The Utilization of Social Media in the State Islamic Universities in Indonesia

This study aims to determine the trend of followers of each social media and the use of social media at four State Islamic Universities (UIN) in Indonesia. This study used a content analysis approach with data from websites. These documents could be downloaded from websites related to social media. The sample taken was four UIN which have relatively active social media in updating. Data validity was done by validating data internally as well as cross-data. The data analysis used interactive analysis and descriptive statistical analysis. Moreover, the results showed that the use of social media was varied. Facebook and Instagram were for academic activities, including promotion for prospective new students. It dominantly occurs in all research locations and is balanced with the content of national and religious activities.  Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui trend followers masing-masing media sosial, serta penggunaan media sosial di 4 Perguruan Tinggi Islam Negeri (UIN) di Indonesia yang fokus pada masing-masing pulau satu UIN. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan analisis isi dengan data dari website berupa dokumen yang dapat diunduh dari website yang berhubungan dengan media sosial. Sampel yang diambil adalah 4 UIN yang memiliki media sosial yang relatif aktif melakukan update. Validitas data dilakukan dengan validasi data secara internal maupun data silang. Analisis data menggunakan analisis interaktif dan analisis statistik deskriptif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan media sosial bervariasi, di Facebook dan Instagram untuk kegiatan akademik termasuk promosi untuk calon mahasiswa baru dominan terjadi di semua lokasi penelitian dan diimbangi dengan konten ucapan kegiatan nasional dan keagamaan.

Аналіз інструментарію інтернет розсилки для освітніх цілей

На основі аналізу наукових робіт визначено популярність та розвиток email маркетингу як одного з ефективних засобів комунікації. Наведено основні переваги email маркетингу. У дослідженні встановлено, що email маркетинг дозволяє ефективно вести комунікацію між освітніми закладами та майбутніми реципієнтами освітніх послуг. Визначено потребу у визначенні доцільного та ефективного інструментарію для здійснення інтернет розсилки. Робота присвячена аналізу та дослідженню функціональних можливостей інструментів для розсилки та конструкторів для створення електронних листів. У ході дослідження було визначено поняття «конструктора листів». Здійснено порівняльний аналіз з описом основних функцій, переваг та недоліків конструкторів листів Stripo, Tilda, Makemail, Beefree та сервісів розсилки листів Mailchimp, Unisender, E-sputnik, SendPulse. Визначено доцільне поєднання інструментарію для здійснення розсилки для освітніх цілей

An interactive decision-making model of international postgraduate student course choice.

This paper explores the decision-making process of international non-EU postgraduates when choosing a qualification from a UK business school and proposes a new model which reflects the iterative, cyclical and continuous nature of the process. The degree of rigour and rationality employed in decision-making was often limited and influenced by culture and the composition of the decision-making unit (DMU). A Decision Maker Typology is proposed which will support segmentation strategies. Postgraduates continuously searched for information and relied on word of mouth information from students, parents, agents and academic staff. Online sources (websites, search engines and reviews) were perceived uncritically to be trustworthy sources. Data on reputation, rankings and friendship groups helped form choice sets. Forty-two qualitative interviews were conducted with international postgraduates from one Post-92 University. The need to meet the information requirements of all DMU members and stimulate information exchange to create a virtuous circle of communication was identified

Blockchain Applications in Education: A Case Study in Lifelong Learning

This paper presents a pilot case study of the QualiChain project, aiming at supporting lifelong learning through the combined use of Smart Badges and personalised recommendations. The pilot case study uses Blockchain technology as a means to decentralise lifelong learning and provide lifelong learners with transparent and immutable educational accreditation. At the same time, lifelong learners are provided with personalised recommendations that help them reach their personal and professional learning goals

The Second Round: Diverse Paths Towards Software Engineering

In the extant literature, there has been discussion on the drivers and motivations of minorities to enter the software industry. For example, universities have invested in more diverse imagery for years to attract a more diverse pool of students. However, in our research, we consider whether we understand why students choose their current major and how they did in the beginning decided to apply to study software engineering. We were also interested in learning if there could be some signs that would help us in marketing to get more women into tech. We approached the topic via an online survey (N = 78) sent to the university students of software engineering in Finland. Our results show that, on average, women apply later to software engineering studies than men, with statistically significant differences between genders. Additionally, we found that marketing actions have different impacts based on gender: personal guidance in live events or platforms is most influential for women, whereas teachers and social media have a more significant impact on men. The results also indicate two main paths into the field: the traditional linear educational pathway and the adult career change pathway, each significantly varying by genderComment: 2024 ACMIEEE Workshop on Gender Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Software Engineering, April 20, 2024, Lisbon, Portuga

An Assessment of Students’ Preferences Using Social Media Platforms on Their Selection of Private Universities in Lebanon

This paper assesses the behavior of prospective students of private universities in Lebanon on social media platforms; classifies them according to the extent and the way they use these platforms, and investigates students’ preferences using social media to choose a private University. A quantitative approach was adopted using a structured questionnaire administered to a convenient sample of 527 students from private universities in Lebanon who responded willingly. Collected data were analyzed using the SPSS program employing descriptive statistics. The university sample consisted of six Lebanese Higher Education Institutions that belong to different socio-economic categories, diverse cultures, many geographic locations, and varying chronological seniority. Results showed the influence of university pages on these platforms on students’ decisions and their adoption as a primary source of information before making their choices. Universities were unsuccessful in providing an effective communication channel with students or enabling two-way communication and motivating participation in comments, content creation, sharing experiences related to the universities, or sharing posts from their pages. Authors recommend universities review their motivational schemes for students to interact on university platforms regarding access to information and communication. For marketing, it is necessary to hire qualified staff, and provide a consistent and updated policy

Using design-based research to develop a Mobile Learning Framework for Assessment Feedback

Students’ lack of engagement with their assessment feedback and the lack of dialogue and communication for feedback are some of the issues that affect educational institutions. Despite the affordance that mobile technologies could bring in terms of assessment feedback, research in this area is scarce. The main obstacle for research on mobile learning assessment feedback is the lack of a cohesive and unified mobile learning framework. This paper thus presents a Mobile Learning Framework for Assessment Feedback (MLFAF), developed using a design-based research approach. The framework emerged from the observation of, and reflection upon, the different stages of a research project that investigated the use of a mobile web application for summative and formative assessment feedback. MLFAF can be used as a foundation to study the requirements when developing and implementing wide-scale mobile learning initiatives that underpin longitudinal practices, as opposed to short-term practices. The paper also provides design considerations and implementation guidelines for the use of mobile technology in assessment feedback to increase student engagement and foster dialogic feedback communication channels

SOCIAL MEDIA AND STUDENTS’ CHOICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

Over the past decade, online social networks (OSN) have become ingrained in our daily lives. They have changed the way young people live and become one of the most important means of communication and entertainment. The use of social media by teens and young adults is on the rise. Higher education institutions recognise the value of social media as a tool of communication to provide information to target students and use its platforms to advertise their programmes to prospective students. Students also use Social Media and Facebook to access and analyse information to make informed study decisions. The current study examines how social media in general, and Facebook in particular, influences students' choice of study programme and Higher Education Institute (HEI). Quantitative research methods were employed as being most appropriate for this particular study. A total of 170 students from Oxford Business College (OBC), U.K., participated voluntarily in the survey; sixty-three (63) male and one hundred and seven (107) female students. All students completed a survey questionnaire based on four sections (A, B, C and D) comprising fifteen questions primarily based on the Likert scale. Simple descriptive statistics and SPSS were used to identify and analyse the factors students considered most important (influential) in their (the students’) choice of programme of study and HEI. The most popular social media site was Facebook, followed by Instagram. In regards to influence, Facebook seems to be more influential than other social media sites. It is also obvious that Facebook has been used as a marketing tool by the majority of HEIs. We do not make any claims regarding the generalisability of our study’s findings because of the small sample size and convenience sampling used in the study. However, the results generally support what is already known about the most popular social media site - Facebook - as having a positive influence on students’ choice of programme and Higher Education Institute. Article visualizations

A case study on the decentralisation of lifelong learning using blockchain technology

Blockchain technology provides a decentralised peer-to-peer infrastructure, supporting openness, transparency, accountability, identity management and trust. As such, the Blockchain has the potential to revolutionise education in a number of ways. Blockchain technology offers opportunities to thoroughly rethink how we find educational content and training services online, how we register and pay for them, as well as how we get accredited for what we have learned and how this accreditation affects our career trajectory. This paper explores a case study on the decentralisation of lifelong learning using Blockchain technology. In particular, we investigate the different scenarios and requirements for making online education and lifelong learning more open and decentralised, while placing lifelong learners in control of their learning process and its associated data. Additionally, we discuss various approaches to the Semantic Blockchain and the applications of these approaches on education

The Influence Of Social Media In Marketing Communication Strategies Towards Reputation Building Of Open University Malaysia (OUM)

The study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of social media as a marketing communication towards reputation building of Open University Malaysia (OUM). Based on the previous studies, three factors have been identified known as content, promotion and comprehensiveness of the information. The population of this study are the students of OUM and the sample size were taken from students in Bangi Learning Centre through convenience sampling technique. This study adopts a quantitative research method approach with result of 211 respondents. To analyse the data, multiple linear regression analysis was adopted in this study. The findings of the study have shown enough evidences to support the hypotheses. All three variables indicated significant results. Comprehensive information is the highest variable perceived by the respondents, followed by promotion and content towards the reputation building of OUM. The implication of the study brings more understanding on the importance of enhancing the content, promotion and comprehensive information in the OUM social media. This will lead towards increasing the student’s enrolment and improve OUM brand equity. The conclusion of this study can be used to strengthen OUM reputation in social media as an effective marketing tool hence becoming a source of reference for students to choose Open Distance Learning (ODL) institutions to pursue their studies.(Abstract by authors