Barriers to the adoption of social technologies in higher education

The advantages of social technologies in education have been amply explored in recent research, but it is just as important to understand the drawbacks that come with the adoption of social media in learning and teaching. This paper draws on the review of literature on privacy, information security, trust, technology acceptance and other fields which help us gain an insight into why social media integration into pedagogy is slow while its proliferation into other areas is overwhelming. We report the findings of a survey of UK students on their social networking behaviour, privacy and information security concerns. Social technologies are viewed differently by the faculty, as emerged from our qualitative study of technology adoption. In order to gain a balanced insight into concerns about social media adoption in learning and teaching we present the student and instructor views. Further research directions and practical implications are discussed

Educators Perspectives on Integrating Social Media to the ESL Classroom

This article presents a study on the perspective of two higher education professors from Puerto Rico in the use of social media for the ESL classroom. It covers the millennial generation characteristics and its influence on the teaching and learning process at the university level. Several strategies within the use of social media and emergent technologies are presented. The study participants reflect on the use of social media in the classroom and present how beneficial it has been in student achievement, retention, and engagement. Several remarks are made within the use of social media for the classroom and participants expose their experiences in the ESL classroom at the university level

Barriers to the adoption of social technologies in higher education

The advantages of social technologies in education have been amply explored in recent research, but it is just as important to understand the drawbacks that come with the adoption of social media in learning and teaching. This paper draws on the review of literature on privacy, information security, trust, technology acceptance and other fields which help us gain an insight into why social media integration into pedagogy is slow while its proliferation into other areas is overwhelming. We report the findings of a survey of UK students on their social networking behaviour, privacy and information security concerns. Social technologies are viewed differently by the faculty, as emerged from our qualitative study of technology adoption. In order to gain a balanced insight into concerns about social media adoption in learning and teaching we present the student and instructor views. Further research directions and practical implications are discussed

#any use? What do we know about how teachers and doctors learn through social media use?

This scoping literature review describes the landscape of recent publications (2007-2016) about how teachers and doctors learn through social media to identify whether learning was being considered and, if so, how evidence was collected (N=162). Sixty-seven percent (N=108) were teacher-related and thirty-three percent (N=54) doctor-related, covering empirical studies, literature reviews, position articles and letters to academic journals. Empirical studies were dominant – ninety-one percent (N=98) of teacher-related and sixty-one percent (N=33) of doctor-related – with both fields dominated by in-course evaluations and use/attitude studies. Although doctor-related articles focused on professional online behaviour, rather than professional learning, conference communication and information evaluation were interesting areas of enquiry. Despite professional interest in social media in these professions, there is a dearth of academic studies about their benefits for teacher and doctor learning

Undergraduates Perception of Informal Personal Learning Environments: Affordances for Self-regulated Learning

Mental Models, informal representations of reality, provide an appealing explanation for the apparently non-rational decisions of users. Although users may be attempting to make secure decisions, the use of incomplete or incorrect information security mental models as a shortcut to decision making may lead to undesirable results. We describe mental models of Viruses and Hackers drawing on data from a survey of 609 adult computer users and link these to security behaviours and perceptions. We find that there are potentially just a small number of common security beliefs and suggest that accommodating these mental models during security design may be more beneficial to long-term security than expecting users to change to accommodate security requirements

Exploring students’ reflective writing on Facebook

[EN] According to our experience, facilitating online reflective writing via Facebook motivates students to improve their writing skills and reflective thinking. Six students and a teacher from an urban school in the northern region of Malaysia were involved in this study. The qualitative data in the form of online archives were categorized as reflection-in-action (feedback and self-correction) based on Garrison et al.'s (2000) cognitive presence. Additionally, reflection-on-action which comprised the students’ reflective journal demonstrated their thoughts and feelings while engaged in the Facebook environment. Data suggested that feedback only related to grammar and sentence structures (micro aspects). There was no feedback relating to organization and content (macro aspects). The reflective journal revealed that Facebook can be considered as a successful platform to enhance students’ narrative writing. The findings of this study have implications for teaching and learning activities in web-based environments.Annamalai, N.; Jaganathan, P. (2017). Exploring students’ reflective writing on Facebook. The EuroCALL Review. 25(2):3-17. doi:10.4995/eurocall.2017.7750SWORD31725

Utilizing Facebook And Instagram (Facegram) To Create A Digital Learning Program For Integrated English Skills

The objective of this study is the development of a digital educational tool for English language instruction by utilising social media platforms, specifically Facebook and Instagram. The ADDIE (Analyse, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate) paradigm, developed by Gagne et al. in 2005, was employed in the research and development (R&D) project under consideration. The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate the process of creating a digital learning module for Integrated English Skills (IIC) education by utilising social media posts from Facebook and Instagram (FaceGram). Facebook and Instagram, because to their nature as social media platforms, are perceived as attractive resources for the purpose of facilitating Integrated English Skills instruction. The utilisation of Facebook and Instagram as platforms for English language training is anticipated to undergo a transformative process, resulting in a pedagogical approach that is both intellectually stimulating and distinctively innovative. This study aims to enhance the four English language skills, namely writing, speaking, reading, and listening, through the utilisation of Facebook and Instagram posts as educational resources. This study aims to provide several illustrative instances of information sourced from Facebook and Instagram that can be effectively utilised for the purpose of instructing Integrated English Skills within the context of digital learning. The present study employed a survey methodology within the English Literature Programme at Universitas Negeri Makassar. The participants consisted of students enrolled in the Integrated English Skills course. The findings of this study could serve as a valuable resource for educators of English as a second language, enabling them to develop engaging and distinctive instructional materials

Inbound marketing strategy on social media and the generation of experiences in fast food consumers

Digital media has allowed restaurants to maintain their sales, positioning, and better relationships with consumers in adverse situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study seeks to determine the relationship between social networks as an inbound marketing tool and the generation of digital experiences in consumers of fast-food restaurants. This is a quantitative, correlational, and non-experimental analysis. The sample includes the most popular fast-food restaurants in Peru (Norky’s, Roky’s, and Kentucky Fried Chicken) that demonstrate significant presence in social networks and possess potential characteristics to provide customers with a positive experience. One hundred one respondents between 18 and 35 years of age, residents of Lima (Peru), and frequent consumers of fast food establishments were surveyed via Google Forms. The results were tabulated in MS Excel and the quantitative data analysis was performed with the IBM SPSS tool; descriptive and inferential statistics were applied and the correlation was obtained through Spearman’s coefficient. The findings highlighted that 61.39% of the respondents agree that the social network experiences of the restaurants influence their expectations; 47.5% react with likes and comments to the publications, and 63.4% recommend the restaurants thanks to the constant dissemination of their content. Finally, a significance level of less than 0.05 was obtained between the variables, demonstrating that one variable has a relationship with the other. The study concludes a moderate direct relationship between social networks as an inbound marketing strategy and the generation of digital experiences in the study group

La adicción de los estudiantes a las redes sociales on-line: un estudio en el contexto latinoamericano

Las redes sociales on-line (RSO) han significado una transformación en la manera de comunicarse y relacionarse con las personas, y han alcanzado una cierta presencia en el terreno educativo, siendo utilizadas como entorno para el trabajo colaborativo, medio alternativo de comunicación, aprendizaje de idiomas, plataforma o LMS para la formación virtual, y para la tutoría y asesoría de estudiantes. Adolescentes y jóvenes manejan las RSO como medios preferente para su comunicación e interacción, para extender sus relaciones, para localizar y demandar información, como elemento de diversión, como medio de convivencia y para la creación de nuevos lenguajes de comunicación. Por todas estas acciones, la finalidad de nuestro estudio es conocer y analizar el grado de adicción que jóvenes y adolescentes de diferentes países latinoamericanos presentan hacia las RSO. Para ello, se aplicó una adaptación de la escala de Sahin (2018) denominada “Social Media Addiction Scale-Student Form” (SMAS-SF) que fue contestada por 3223 jóvenes de Chile, Colombia, España, México, Perú y República Dominicana. Como resultados obtenidos, se observan diferencias significativas entre los jóvenes y adolescentes de los diferentes países encuestados, y además muestran fuertes signos de que a su juicio no son adictos a las mismas

Exploring the Roles of Social Participation in Mobile Social Media Learning: A Social Network Analysis

Social media is increasingly becoming an essential platform for social connectivity in our daily lives. The availability of mobile technology has further fueled its importance – making it a ubiquitous tool for social interaction. However, limited studies have been conducted to investigate roles of social participation in this field. Thus, the study investigates roles of social participation in mobile social media learning using the “ladder of participation and mastering.” Participants were students taking an educational technology course in a local university. The study was conducted in a four-month period. Data was collected from discussions while learning among the students a social media platform, Facebook groups, on mobile devices. The data was analyzed using a social network analysis tool, NodeXL. Data was analyzed based on egocentric networks, betweeness centrality, and closeness centrality. The findings revealed that there are four roles of social participation in mobile social media, which are: (i) lurkers; (ii) gradually mastering members/passive members; (iii) recognized members; and (iv) coaches. The findings also indicated that over the course of four months, learners can inter-change roles of social participation – becoming more central or less central in learning discussions. As a result, a roles of social participation continuum for mobile social media learning is proposed. Future research could be conducted in other fields to investigate whether the continuum produced could be used to understand the relationship between mobile social media learning and social participation roles