort identity

Facebook has the potential to be used as an educational tool that supports the formation of a cohort identity, improving engagement which can potentially positively impact on retention and performance. An in-house initiative created staff-maintained Facebook groups for each cohort within the Psychology suite of programmes, utilising staff engagement to add an additional learning resource for students during the duration of their course. The groups were positively received by 99% of students, showing that students immensely valued the additional learning resource available to them. Thematic analysis revealed key positive themes sense of community and support, ease of communication and the breaking down of barriers between staff and students; key negative themes involved concern around the potential for students to miss out on a valuable resource. The staff-maintained Facebook groups achieved their aim of creating a socially-oriented learning space that fostered a sense of community and cohort identity; the groups have been integrated into the permanent provision within the School of Psychology. This type of initiative has the potential to improve engagement, performance and retention in a world where blended learning is increasingly utilised