Support Social Media Research Articles

L10 Huntington's illness: the lived experience of Huntington's disease

BackgroundApart from the biological aspects of Huntington's disease (HD), HD can also be understood in terms of cultural and social frameworks which shape the lived experience of HD among the...

Warning response on a university campus: Anticipating message confirmation behavior among undergraduate students

An exploratory study was conducted at the University of Alberta to examine how undergraduate students might respond to an emergency alert on campus. Findings from the study were derived from an innovative methodology that used text messaging to prompt in situ observations on campus and to inform subsequent focus group discussions about students’ warning response decision making. Additional observations were also made based on a sample of messages posted on the social media platform Twitter following an actual campus alert issued in April 2010. Findings suggest that informal communication channels play a key role in shaping response decision making among students outside of classroom settings. In classroom and laboratory settings, however, faculty and teaching assistants may play a critical role in supporting confirmation of messages and influencing students’ response decisions. Recommendations for emergency planners are discussed, including the use of social media in support of official warnings and the development of “just-in-time” electronic resources for campus faculty and teaching staff.

Symposium 5: The Paradox of Social Media and Higher Education Institutions

This paper explores the paradox that occurs between institutional expectations and expectations held by student regarding the use of social media in support of learning in higher education settings. Specifically, the example is given of a disagreement that took place in a recent conversation in a distributed medical education programme in Canada. The current body of research regarding the incongruity of expectations about integrating social media into a higher education institution framework suggests that a widening gap is emerging and that conflict is taking place. The example from Canada exemplifies the difference that exists in people’s understandings and expectations of how social media can be employed for benefit in education. The paper looks at the principles of social media and the potential impact on many of society’s institutions, including government, commerce, media and education. Interestingly, higher education seems to have fallen behind in adopting and adapting to the new social media reality. The key points of social constructivist thinking are then examined with special attention to the following five points: learning requires active participation by the learner; previous experience is important when reinforcing new learning; individual knowledge construction requires a social interaction element; negotiation within the learning environment is essential; and, learning best takes place within a socio-cultural context. These principles are then addressed in relation to the social media principles of active participation, collaboration and that of reflection. Finally, three points are expanded as to potential sources and reasons why conflict may occur when trying to integrate a popular social media perspective into the established higher education setting. These are: existing hierarchical structure of higher education institutions; accreditation and quality concerns; and, formal and informal learning. Social media is more than computer application and programs and the technology behind them it is about transformation. At its core, social media is a collection of ideas about community, openness, flexibility, collaboration, transformation and it is all user-centred. If education and educational institutions can understand and adopt these principles, perhaps there is a chance for significant change in how we teach and learn in formal and informal settings. The challenge is to discover how to facilitate this change.