scholarly journals The Use of Internet-Based Social Media as a Tool in Enhancing Student’s Learning Experiences in Biological Sciences

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maribel Beltran Cruz ◽  
Shannen Belle B. Cruz

<p>This study explored the use of social media as a tool in enhancing student’s learning experiences, by using online instruction as a supplement to a face-to-face general education course, such as biological sciences. Survey data were collected from 186 students who were enrolled in a Biological Sciences course. The course was taught in a blended format using Facebook and Edmodo online social networks. A four point Likert scale was used to interpret the data collected. Findings indicated that, when traditional face-to-face instruction was combined with online components, students’ learning was enhanced. Findings from this study indicate that students had better experience, better engagement, and appreciated both the social learning experience gave by the online social network. Results revealed that students through student-student interaction and student-teacher interaction enhance their own experiences and improved their learning ability. The findings were used as bases in developing new practices and methodologies involving social networking tools for learning. Moreover, findings were used to design a blended format syllabus and blended learning guidelines.</p>

Author(s):  
George Veletsianos ◽  
Cesar Navarrete

<p>While the potential of social networking sites to contribute to educational endeavors is highlighted by researchers and practitioners alike, empirical evidence on the use of such sites for formal online learning is scant. To fill this gap in the literature, we present a case study of learners’ perspectives and experiences in an online course taught using the Elgg online social network. Findings from this study indicate that learners enjoyed and appreciated both the social learning experience afforded by the online social network and supported one another in their learning, enhancing their own and other students’ experiences. Conversely, results also indicate that students limited their participation to course-related and graded activities, exhibiting little use of social networking and sharing. Additionally, learners needed support in managing the expanded amount of information available to them and devised strategies and “workarounds” to manage their time and participation.<br /><strong></strong></p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Rahmat Yusny ◽  
Fitria Rizki ◽  
Ika Kana Trisnawati ◽  
Mulia Mulia

Given the intensified number of online learning activities and having inadequate knowledge to identify the details of how it was organized within increased students’ language learning ability; this study focused on identifying the students’ perceptions of learning in two different situations. This study investigated how students perceived working in a new learning mode (online learning activity) compared to the traditional or face-to-face learning mode (offline learning activity) in regards to the learning frameworks, including the depth and comprehensiveness of learning, appropriate length for learning, comfortability of learning, and flexibility of learning. Ten students were selected to be the participants of the current study; all of whom were sixth and eighth semester students at the Department of English Language Education of Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh. They were served by several questions related to their experiences working on two different learning modes. The findings revealed that working in offline learning mode was still the common preference among the students and only a few of them preferred online learning. Even more interesting was the finding of one or two students who perceived no differences between participating in offline and online class learning activities. In addition, the findings also indicated that interaction between the course instructors and students still becomes a prominent element on the students’ satisfaction and comfort of learning. The students also suggested that the keys to their satisfactory learning experiences are access to learning materials and to their class instructors. To conclude, this study also provides new insights on what matters the most to the students’ learning experiences with respect to the current online learning trend. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 12248
Author(s):  
Hanadi Mohamed AbdelSalam ◽  
Maura A. E. Pilotti ◽  
Omar J. El-Moussa

The present study was driven by the assumption that a key feature of sustainable education is its ability to preserve standards of quality even amid unforeseen, potentially disruptive events. It asked whether students’ academic success in math general education courses differed between synchronous online (during the COVID-19 pandemic) and face-to-face (before the pandemic), under the ancillary assumption that computational competency, a pillar of sustainable education, shapes enduring success in a variety of professional fields. As the early identification of at-risk students and ensuing remedial interventions can bring about academic success, the study also investigated the predictive validity of students’ initial performance in online and face-to-face math courses. Two general education courses (introductory calculus and statistics), taught by the same instructor, were selected. Class grades did not differ between instructional modes, thereby providing no evidence for the widespread concern that the switch to the online mode had damaged learning. Yet, during the semester, test and homework performance were differentially sensitive to modes of instruction. Furthermore, both test and homework performance during the first half of the semester predicted class grades in online courses, whereas only test performance predicted class grades in face-to-face courses. These results suggest that sustainable math education in times of crisis is feasible and that educators’ consideration of the differential predictive value of test and homework performance may aid its attainment.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Aloundeth Panekham

<p>The purpose of this study is to explore how university students and lecturers use social media to support their learning and particularly to understand how such emerging technologies usage impacts student learning experience and class communication. In this research, social media tools under consideration are social networking sites, media sharing sites, creation and publishing tools, social bookmarking, and the Internet messaging.  This research employed purposive selection to obtain the quality of data from semi-structured interviews of twelve students and four lecturers from the Victoria University of Wellington who are known to have experience of using social media tools in their courses.  The study identified two major usages of social media to support learning activities, five key usage activities for students and four major usage activities for lecturers. Students’ choices and usages of social media applications were more diverse compared to the lecturers. The usages and preferences of students from different disciplines were varied. Moreover, there were numbers of social media interactions and communication among the students and their peers. Even though the interaction and communication between students and lecturers through social media was minimum due to the limited uses of social media for formal learning in class by lecturers and students, the lecturers and students expressed that the usage of social media helped improve class communication. Students’ engagement was only area that affected by social media choices and communication using social media by lecturers. The choices and communication by students would affect greater and wider aspects of student learning experience such as learning ability, communication and collaboration, problem solving, access to information, and productivity. Even though the usage of social media to support learning by students and lecturers did not impact student learning experience equally, the findings suggest that it helps facilitate learning activities, benefit students, and enhance the student learning experience to some extent.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 92-116
Author(s):  
Syed Shah Alam ◽  
Chieh-Yu Lin ◽  
Mohd Helmi Ali ◽  
Nor Asiah Omar ◽  
Mohammad Masukujjaman

Most businesses have online social media presence; therefore, understanding of working adult's perception on buying through online social networks is vital. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of perceived value, sociability, usability, perceived risk, trust, and e-word-of-mouth on buying intention through online social network sites. The research model for this study was developed based on the literature on information system research. This study adopted convenient sampling of non-probability sampling procedure. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaire, and PLS-based path analysis was used to analyse responses. The findings of the study shows that perceived value, sociability, usability, e-word-of-mouth, attitude, and subjective norm are significant constructs of buying intention through online social networks. This research can serve as a starting point for online shopping research through online social media while encouraging further exploration and integration addition adoption constructs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 025576142098621
Author(s):  
Sum Yi Lei ◽  
Dickson K.W. Chiu ◽  
Mavis Man-wai Lung ◽  
Cheuk Ting Chan

With the rapid development of information communication technology, social media has become a necessary part of people’s daily life. Recently, many music teachers have applied social media to augment their classes and enhance their teaching. This article explores the use of social media for musical instrument education, with a focus on the violin and piano. A qualitative semi-structured interview was conducted with eight music teachers from music centers and studios. Our participants revealed that social media creates a virtual environment to extend (but not to replace) face-to-face instruction, which facilities knowledge sharing, arouses students’ interest, and supports communication. For pedagogy, social media helps students improve musical instrument playing techniques (e.g., posture, fingering, and rhythm) and musical styles. Drawbacks of applying social media are mainly the quality of content, difficulties in differentiating subtle differences (e.g., intonation), and inadequate talent of some students. Therefore, teachers need to pay attention to these issues and use social media to develop a better educating environment for individual learners.


Author(s):  
Courtney Page-Tan

AbstractHurricane Harvey was social media's first real stress test as a disaster response and recovery mechanism. A confluence of conditions makes it an ideal case study of social media's role in disaster recovery: the lack of a government-issued evacuation order, a call from government leadership for willing and able volunteers with a boat or high-water vehicle to perform life-saving rescues, and wide-spread adoption of social media platforms in the Houston area. While research on online social networks and disasters continues to grow, social scientists know little about how these online networks transform during a crisis and, further, how they drive disaster outcomes. With two original datasets, this study investigates how Houston's online social network transformed during Hurricane Harvey (2017), and the relationship between social media activity and post-Harvey recovery. The findings of a social network analysis (N= 2,387,610) and subsequent statistical analyses reveal the Houston-area online social network grew denser, clustered, and more efficient during the disaster. A spatial analysis and three separate regression models of activity before, during, and after Hurricane Harvey reveal that among 333 Nextdoor Neighborhoods, hyperlocal social media activity was a statistically significant predictor of the rate of rebuilding in these geographically based online communities. These findings suggest that policy and decision-makers should invest into online and offline hyperlocal social networks well before a disaster strikes, and leverage resources and legislation to maintain and strengthen the telecommunications and energy infrastructure that supports access to social media and telecommunications infrastructure during a time of crisis.


Author(s):  
Ioana Rontu ◽  
Mohammed Moshirpour ◽  
Sepideh Afkhami Goli ◽  
Fatemeh Sharifi ◽  
Ehsan Mohammadi

Advancements in information technology has given rise to a new flipped learning environment that is increasingly used at post-secondary institutions. This new pedagogical approach provides a personalized learning experience by accommodating different students’ learning styles. Students interact with the course material prior to attending scheduled face-to-face instruction, where learning is reinforced by working through examples and application problems. This paper provides a practical guiding framework for the collaboration and coordination of multiple instructors in a flipped delivery course style, based upon a literature review, qualitative research, and experience. We used a qualitative approach using a questionnaire to gather lessons learned and suggestions from instructors. The responses were analyzed to extract common themes which were mapped to create a conceptual framework for successful multi-instructor flipped course delivery. Recommendations are made as per three chronological sequences of before, during and after the course offering. The framework aims to support the planning, implementation and evaluation stages of organizing and managing a multi-instructor flipped course. This paper stresses the importance of the teaching team proactively completing the planning and design of course components before the start of the course. Quantitative student feedback received from the fall 2018 course offering in Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary is used to support the flipped classroom delivery, multi-instructor delivery style.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 850-860
Author(s):  
A. Gnanasekar

Bots have made an appearance on social media in a variety of ways. Twitter, for instance, has been particularly hard hit, with bots accounting for a shockingly large number of its users. These bots are used for nefarious purposes such as disseminating false information about politicians and inflating celebrity expectations. Furthermore, these bots have the potential to skew the results of conventional social media research. With the multiple increases in the size, speed, and style of user knowledge in online social networks, new methods of grouping and evaluating such massive knowledge are being explored. Getting rid of malicious social bots from a social media site is crucial. The most widely used methods for identifying fraudulent social bots focus on the quantitative measures of their actions. Social bots simply mimic these choices, leading to a low level of study accuracy. Transformation clickstream sequences and semi-supervised clustering were used to develop a new technique for detecting malicious social bots. This method considers not only the probability of user activity clickstreams being moved, but also the behavior's time characteristic. The detection accuracy for various kinds of malware social bots by the detection technique assisted transfer probability of user activity clickstreams will increase by a mean of 12.8 percent, as per results from our research on real online social network sites, compared to the detection method funded estimate of user behaviour.


JURNAL BASIS ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Putu Wahyu Sudewi

Blended learning is a mixed learning model between conventional learning or commonly called face-to-face and e-learning. This learning model utilizes an internet connection to do one of its components, namely online learning that utilizes certain applications. Based on that, the problems examined in this study are: (1) How did students feel about their blended learning experience, (2) What difficulties/challenges did students experience during their blended learning experience? This study aims to determine learning experiences and difficulties/challenges using blended learning models in EFL learners at the University of Sulawesi Barat and the type of ethnographic research that focuses on case studies. This study focuses on case studies in order to investigate deep phenomena regarding a case. Data are described descriptively. The subjects in this study are students or learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) at the University of Sulawesi Barat. Data collection methods are observation, interviews, and questionnaires addressed to EFL students. The validity of the data technique is the technique of triangulation. The result of this study represents 5 learning experiences that faced by all subjects. There were blended learning method made them more excited because can done everywhere, less embarrassing felt, flexible, motivate to active in learning, simplify and speed up the process of nonstop communication. Furthermore, difficulties/challenges faced by all subjects using the method was network connection an Four varying categories emerged and these included: managing time, technical issues, novelty of the learning experience, and learning style.


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