Use of social networking in the Middle East: student perspectives in higher education

This study aims to determine the benefits, risks, awareness, cultural factors, and sustainability, allied to social networking (SN) use in the higher education (HE) sector in Middle Eastern countries, namely Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Using an online survey, 1180 complete responses were collected and analyzed using the statistical confirmatory factor analysis method. The use of SN in the Middle Eastern HE sector has the capacity to promote and motivate students to acquire professional and personal skills for their studies and future workplace; however, the use of SN by tertiary students is also associated with several risks: isolation, depression, privacy, and security. Furthermore, culture is influenced by using SN use, since some countries shifted from one dimension to another based on Hofstede's cultural framework. The study new findings are based on a sample at a specific point in time within a culture. The study findings encourage academics to include SN in unit activities and assessments to reap the benefits of SN, while taking steps to mitigate any risks that SN poses to students. Although other studies in the Middle East examined the use of Learning Management System and Facebook in, HE as a means of engaging students in discussions and communications, however, this study contributes a better understanding of the benefits and risks, awareness, culture, and sustainability, associated with the use of SN in the HE sector in the Middle East. Finally, the paper concludes with an acknowledgment of the study limitations and suggestions for future research

HOW PERSONAL RESPONSE SYSTEMS PROMOTE ACTIVE LEARNING IN SCIENCE EDUCATION?

This study examines the effect of using personal response system (PRS) on students’ academic performance and their attitude towards science. Three research questions were addressed in the study: (1) Is there any difference in academic achievement of 5th grade students when it is used PRS in science and technology courses? (2) Does PRS effect 5th graders’ attitudes towards science? (3) What are the 5th graders’ attitudes towards PRS use in the classroom? The results show that there is no difference in terms of achievement between pre-test and post-test scores in both groups. On the other hand, there is a positive difference on attitudes towards science on behalf of the experimental groups. In addition, boys were found to be more positive to PRS than girls based on the PRS attitude scale. The qualitative component involved focus group discussion with six students and an interview with the class teacher. Students are also observed while they were using the PRS in the classroom. Participants provided positive feedback regarding the use of PRS and requested the increase in use because they felt the use of PRS supported and improved their classroom learning, made the course more fun, and increased the course participation. They also enjoyed the peer discussions that instructors facilitated with regard to the use of PRS. The teacher was also positive about using PRS in his classroom

Adopting learning technologies: from belief to practice

A challenge faced by most heads of academic departments around the world is to manage the adoption and use of appropriate learning technologies in order to support the department’s learning offerings to students. Earlier research undertaken by the authors revealed that lecturers within the Department of Marketing and Retail Management at the University of South Africa believed a learning management system (LMS) to be the most appropriate technology to use. The experience of the Chair of Department, however, is that lecturers are using the university’s proprietary LMS, myUnisa, either to a limited extent or hardly at all. Consequently, further research was undertaken targeting the other Chairs of Departments and selected senior lecturers within the School of Management Sciences, to which the Department of Marketing and Retail Management belongs, in order to identify ways of increasing the use of myUnisa amongst lecturers.Marketing and Retail Managemen