Examining social media in the online classroom: postsecondary students' Twitter use and motivations

Abstract

As postsecondary education develops to reflect advances in pedagogical research and practice, new technology, and students' changing needs, instructors are adapting to respond to these changes. Social media is one technology that is being adopted more in postsecondary classrooms as a tool to bridge instructors' teaching and learning objectives and students' outside interests. This research explored postsecondary students' social media use, generally and in two online courses, to determine their motivations for using social media and Twitter specifically, and to understand how students engage with each other and course-related content online. Pre- and post-surveys revealed distinctions in students' personal and academic/professional uses of social media; students were active users and were more prolific on certain platforms as compared to others and used social media for varied purposes. These findings can guide instructors' selection and integration of specific social media tools for course activity/evaluation tailored to students' interests and online behaviours.