Social Networking In Higher Education Research Articles

Improving the Effectiveness of a Stock Simulation Trading Course via Blockchain and Social Networking: A Taiwanese Study

Online courses in higher education became prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, their application requires technology to be fully integrated into the curriculum. This study explores the integration of a blockchain-based platform in a private online stock simulation trading course during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a pre–post experimental design with 142 college students, it assessed learning behaviors and outcomes. Students collaborated with teaching assistants via LINE groups, fostering discussion and engagement. They received cryptocurrency rewards, which enhanced motivation and connected the course to their career goals. The findings suggest that combining blockchain and social networking is an effective approach to improving online education. This contributes to the literature on educational technology and online learning by exploring the integration of blockchain and social networking in higher education, specifically within the context of stock simulation trading courses, and demonstrates its impact on student motivation and learning outcomes.

Beyond the “Old Boys’ Network”: Social Networks and Job Finding at Community Colleges

<h3>Abstract</h3> Research and popular discourse on social networks in higher education have focused on elite universities, even though most students do not attend such institutions. This paper sheds novel light on how classmate networks at community colleges influence job finding. Using data from a state community college system linked to matched employer-employee records, I exploit quasi-random variation in class section enrollment within courses to detect network effects. I find students are significantly more likely to get a job at a classmate’s firm later than at the firm of a peer enrolled in a different section of the same course.

A Worldwide Survey on the Use of Social Networking in Higher Education

Social networking is becoming a more powerful tool for students for communication, information sharing, and discussions. This paper presents a study, based on a survey questionnaire, which aims to investigate to what extent and for what purposes teachers from different countries from all over the world use social networking in their teaching practice. The attitude towards the use of social networking in higher education in general is examined. The study is intended to seek dependences between the answers related to the above issues and different teachers' characteristics, on the point of view if the teachers are well informed about social networking sites, or whether they participate in interest groups or research related to social networking and higher education. Finally, summarized results of the survey are presented, depending on the continent where the countries of the participants are located.

Evaluation Of Teaching Staff Experiences In Using Social Networks: A Descriptive Study

The current research aimed at investigating the challenges of utilizing the social networks in Higher Education from the viewpoints of the university staff members. The questionnaire validity and reliability were assured, and it was administered to (350) university staff members in Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University. The results of the statistical analysis showed that there are five main challenges that hinder utilizing the social networks in the educational process, namely, the Financial and administrative challenges, the teachers’ challenges, the learners’ challenges, the social networks challenges, and the technical challenges. The research concluded with the recommendations.

Applying digital technologies for work management of young scientists’ councils

The publication explores the features of the digital technologies’ usage to organize the work of the Young Scientists’ Councils and describes the best practices. The digital transformation of society and the quarantine restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have forced the use of various digital technologies for scientific communication, the organization of work for youth associations, and the training of students and Ph.D. students. An important role in increasing the prestige of scientific activity and encouraging talented young people to participate in scientific projects belongs to the Young Scientists’ Councils, which are created at scientific institutions and higher education institutions. It is determined that the peculiarities of the work of Young Scientists’ Councils are in providing conditions for further staff development of the institution in which they operate; contribution to the social, psychological and material support of young scientists and Ph.D. students; creating an environment for teamwork and collaborative partnership; development of leadership and organizational qualities; contribution to the development of digital competence. The advantages of using electronic social networks in higher education and research institutions are analyzed, namely: general popularity and free of charge; prompt exchange of messages and multimedia data; user-friendly interface; availability of event planning functions, sending invitations, setting reminders; support of synchronous and asynchronous communication between network participants; possibility of access from various devices; a powerful tool for organizing the learning process; possibility of organization and work of closed and open groups; advertising of various events, etc. Peculiarities of managing the activity of the Young Scientists’ Council with the use of digital technologies are determined. The Young Scientists’ Council is a social system, and therefore the management of this system refers to social management. The effectiveness of the digital technologies’ usage to manage the activities of the Young Scientists’ Council depends on the intensity and need for their use to implement organizational, presentation functions and to ensure constant communication. The areas to apply digital technologies for the work managing of Young Scientists’ Councils are sorted as the presentation of activity; distribution of various information for young scientists; conducting questionnaires, surveys; organization and holding of scientific mass events; managing of thematic workgroups, holding of work meetings. It is generalized and described the experience of electronic social networks usage for organizing and conducting of scientific mass events.

Adopting Social Networks in Higher Education: A Study on Facebook as E-learning Tool

Adopting Social Networks in Higher Education: A Study on Facebook as E-learning Tool

The challenges of internal social networking for higher education: a brief review of the literature

As social networks become increasingly popular, they have positively changed the business environment by encouraging and providing collaboration opportunities. Social media networks have also enhanced knowledge sharing, innovation, and relationship building, which is growing very fast among enterprises. Many enterprises are assessing the potential of exploiting the commercial opportunities of this technology, which could enhance employee engagement and provide a variety of effects on collaborative work (e.g., relational and personal benefits to organizations). Although these benefits are not only limited to commercial organisations, but also higher education communities are benefiting, as they enable communication, collaboration, and knowledge exchange between individuals. The interest of academic research is in discovering whether the staff and scientific researchers use enterprise social networks as part of their work practices. This focus is motivated by an apparent schism between a need for researchers to exchange knowledge, collaborate, and the aversion to engaging their ideas by communicating through specific digital channels with other individuals. This literature review highlights the influencing factors on the adoption of social networking in higher education, and how these factors differ under different types of social networking, and diverse perspectives in different education levels.

The Attitude Towards and the Use of Social Networking in European Higher Education

Nowadays, social networking is becoming a more and more powerful tool for students for communication, sharing of information and discussions on various topics. The study presented in this article investigates the extent to which teachers from different European countries use social networking sites in their teaching practice for different purposes and what their attitude is towards the use of social networking in higher education in general. The study is intended to seek clarity on the issues, whether the use of social networks is related to teacher information about social networking sites; their participation in interest groups and research for the use of social networks in education; and whether the results obtained from the survey vary according to the country. For this purpose, the statistical software IBM SPSS Statistics is used. On the other hand, the study explores specific areas of the use of social networking in higher education, with an emphasis on their efficacy.

Social Networking in Higher Education: Perceptions of Teachers and Learners

Social Networking in Higher Education: Perceptions of Teachers and Learners

Infusing functionality of social media as a transformative higher education teaching and learning process into social learning system

In Web 2.0 era, social media are increasingly receiving attention in many sectors, including higher education institutions. It provides extensive learning support in line with social learning concept. A large volume of content is generated and diffused by online users. In social learning environment, there is an urgent requirement to infuse functionality of social media into teaching and learning activity in the higher education institutions. The objective of this study is to identify the adoption of the functionality of social networks in higher education to increase learning performance. The methodology used in this study is conjoint analysis to map social media features into social media functionality based on student preferences. The result obtained in this study is the mapping of the functionality of social media for higher education to build social learning systems, so it can build intimacy and immediacy to increase learning process.

Social Media Use in Higher Education: A Review

Nowadays, social networks incessantly influence the lives of young people. Apart from entertainment and informational purposes, social networks have penetrated many fields of educational practices and processes. This review tries to highlight the use of social networks in higher education, as well as points out some factors involved. Moreover, through a literature review of related articles, we aim at providing insights into social network influences with regard to (a) the learning processes (support, educational processes, communication and collaboration enhancement, academic performance) from the side of students and educators; (b) the users’ personality profile and learning style; (c) the social networks as online learning platforms (LMS—learning management system); and (d) their use in higher education. The conclusions reveal positive impacts in all of the above dimensions, thus indicating that the wider future use of online social networks (OSNs) in higher education is quite promising. However, teachers and higher education institutions have not yet been highly activated towards faster online social networks’ (OSN) exploitation in their activities.

Barriers to the adoption of social networking sites in Saudi Arabia's higher education

ABSTRACTSocial networking sites are increasingly being repurposed as academic tools in higher education institutions. In this context, social networking sites are used to support a number of key academic functions, including the sharing of ideas between students and academic staff, the forming of dedicated study groups, the exchange of links and other academic objects and self-publication. While these tools are readily being adopted in mainstream Western contexts, little is currently known regarding whether – and how – social networking sites are used in other geo-cultural regions. This study sought to redress this research gap by investigating what might constitute barriers to the adoption of social networking in higher education in Saudi Arabia from the students’ perspective. The study was based on the analysis of results derived from focus group discussions with university students at four Saudi Arabian universities. The research found that Saudi Arabian students are aware of, and welcome, social networking sites and are starting to use them for academic purposes in the same way that university students do in more mainstream contexts. However, the study did identify a range of barriers to uptake as highlighted by focus group participants.

Social Media in Bulgarian Higher Education: An Exploratory Survey

Although many teachers are sceptical and think that the use of social media can disengage students and lead to lower results, we have witnessed increasingly widespread use of social networks in the educational environment. In recent years, there is also a trend towards more formal acceptance of the role of these networks in higher education by participants in the educational process. The study presented in this paper is intended to seek clarity on the development of this trend in Bulgaria. On the one hand, it aims to assess the extent to which the use of social networking for educational purposes shall be formally accepted by the two main groups of participants in the educational process (students and teachers) and to what degree it is still informal. On the other hand, the study explores specific areas of the use of social networking in higher education, with an emphasis on their efficacy.

Student engagement in course-based social networks: The impact of instructor credibility and use of communication

Social network sites provide the opportunity for building and maintaining online social network groups around a specific interest. Despite the increasing use of social networks in higher education, little previous research has studied their impacts on student's engagement and on their perceived educational outcomes. This research investigates the impact of instructors' self-disclosure and use of humor via course-based social networks as well as their credibility, and the moderating impact of time spent in these course-based social networks, on the students' engagement in course-based social networks. The research provides a theoretical viewpoint, supported by empirical evidence, on the impact of students' engagement in course-based social networks on their perceived educational outcomes. The findings suggest that instructors who create course-based online social networks to communicate with their students can increase their engagement, motivation, and satisfaction. We conclude the paper by suggesting the theoretical implications for the study and by providing strategies for instructors to adjust their activities in order to succeed in improving their students' engagement and educational outcomes.

Positive and negative aspects of using social networks in higher education: A focus group study

Social Networking Sites (SNS) have become popular among students and faculties, especially for all young population. SNSs are a relatively new technology, and little research has been conducted on the beliefs of the teacher candidates about using Social Network as an instructional tool. The study was conducted to find out for what purposes prospective teachers usually use SNSs in their daily lives, which learning methods can be used with SNSs and what positive and negative aspects of using social network in higher education are. 72 prospective teachers (14 males and 58 females) participated in the study. The focus group as a form of qualitative research method was performed to collect data, which were examined using content analysis method. Findings indicate that social network sites have some positive aspects and some negative aspects in terms of education. However, these negative effects of social network sites in terms of education can be eliminated or lightened using the cooperative learning approach. Key words: Social network sites, cooperative learning, teacher education, prospective teacher.

A Conceptual Model of Social Networking in Higher Education

The popularity of social networking sites has led educators to the idea of engaging learners with their studies. After reviewing the potential areas of social network sites employment in higher education, essential social network software tools were composed in a conceptual model. This model covers most popular areas of social networking possibilities in higher education and is generic enough to make it suitable for any higher education organization.

Adoption Of Social Networking In Education: A Study Of The Use Of Social Networks By Higher Education Students In Oman

The use of social networks is a growing phenomenon, being increasingly important in both private and academic life. Social networks are used as tools to enable users to have social interaction. The use of social networks (SNs) complements and enhances the teaching in traditional classrooms. For example, YouTube, Facebook, wikis, and blogs provide a huge amount of material on a wide range of subjects. This research aims to explore the need to change the traditional style of teaching and learning after the innovation of Web 2.0. The main objectives of this research are to discover the motives for the use of social networks by higher education students in Oman, to recognize the impact of social networking tools in learning and education generally, to analyse the problems that students might face when using social networks, and to determine whether the traditional learning methods need to be changed in the era of Web 2.0 technologies? In order to achieve the objectives of this research, the research methodology is to conduct a survey amongst Omani students at different universities, colleges, and other higher education institutions and to explore the social networking tools that might have an influence on teaching and learning styles. The type of data collected will be both quantitative and qualitative. This study is based mainly on the student's perspective - the impact on students of using social networking tools and what effect it has on the traditional style of learning and teaching. This study highlights the benefits of using social networks as tools for developing a new style of learning, and the negative impacts that can affect the process of learning, in order to provide a justification for using social networks in higher education.

Management perception of introducing social networking sites as a knowledge management tool in higher education

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a study of the understanding and usage of social networking sites (SNS) as a knowledge management (KM) tool in knowledge‐intensive enterprises.Design/methodology/approachIn terms of research approach, the study has taken an interpretitivist framework, using a higher education (HE) institution as the case‐study, which is characterised by the need to generate process, share and use knowledge on a daily basis in order to remain competitive. The case study was analysed using qualitative research methodology, composed of interviews and utilised narrative analysis as a means of data analysis, thus deriving a characterisation of understandings, perceptions and acceptance of SNS as a KM tool.FindingsThe study provides evidence that even in HE, where it is generally acknowledged that there is a need to adequately capture, store, share and disseminate knowledge, as this can lead to greater innovation, creativity and productivity, participants were suspicious of the nature of the technology and the fact that it could intertwine their professional and social life. As a result, they were not prepared to invest the relatively high effort required in employing SNS as a KM tool as they also have difficulty in establishing the added value. Consequently, in order to employ SNS for KM purposes cultural, behavioural and organisational issues need to be tackled before even considering technical issues.Originality/valueThe paper provides an insight into KM and social networking in HE. This also highlights issue for international HE.

Multiliteracy and Social Networks in Higher Education

La universidad como institución debe responder a la filosofía que subyace al predominio de lo digital y la web social en la sociedad actual y la del futuro con planteamientos integrales, puesto que todas sus unidades y servicios son susceptibles de mejora gracias a la aplicación bien fundamentada de las metodologías 2.0 y posteriores. En concreto, las esferas donde mayor impacto se puede esperar son la del proceso de enseñanza/aprendizaje y la de la producción, validación y difusión de conocimientos, para los que una formación y actualización al nivel adecuado de las alfabetizaciones o competencias de alumnos, profesores y personal que se engloban dentro del concepto de multialfabetización (sobre todo alfabetización en lectoescritura, en TIC e informacional) resulta insoslayable.

Online Social Networking Issues Within Academia and Pharmacy Education

Online social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace are extremely popular as indicated by the numbers of members and visits to the sites. They allow students to connect with users with similar interests, build and maintain relationships with friends, and feel more connected with their campus. The foremost criticisms of online social networking are that students may open themselves to public scrutiny of their online personas and risk physical safety by revealing excessive personal information. This review outlines issues of online social networking in higher education by drawing upon articles in both the lay press and academic publications. New points for pharmacy educators to consider include the possible emergence of an "e-professionalism" concept; legal and ethical implications of using online postings in admission, discipline, and student safety decisions; how online personas may blend into professional life; and the responsibility for educating students about the risks of online social networking.