Social Software Tools Research Articles

USING SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS AND PARSING PROGRAMS TO IDENTIFY AND ANALYZE THE TARGET AUDIENCE

Social media analytics is the backbone of successful marketing. It allows you to accurately find and understand the target audience of the company. However, this requires analyzing a huge amount of publicly available data. This is where software tools come to the rescue, allowing such analysis to be carried out in real time. Nevertheless, there are a large number of software products on the market, each of which has a different set of functions - from complex products to highly specialized ones. A wide or vice versa narrow range of functions makes it difficult to choose a specific software solution for a specific task. For this reason, the main purpose of the article is to make a comparative analysis of the functions of the most popular social media analytics software tools designed to identify and analyze the target audience.

Understanding student perceptions of social computing and online tools to enhance learning.

Social computing software and online tools are gaining credence in teaching and learning spaces, including higher education contexts. However, the adoption of social computing software does not automatically translate into effective teaching and learning if students’ views and needs are not considered along with course learning outcomes. Thus, this study was conducted to explore students’ perspectives and preferences for social computing software and online tools in a university elective course. We employed quantitative and qualitative approaches to understand students’ shared and nuanced thoughts about social computing applications in the study. A questionnaire with quantitative and open-ended qualitative questions was used to collect data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and an inductive thematic analysis approach. Our findings indicated mixed students’ viewpoints, with some tools reported as highly beneficial while others were less beneficial. For instance, students valued asynchronous sessions, assignment feedback, online discussion, videos, and gamification but reported less interest in phones, journals, icons, and blogs. Students’ specializations also appeared to influence their choice of tools. Those from Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences expressed a slightly different preference than their comparts from Medicine and Health Sciences. Drawing on the findings, we discuss the implications for effective teaching and learning using social computing software, focusing on essential stakeholders. For instance, instructors must regularly conduct diagnostic feedback to determine appropriate tools that can effectively customize students’ learning.

Capturing and managing knowledge using social software and semantic web technologies

It has often been claimed that implicit knowledge is the most important kind of knowledge within organizations. The surge of social software offers new ways to elicit and diffuse this kind of knowledge. Social software also proved to be effective knowledge management instruments, particularly when combined with semantic web technologies. The logical next step - supporting the management of implicit knowledge by using semantic web-enabled social software–has been only episodically explored. In this article we present KnowBest, a platform based on social software and semantic web tools to manage a specific class of implicit how-to knowledge in organizations. Our approach leverages social software intrinsic characteristics and extends them to allow for both knowledge and its structure to emerge and be collectively managed in a cooperative way using online tools with simplified interfaces. We use semantic web technologies to externalize implicit knowledge and enable reasoning on the knowledge base; we exploit reasoning within the platform itself in the form of a semantic recommender that is meant to enhance the ability of the users to find documented practices possibly related to the work they have at hand, affecting positively internalization too.We performed an evaluation in the context of a specific case study collecting feedbacks from users and showing that KnowBest can be successfully deployed to effectively promote how-to knowledge circulation within a community.

Social software as a tool of promoting indigenous African languages in Higher Education

ABSTRACTWithin the discourse of language planning and policy, there is an increasing realisation of the strategic role of information and communication technologies in the promotion of indigenous African languages. The article discusses the strategic role that social software, in particular blogs and wiki, can and should play in the development of African languages in South African Higher Education. The paper argues that while the colonial and apartheid legacy can be blamed for the underdevelopment of African languages, the reality of entrenched misconceptions about the use of African languages and poor language policy implementation in the post-apartheid era continue to hinder the promotion of these languages. The increase in the adoption of such social software tools in Higher Education institutions is therefore envisaged to present a platform for the development and promotion of African languages in the Higher Education domain.

Social Network to Support Parents and Teachers of Students with Multiple Disabilities

Abstract This study aimed to analyze how the Social Software tools could respond to the needs of parents and teachers of students with multiple disabilities in improving their practices, as well as provide information and resources related to the topic of multiple disabilities. The study was implemented in Portugal and involved 45 participants: 25 special education teachers, 5 regular education teachers, and 15 parents of children with multiple disabilities. Using the NING platform, we built a social network, which we set in motion by creating online spaces to share experiences and thoughts. These spaces sought to respond to the needs and difficulties reported by the participants. We adopted a Design-Based Research methodology and used several data collection methods and analysis techniques. The results showed that several dimensions were crucial to create this Social Network, such as the tools, the moderation and the management of the social network and the participation of the teachers and parents involved. It also confirmed that the flexibility of the tools used led to the development of a stimulating environment that allowed sharing experiences and knowledge about multiple disabilities. The teachers' participation revealed progress over time. The most active participants assumed attitudes of creator and critic, whereas the roles of collector, spectator and inactive were taken on by those with a more passive attitude. The teachers exhibited more active attitudes than parents. The teachers' assessment of the social network was positive for all the aspects under study and they felt that their participation had a significant impact on teaching practices. Results indicate that parents did not actively get involved in the social network, which shows that virtual contacts may not properly serve their needs. We infer that parents need a different approach, more focused on supporting and less on learning. Overall, the study indicated that the Social Software allowed co-created knowledge among teachers, sharing of experiences, thoughts and resources, along with supporting better connections and cooperative learning. Nevertheless, such co-creation can only be achieved if participants take an active role in the use of the Social Network.

Tool-supported continuous business process innovation: a case study in globally distributed software teams

During the production of software, individuals acquire tacit knowledge that can be useful to improve business processes. Even though people are geographically dispersed, social software supports the creation of knowledge clusters and provides additional channels to share knowledge for business process improvement. This paper describes a successful case study in which useful tacit knowledge is captured from a knowledge cluster with the aim of innovating services provided by a consultancy organisation. To this end, a knowledge-management-based framework helps to capture useful tacit knowledge, from individuals in different locations by using two social software tools during the production of software. Findings reveal that the use of this framework empowers the continuous innovation of business processes, thus allowing consultancy organisations to provide high-quality solutions. Moreover, the framework allows newcomers to receive support from other colleagues and also mitigates the knowledge loss produced owing to the high rotation of personnel in such organisations.

Tool-supported continuous business process innovation: a case study in globally distributed software teams

During the production of software, individuals acquire tacit knowledge that can be useful to improve business processes. Even though people are geographically dispersed, social software supports the creation of knowledge clusters and provides additional channels to share knowledge for business process improvement. This paper describes a successful case study in which useful tacit knowledge is captured from a knowledge cluster with the aim of innovating services provided by a consultancy organisation. To this end, a knowledge-management-based framework helps to capture useful tacit knowledge, from individuals in different locations by using two social software tools during the production of software. Findings reveal that the use of this framework empowers the continuous innovation of business processes, thus allowing consultancy organisations to provide high-quality solutions. Moreover, the framework allows newcomers to receive support from other colleagues and also mitigates the knowledge loss produced owing to the high rotation of personnel in such organisations.

A problem-centered analysis of enterprise social software projects

The use of social software in organizations has matured over the last years. Enterprise social software such as a wiki, blog and social network creates value for employees, optimizes workflows and contributes to improved collaboration within and across enterprises. However, many organizations face problems and barriers during the introduction of social software tools and platforms, which can have a decisive impact on the overall success. Through a comprehensive analysis of 13 case studies and 6 problem-centered interviews with experts of social software introduction, a framework for problems occurring in enterprise social software projects was created. In total, 21 different problems that influence a social software introduction were identified and clustered into the areas of project management, technology, culture, top management, and employees.

USE OF SOCIAL INTERNET SERVICES IN EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY OF STUDENTS

The article reviews the key opportunities of using services of web 2. 0 technologies to the educational process. It is shown of Social Software tools: Wiki technology, system of creating blogs, systems of storing and sharing web resources. The basic lines of Wiki-technology,possibility, and methods of the use of it are described in pedagogical practice. The described pedagogical potential of Wiki-technology to organize project activities of students. It should be stressed that Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit web page content using any web browser. The author focusing on teaching and methodical opportunities of the Internet blogs and systems of storing and sharing web resources (for joint hypertext materials creation, placement of presentations, text documents, photos, video resources, etc.) in professional preparation of the future primary school teachers. It is shown efficiency using of web 2. 0 technologies in the educational work future teachers (by the example of their own resources of Kirovograd State Pedagogical University named after Volodymyr Vynnychenko).

Uso de las redes sociales por los alumnos universitarios de educación: un estudio de caso de la península ibérica / Use of social networks by college students: A study case in the Iberian Peninsula

The research presented here was developed during the second semester of the academic year 2014/2015, and relates to the use of social software by students of the Degree in Primary Education from two higher education institutions: University of Jaén (Spain) and the School of Education at the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (Portugal). The objectives are to know what social software tools are used mainly by the students, what are their perceptions about these tools about their academic potential and whether there are differences depending on the university. It was used as data collection instrument a questionnaire. We conclude that the best known and used social network is Facebook. The main finding lies in the differences between the two samples studied with regard to their use.

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.

Social software characteristics and the impacts on students' knowledge sharing behaviour

The development of Web 2.0 technologies has led to the growth of social software tools. These tools have brought a tremendous change in the way students of this generation interact and share information and knowledge. The objective of this paper is to examine the relationships between the prominent social software characteristics (i.e., informal setting, communication, network and community, and user generated content) and the students’ knowledge sharing behaviour in Malaysian university context. A total of 322 students from five universities participated in the survey study. Through the analysis, the findings revealed that the four characteristics positively influenced knowledge sharing behaviour of the students. Moreover, the combination of these characteristics can be a good predictor of the students’ knowledge sharing behaviour through social software tools.

Evaluating interdisciplinary collaborative learning and assessment in the creative arts and humanities

This article responds to the rising emphasis placed on interdisciplinary collaborative learning and its implications for assessment in higher education. It presents findings from a research project that examined the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary collaborative student symposium as an assessment task in an art school/humanities environment. After addressing key ideas relating to interdisciplinarity, collaboration and assessment, the authors evaluate a practical model for facilitating interdisciplinary collaborative learning. Drawing on student surveys and assessment outcomes, the findings highlight the extent to which collaborative teaching and learning, coupled with social software tools and associated modes of communication, foster innovative, high quality interdisciplinary work, and offer an adaptable assessment framework for broader application in higher education settings.

Which Factors Influence the Adoption of Social Software? An Exploratory Study of Indian Information Technology Consultancy Firms

The rationale behind traditional knowledge management initiatives is to create, capture, share, organize, and use intangible assets such as organizational knowledge. Information systems have been playing a vital role in the implementation of knowledge management practices and systems. Recently, organizations are adopting new forms of information and communication technologies such as social software to encourage employees to create and share knowledge. This article explores the adoption of social software tools by Indian knowledge workers working for information technology consultancy firms. A mixed method approach has been applied, and drawing on social dilemma theory and Hofstede’s cultural theory, this study discusses the factors affecting the adoption of social software by knowledge workers. A quantitative descriptive-explanatory study and a qualitative exploratory study have been employed to gather data from Indian organizations. It was found that even though information technology consultancy firms are at the forefront of deploying social software, the active use of these tools is rather limited among knowledge workers. The present study sheds light on both personal and organizational factors that hinder the adoption of such tools. Finally, on the basis of these research findings we aim to contribute to managerial implications for organizations wishing to adopt social media.

Beyond access: Youth and digital skills

There is an increasing growth in access to the Internet among youth, gained largely through cell phones, computer laboratories on campuses, home connections, and connections on personal computers. Also, the availability of social software tools for webpage creation, blogging, and creating and sharing multimedia content has made content creation relatively accessible. But are the youth using these tools effectively? What are the levels of digital skills among this population? This study investigates digital skills among South African university students. Through a survey conducted at ten universities, and two skill experiments conducted at two universities, this study explores the pattern of perceived skills and actual skills, to examine current trends of digital skills among the students. The findings reveal that forms of Internet access, the cost of access, social stratification, and inequalities have implications for the patterns of digital skills, with content creation being a challenge for many youth.

Rol de las TIC en la e-formación y orientación a lo largo de la vida: Análisis de la realidad europea = The role of tics in e-information and guidance throught life: Analysis of the european situation

The incorporation of Information and Communication Technologies in the society in general and in the education system, especially in training and guidance throughout the life of the people, demands significant changes in technological and organizational fields as well as the educational settings and learning and formal and informal guidance environments. In the European context the transformations in wide social sectors through ICT has not yet become generalized in the training and guidance process. Among the most innovative tools in the use of ICT for training and guidance, in addition to more familiar as the telephone, email and the Internet there are others to stress such as videoconferencing, chat and forum. As social software tools can cite the Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Flicker, Second Life, MySpace... and other technological resources such as interactive whiteboard, the portfolio and the content management system(CMS).In the various European conferences on the use of ICT in guidance has been shifting the center of attention; is begins by treating of guidance systems supported by the computer (Brussels, 1985, Cambridge,1989 and Nuremberg in 1992); is continues by the use of Internet in the Dublin conference, 1996 and is considered the digital age in Gothenburg in 2001 and Web 2.0 technology in Riga, at the 6th Conference held in the moth of September 2009.

Examining the social software characteristics and knowledge sharing behaviour among university students in Malaysia

Knowledge sharing among students is an essential activity which can result in the improvement of student learning outcome. Recently, social software tools such as Facebook and content sharing sites are pervasively used by the students for sharing knowledge with peers. These tools have common characteristics which are informal setting, communication, network and community, and user generated content. This study attempts to examine the relationships between these characteristics and knowledge sharing behaviour of the students by integrating them into the theory of planned behaviour to develop a research framework and hypotheses. Questionnaire survey was collected from 322 students in five universities in Malaysia. The results of regression analysis showed that the aforementioned characteristics positively influenced attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control on knowledge sharing. Likewise, these three factors positively influenced the knowledge sharing intention which is the determinant of the actual knowledge sharing behaviour among the students.

Role of Wikis in School Education

The main agenda of this paper is to provide a review of literature on the role of Web 2.0 or social software tools particularly wikis in school education because it is an under-researched area. Though it is a versatile tool to leverage the information in multimodal environment, including video, sound, animation, as well as, static text and image it has not been actively used in the context of school education especially in the Indian context. Today's educators are hesitant in using the web 2.0 technology because they feel overwhelmed by the range of choices it offers. The paper tries to evolve framework that can be employed to use wikis. It examines the issues that have surfaced from thereviewespeciallythose that affect pedagogydue toadoption of web 2.0 technologies. The advantages of wikis to students, educators and institutions as well as the challenges that accompany such initiative and the host of problems that need to be addressed in using wikis in school education is enumerated. This paper incorporates the analysis out of the review and highlights the different pedagogical roles of web2.0 technologies with reference to communication, innovation, and collaborative learning and challenging the imagination of children. The analysis answers the concerns of academicians about the inclusion of web 2.0 technologies and the findings can influence learning and teaching strategies in various echelons of education. The paper integrates the perspective by consolidating a variety of literature sources from academic publications, recent Newspaper and magazine reports on social network sites and commentaries and views on social media itself. A major limitation of this paper is lack of empirical evidences in the Indian context for rigorous analysis and does not analyse the reason for this paradoxical situation.

Latin American university students’ perceptions of social networks and group work

In recent years, the Internet and Web 2.0 tools have played a fairly pivotal role in university education. Social software tools have stood out in particular, with social networks attracting the most attention. In the field of education, social networks have gradually become a highly valuable didactic resource because the students who populate today’s university classrooms also live out a large part of their lives on those networks. Student group work is a cornerstone of the constructivist view of teaching, which can draw on resources of this type because, among other things, they foster socialisation, information searching, the attainment of a common goal, etc. But, for all of this to happen, students must have positive attitudes towards group work. This article presents the results of a study on university students’ level of knowledge of social networks and their perceptions of group work. It was conducted on a sample of students from Argentina, Spain, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. The findings particularly show that the students held high perceptions of group work and of the opportunity to work online with fellow students from different geographical areas.

La utilización de rúbricas para la evaluación del trabajo colaborativo del alumnado en las wikis

The aim of this article is to address the complex issue of the evaluation of educational activities offered by new technology resources. One of these innovations is related to social software tools, specifically with the use of Wikis as a space for communication and presentation tasks. The establishment of tools such as wikis is causing many teachers to redefine not only the educational aspects of their teaching, but also to delineate consistent assessment criteria. For this reason, it is important to use rubrics as an evaluation method since rubrics enable teachers to qualify students according to some criteria already specified, making the evaluation process more transparent and simple.