Enhancing Student Engagement Through Social Media A School of Business Case Study

While many universities have been deploying both electronic learning (eLearning) and social media applications for academic purposes, there is currently little research on the impact on their use on students’ overall learning experiences and associated learning possibilities. This paper elaborates on several online academic activities, such as Facebook, Twitter and quizzes for one classroom taught school of business undergraduate (UG) module. The similarities and differences discovered across all aspects of this paper’s research findings are examined against Chickering & Gamson’s (1987) seven principles of good practice teaching and Astin’s (1984) five tenets of engagement. Online activities were tracked over a period of one academic semester (fifteen weeks) and results insinuate that innovative and sustainable social media can indeed be utilised in higher education to enhance student learning and engagement

Academic Engagement Using Social Media: Revisiting the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge Framework in Higher Education Today

Research into the use of social media for academic purposes is increasingly emerging. Such research suggests that a social networking site (SNS) could be used as an innovative tool for teaching purposes. However, much of previous research has focused on outlining the experience of students and the empirical evidence to date reports how a SNS may develop a higher level of academic engagement amongst students. In addition, research in this field has overlooked review of the pedagogy involved in utilising a SNS for education purposes successfully. Previously, Koehler and Mishra (2009) proposed the TPACK framework to explore the relationship of technology in teaching which builds the basis for this research. This paper explores the suitability of the TPACK framework in the context of utilising SNSs and reviews its relevance to the adoption of a SNS as a teaching tool. Initial observations suggests that the current TPACK framework overlooks some important elements which are relevant to the adoption of SNS

An Exploration of the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) Framework: Utilising a Social Networking Site in Irish Higher Education

Research into the use of social media for academic purposes is growing. Much of it suggests that social networking sites (SNSs) could be used as innovative tools for teaching (Duncan & Baryzck, 2013; Harris, 2012; O’Brien & Glowatz, 2013). This paper argues that research in this field has often neglected to take account of the pedagogy involved in successfully utilising a SNS for educational purposes. Koehler & Mishra (2009) have proposed the technological, pedagogical and content knowledge framework (TPACK) to explore the relationship of technology to teaching in order to build the basis for further research. We explore the suitability of the TPACK framework in the context of SNSs for academic engagement, and we review its relevance to the adoption of a SNS as a teaching tool. Our investigation so far suggests that the current TPACK framework overlooks some important elements that are relevant to the adoption of SNSs. This paper outlines some of these overlooked elements and evaluates the use of the TPACK framework in the exploration of SNS usage in higher education to engage students with curriculum. Specifically, we address the key question, ‘Does the TPACK framework provide an insight into the knowledge base required to effectively deliver a module utilizing SNSs?

The Usefulness of Digital Badges in Higher Education: Exploring the Students’ Perspectives

Many students entering higher education (HE) today have never known life without the internet. By the time students enter HE, many have been exposed to playing digital games and consider them a very useful learning tool. However, utilising gamification for student engagement and student learning in HE has not been investigated thoroughly, and this paper attempts to contribute to this emerging field of study as suggested by Gibson et al. (2015) and Reid et al. (2015). A survey investigating the usefulness of digital badges for student learning and engagement was distributed to two hundred and fifty-seven (275) undergraduate students at the College of Business, University College Dublin. The results suggest that the incorporation of digital badges into a module is beneficial as they can help students organise their study, maintain and track their progress, and motivate them to engage with module content throughout the semester. The survey results also provide some evidence that digital badges can make a positive contribution to student engagement within a module, particularly where they are directly linked with the module assessment requirements. Overall, digital badges have the potential to be a highly effective pedagogical tool that can also positively impact on the learning experience more generally

Social Media In Use: Assessing The Impact Of Social Media Use In Irish Technology Start-Ups

After spectacular adoption of social media by individuals over the last decade, business use of social media has finally begun to catch up. The aim of this research is to develop a richer understanding of how Irish start-up organisations are utilising social media in order to gain sustainable competititve advantage in the global marketplace. A sample of ten Irish high tech start-ups is interviewed to identify both organisations\u27 primarily use of social media and associated challenges. The findings from this research provide strong evidence that Irish start-ups are using social media primarily for creating brand awareness and as an alternative sales channel. An analysis of the companies\u27 Twitter feeds also provides empirical evidence of how social media is being used by coding their tweets and developing a classification of the key functions of Twitter updates: Information, Interaction and Promotion. Our research also identifies main challenges faced by management administrating social medie initiatives. In conclusion, this research suggests a “best practice” model for start-ups engaging in social media

Utilising a Social Networking Site as an academic tool in an Academic Environment: Student Development from Information-Sharing to Collaboration and Innovation (ICI)

There is a scarcity of research regarding the possible academic uses of Social Networking Sites (SNSs), such as Facebook (FB). Much research focuses on the social or information student use.  This paper demonstrates how a SNS, in this case Facebook, can help increase a student’s academic engagement and develop synergistic knowledge. Engagement is understood as the effort and time a student invests in educational activities in or out of class, which are empirically related to college outcomes (Kuh, 2009). Engagement encompasses various aspects including interactions with faculty, involvement in co-curricular activities and peer interaction.   Building Pollara and Zhu’s (2011) observations that students believe online collaboration assists learning, this paper demonstrates synergistic knowledge development by students as a result of Facebook use on UCD’s ‘Business Information Systems Management’ module during one semester. Data was collected using student surveys, archival Facebook information and interviews with students. This student group are a less researched cohort regarding SNS usage: they are post-experience, part-time postgraduates. This study’s findings support Junco’s (2012) observation that some Facebook usage can be academically advantageous to students. The benefits here to using Facebook in teaching and learning also included the development of educational micro-communities as suggested by Bosch (2009). In our study, Facebook stimulated critical thinking and engagement in academic debate regarding the module material. The evidence here suggests that this SNS can allow for student engagement in a way that traditional educational environment cannot. This module promoted student engagement beyond just information-sharing, demonstrating high levels of student collaboration and synergistic knowledge development, and ultimately theoretical innovation with the module concepts. It also provides an insight into post-experience, postgraduate usage of SNSs.  The research questions were: -       Can Facebook be used as a learning tool to academically engage student? -       Can Facebook as an eLearning tool improve students’ learning experience

Academic Engagement and Technology: Revisiting the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge Framework (TPACK) in Higher Education (HE): The Academics’ Perspectives

Research into the use of innovative information and communications technology (ICT) for academic purposes is growing quickly. Much of the current research explores the opportunities presented by ICT and social media as innovative tools for teaching and enhancing student learning (O’Brien & Glowatz, 2013; Duncan & Barczyk, 2013). This paper suggests that the role of the academic in navigating the use of ICT in their teaching in Higher Education (HE) has been overlooked in discussions. Koehler and Mishra (2009) propose the technological, pedagogic and content knowledge (TPACK) framework to explore the relationship of technology in teaching. O’Brien and Glowatz (2013) investigate the suitability of the TPACK framework in the context of academic engagement in order to investigate its relevance for academics teaching in HE. This paper suggests elements of the teaching dynamic are overlooked and evaluates the use of the TPACK framework in the exploration of technology in higher education by academics. Specifically, the authors address the key question ‘How do academics currently make use of technology to teach at higher education?’

Facebook in an Academic Environment: Advancing Practice from Information-Sharing to Collaboration and Innovation (ICI)

This paper addresses the scarcity of research regarding academic uses of Social Networking Sites (SNS) by demonstrating how a SNS, in this case FB (FB), can engage students academically and help develop synergistic knowledge. The research primary research questions were: Can F acebook be used as a learning tool to academically engage student? Can F acebook as an eLearning tool improve students’ learning experience? Building Pollara and Zhu’s (2011) observations that students believe online collaboration assists learning, this paper demonstrates synergistic knowledge development by students as a result of incorporating FB into higher education. Data was collected using student surveys, archiva l FB information and interviews. This study’s findings support Junco’s (2012) observation that some FB usage can be advantageous to students. The benefits here to using FB in teaching and learning also included the development of educational micro-communities as suggested by Bosch (2009). In this study, FB stimulated critical thinking and engagement in academic debate regarding the module material. Students also engaged beyond just information-sharing, demonstrating high levels of student collaboration and synergistic knowledge development, and ultimately theoretical innovation with the module concepts

The Usefulness of Digital Badges in Higher Education - Exploring the Student Perspectives

Many students entering higher education (HE) today have never known life without the internet. By the time students enter HE, many have been exposed to playing digital games and consider them a very useful learning tool. However, utilising gamification for student engagement and student learning in HE has not been investigated thoroughly, and this paper attempts to contribute to this emerging field of study as suggested by Gibson et al. (2015) and Reid et al. (2015). A survey investigating the usefulness of digital badges for student learning and engagement was distributed to two hundred and fifty-seven (275) undergraduate students at the College of Business, University College Dublin. The results suggest that the incorporation of digital badges into a module is beneficial as they can help students organise their study, maintain and track their progress, and motivate them to engage with module content throughout the semester. The survey results also provide some evidence that digital badges can make a positive contribution to student engagement within a module, particularly where they are directly linked with the module assessment requirements. Overall, digital badges have the potential to be a highly effective pedagogical tool that can also positively impact on the learning experience more generally

The Usefulness of Digital Badges in Higher Education - Exploring the Student Perspectives

Many students entering higher education (HE) today have never known life without the internet. By the time students enter HE, many have been exposed to playing digital games and consider them a very useful learning tool. However, utilising gamification for student engagement and student learning in HE has not been investigated thoroughly, and this paper attempts to contribute to this emerging field of study as suggested by Gibson et al. (2015) and Reid et al. (2015). A survey investigating the usefulness of digital badges for student learning and engagement was distributed to two hundred and fifty-seven (275) undergraduate students at the College of Business, University College Dublin. The results suggest that the incorporation of digital badges into a module is beneficial as they can help students organise their study, maintain and track their progress, and motivate them to engage with module content throughout the semester. The survey results also provide some evidence that digital badges can make a positive contribution to student engagement within a module, particularly where they are directly linked with the module assessment requirements. Overall, digital badges have the potential to be a highly effective pedagogical tool that can also positively impact on the learning experience more generally