When Engagement in Course-Related Social Media Leads to Better Course Self-Efficacy

Learners nowadays bring social media (SM) user’s knowledge to the classrooms with them. Many teachers (researchers, professors, instructors, and people in charge of the learning organizations in general) have to deal with the fact that individuals 1) sometimes adopt a mute behavior in classroom and 2) duplicate their offline social networks in SM spaces. Engagement in course-related SM groups leads to engagement into the course subject, that improves self-efficacy of the learners. This paper seeks to find out why individuals engage in course-related SM groups and how the SM engagement of silent students can mediate their self-efficacy. Results show that experiencing eudaimonism as an emotion and state of flow, positively affects the engagement in course-related SM groups. SM engagement positively affects students’ self-efficacy and mediates the negative effect of selective mutism. This research has implications for educational institutions as well as researchers in the e-learning fields

Making Space for Stories: Ambiguity in the Design of Personal Communication Systems

Pervasive personal communication technologies offer the potential for important social benefits for individual users, but also the potential for significant social difficulties and costs. In research on face-to-face social interaction, ambiguity is often identified as an important resource for resolving social difficulties. In this paper, we discuss two design cases of personal communication systems, one based on fieldwork of a commercial system and another based on an unrealized design concept. The cases illustrate how user behavior concerning a particular social difficulty, unexplained unresponsiveness, can be influenced by technological issues that result in interactional ambiguity. The cases also highlight the need to balance the utility of ambiguity against the utility of usability and communicative clarity.Comment: 10 page

Snapping Live: Exploring the Effects of Ephemerality Nature of Messaging in Social Media Settings

Ephemeral messaging apps such as Snapchat has become a very popular app with young adults. The Snapchat application defined as an instant messaging app that allows its users to take pictures, videos, add a captions, doodles and send the content to a friend or add it to the user’s story. Importantly, “the snaps” will self-destruct after a specified period of time. Further investigation regarding the effects of using ephemeral nature of messaging in Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) is explored in the theoretical framework of Hyperpersonal. This study was designed to examine the role of ephemeral nature of messaging in social media settings. Using responses from an online survey regarding Snapchat intensity, Self-Disclosure, Self- Presentation, Social Presence, Self-Destructing Messages and synchronous communication scales were examined. Direct relationships were examined with simple correlation. Finally, a complete model was tested using structural equation modeling. Results demonstrate that Snapchat users mainly share selfies that are mostly taken at home and primarily for communication with close friends and family. Also, results of SEM model indicate that Snapchat intensity was significantly related to Hyperpersonal communication (Walther, 1996). However, it was found that Social Presence, Ephemerality: Self-Destructing Messages scales are positive predictors of Ephemerality: Synchronicity. The findings are seen as an attempt to adapt the framework of Hyperpersonal theory (Walther, 1996). The results of the study will allow the researcher to better understand and measure the Ephemerality: Synchronicity and Hyperpersonal constructs as well as increase researchers understanding of the role of ephemerality nature of messaging in social media platforms

An activity theory investigation of tool-use in undergraduate mathematics

This mixed methods study investigates a number of aspects related to tool-use in undergraduate mathematics as seen from an Activity Theory perspective. The aims of this study include: identifying the tools that undergraduates use; seeking for an empirically-based typology of these tools; examining how undergraduates themselves can be profiled according to their tool-use; and finally identifying the factors influencing students tool preferences. By combining results from survey, interview and diary data analyses, it was found that undergraduates in the sample preferred using mostly tools related to their institution s practice (notes, textbooks, VLE), other students and online videos. All the tools students reported using were classified into five categories: peers; teachers; external online tools; the official textbook; and notes. Students in the sample were also classified into five distinct groups: those preferring interacting with peers when studying mathematics (peer-learning group); those favouring using online tools (online-learning group); those using all the tools available to them (blended-learning group); those using only textbooks (predominantly textbooks-learning group); and students using some of the tools available to them (selective-learning group). The main factor shaping students tool choices was found to be their exam-driven goals when examined from an individual s perspective or their institution s assessment related rules when adopting a wider perspective. Results of this study suggest that students blend their learning of mathematics by using a variety of tools and underlines that although undergraduates were found to be driven by exam-related goals, this is a result of the rules regulating how Higher Education Institutions (HEI) function and should not be attributed entirely as stemming from individuals practices. Assigning undergraduates exam- driven goals to their university s sociocultural environment, was made possible by combining two versions of Activity Theory (Leontiev and Engestrøm s) and analysing data at two different levels (individual and collective respectively)

When Communication Accommodation Backfires:Interpersonal Effects of Social Power and Linguistic Style Accommodation in Computer-Mediated-Communication

Within Communication Accommodation Theory, social power is an important influence upon the likelihood of accommodation in communicative behaviours. Across two studies, we explore if the influence of power extends to a non-conscious aspect of accommodation, linguistic style, and to computer mediated forms of communication. We manipulated social power experimentally to create a series of instant messaging conversations between high and low power participants. Low power induced greater likelihood of linguistic style accommodation, whilst in a low versus high power role (study 1) and when participants undertook both roles (study 2). Notably, linguistic style accommodation by individuals in a high power role ‘backfired’: greater accommodation was associated with a negative impression formed by their conversational partner. The results show robust effects of power in shaping language use across CMC. Further, the interpersonal effects of linguistic accommodation depend upon a complex interplay of social context, social norms, and the communication medium