Students’ And Teachers’ Views On The Uses Of Social Media In The Context Of Higher Education

This proposed study seeks to advance knowledge about the ways in which students and teachers view the uses of social media in the context of higher education, specifically considering the means by which these sites have an effect on students` learning in the classroom. Being aware of and recognising the uses of social media in the classroom raises the question of the level of students’ attention whilst engaging in both learning and socialisation processes. The aim of this study is to generate an understanding of the uses of social media as well as to evaluate teachers’ perspectives regarding this particular issue. In addition, this paper will highlight the variances amongst those students who choose not to use these websites in the classroom to those who do. The frequent use of media within the classroom has been increasing in contemporary society. Numerous questions can be raised as this is having a potential effect on students’ learning as well as the grades they achieve. Students can be easily distracted when using social media- or to be precise, social media as a whole- in the classroom, and this further increases the likelihood of them missing out on essential information. Not only that, but it can also be a disruption for the lecturers who are trying to teach.

On the contrary, many studies specify the benefit of using social media in the classroom. A number of lecturers and tutors are beginning to establish the use of social media as modes for distance learning courses. Many lecturers find it useful to use social media in the classroom such as Twitter as this allows them to share resources with students and vice versa. There are diverse techniques in which students choose to study. There is flexibility in the various methods and opportunities accessible for individuals to study. It is becoming progressively common to use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to engage in learning and receiving help from peers. This combines together both formal and informal learning. Not only do these sites allow students to mingle, but most importantly allow teachers to be able to interconnect with students, and provide guidance and support on assignments and projects.

Social media can be understood as having worthy characteristics of learning for students, which include collaborative learning. Students are now capable of sharing ideas and views of certain phenomena through the help of Twitter, Facebook, and many other social media outlets. This allows students to be able to evaluate each other`s ideas, taking on asymmetric roles. The use of social media sites may not alone benefit students through the process of collaborative learning but may also allow lecturers to be able to adapt to students` preferences. The term `collaborative learning` can also be interconnected with the group work specified in seminars to students where they are collectively asked to put together notions and concepts. Social media is not just restricted to learning outside of the classroom-based environment, but also involved learning processes within the classroom with the help of media like YouTube. Many lecturers use these sites to engage in teaching, providing students with examples related to learning material.

Unfortunately, most studies fail to adequately account for the use of social media in the classroom. There are many researches that have been carried out regarding social media, looking at the affects this has on students’ success rates, yet, there are many gaps in the research. Research carried out by Madge et al (2009) draws emphasis on social integration of undergraduates when entering university life. The research explicates how undergraduates use Facebook and Twitter to make friends, but it fails to study how these social networking sites affect students’ learning. In the same way, Papacharissi (2010) has viewed the use of social media and clarified how internet democracy is the displacement of the public sphere model with that of a networked citizen-centred perspective which delivers opportunities to connect the private sphere with a multitude of chosen political spaces. This paper will further review and examine the literature on the uses of social media in the context of higher education.

This study on the uses of social media in the context of higher education will allow us to recognise the techniques in which social media is used for various motives, and by what means these influence students’ motivation and learning. More importantly, this research will allow us to not only perceive the negative effects of these sites, but also the benefits these can have on students. This will allow us to explore not merely students’ uses of these sites, but also how tutors may use these. This study also pursues to comprehend the use of collaborative learning through networks such as ‘Facebook and Twitter’.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Many perspectives have been offered in the academic literature to explain the phenomenon of social media in the context of higher education. It is vital to consider the pros and cons of using social media within the classroom, and considering how these may have an impact on students’ learning both positively and negatively. The usage of social media has become on the rise within several institutions such as schools, universities, work placements, and most importantly in recent news as these have been deliberated in the mass media. Though there may be many reasons why students choose to use these sites, these sites have many drawbacks. For instance, they may cause failure to gain good grades, even though this is not at all times the case. Followed by, other issues which may be applicable. For example one issue being job prospects. In contemporary news there has been a debate around the potential risks Facebook poses on students who are career oriented. Many employees are checked thoroughly by members involved in their institutions and this undoubtedly, results in students becoming more attentive of their image that is being projected by their online activity. Many surveys have been carried out which specify how employers discard candidates based on the information google and Facebook reveal about them.

It is reasonably important to define and look at the concept of social media. It is essential to look at the term ‘social media’ in broader terms. How can social media be defined and under which terms? To understand social media through the means of Facebook and Twitter is ambiguous. Even though social media focuses on interactions that take place between persons, there are many other ways in which individuals can be considered to be taking part in a social element, for instance the use of ‘word processor’ and typing up documents. This can to a certain extent be considered as ‘social’ as it comprises of other people’s views and ideas, and as explained by Fuchs (2014: 4) “word processor has certain features and functions that were all designed by humans for certain reasons and under specific working conditions. So cognition is a social activity.”

Social media relevantly involves the use of websites and applications that enable users to create and share content, or to participate in social networking. Social media can be valued to facilitate viral communication of students’ as well as teachers’. Yet, social media may carry more or less undesirable and progressive features. The features mentioned here will further be explored in the literature. In addition to this, social media consists of the latest examples of communication technologies that have been widely implemented by students. As a result, these have the potential to become valuable resources in support of educational communication among lecturers and students within higher education. In recent times there has been an emergence in social media and this can be found through diverse cultures, for example in Middle Eastern countries. One particular country being ‘Saudi Arabia’. However, these countries may differ in terms of the ways in which they choose to utilise social media. These differentiations will further be explored in the following paragraphs.

Many sites are found to be commonly used in professional environments/professions and economic sectors. This demonstrates variations that exist within Middle Eastern countries, as well as Western countries where the use of social media may be more or less used depending on culture specific norms. There has been an upsurge in mass socialisation as explained by Shirky (2008) who talked about collective actions of online user communities. Many higher education institutions have quite evidently become tangled in social media applications. Many users in higher education use social media to maintain personal profiles and to write blog-like journal entries. This specifies more or less the numerous usages of social media and the position they hold in higher education, in the same way for both teachers and students.

The use of social media in the context of higher education needs to be further explored as social media in itself is a corporate field. It is essential to reflect on the fact that social media has not been developed for educational purposes. A great deal of research has been carried out, specifically, identifying this issue. Frade (2013: 8) reports “Big data is, of course, not just raw material, or only a question of assemblages, but a corporate field, and as such, organised and produced (including through the state and private industry of securitization, surveillance and control that necessarily goes with it) for the extraction of value.” This particularly emphasises the use of social media for aspects of making profit rather than for educational purposes. Frade (2013) has further explained in his study the ways in which participants of social media grow into users and consumers through taking part in: searching, commenting, and so forth.

Moving on from social media in a corporate context, it is important to reflect on literature that considers the pros and cons of using social media in higher education institutions. Social media will be reflected on, and will further be discussed through a range of literature which holds substantial relevance to this study.

Cons of using SNS

Gaudreau et al (2014) conducted a study to find out the activities of students’ on their laptops throughout class time, and by which means this had an effect on success rates. The use of laptops for reasons other than work was correlated with low success rates and lower levels of self-reported academic achievement. Conjointly, school related use of laptops were positively associated with academic satisfaction. The study was carried out within various campuses. Equally, a study carried out by Karpinski et al (2013) on multitasking and the use of social networking sites displayed the ways in which the uses of social media, at the same time as learning impacted students’ grades in the United States and European universities. This cross-cultural study contains much strength as it allows us to evaluate the differences between the US and European University students’ uses of social networking sites. It was found that European students’ were less prone to ‘disruptive’ multi-tasking and therefore, a negative relationship between Grade Point Average and the use of SNS was found in US students who multitasked. The use of Facebook and other social media sites can be found as potential threats to academic success and failure. Universities are adopting the idea of teaching with the help of social media to get work across to students. Bun (2014) carried out a study involving African American and Hispanic teenagers. The study indicated a negative relationship between the use of Facebook and its effect on the grades of Math students’.

Pros of using SNS

The use of Facebook can be established as a potential advantage as it supports student transition to university. Although this research focuses on the benefits of using social media to engage in work, it does not enclose the possible problems this can have on students’ learning. Similarly, other authors have found that teacher self-disclosure via Facebook on anticipated college student motivation had a good impact on students’ learning. This brought about a positive classroom climate. It was found that student’ recommended teachers to use Facebook and other web services (Mazer, Murphy and Simonds, 2007). Another study also indicated social media as having the potential to become a valuable resource in support of educational communications. However, it can also be found in the study that teacher’s prohibit the use of social media within the classroom (Roblyer et al, 2010). It is important to explore the reasons behind teachers’ prohibiting the use of social media in the classroom.

As many other researchers have uncovered the potential benefits of social media for students and teachers, respectively, Moran, Seaman and Kane (2011) found that many teaching faculties were aware of social media sites. Almost one-half of this faculty researched in the study posted content on social media sites. The findings of the study specified that numerous teachers were found to use social media sites on the basis of their professional lives. It was found that over 90% of all faculties were using social media sites for the courses they were teaching. Most significantly, Facebook and YouTube were found to be the most commonly used sites among teachers in support of professional careers. Two-thirds of the teaching faculty used social media during class sessions and 30% posted content for students. 40% of teachers asked students to view social media sites as parts of gaining assignment material. It was repeatedly reported by faculty that social media provided value in teaching, and was also a valuable tool for collaborative-based learning. Davis et al (2015) explored the importance of the use of social media to better serve the needs of students’ to enhance their success. The study exercised the importance of social media sites as tools for learning and engaging in activities set out on the basis of getting involved and quite importantly enhancing students’ levels of motivation. The study illustrates the benefits of social media use in the context of higher education.

Some studies indicate the use of social media to aid in improving students’ English language. In detail, here it is important to focus on the study carried out by Kabilan et al (2010). The study has explored the ways in which social media can benefit students who are struggling with their English language, and has mainly focused on the use of ‘Facebook’. The purpose of the study was to investigate the usefulness of Facebook for university students’ who considered the site ‘Facebook’ as useful, in support of a learning environment. The study took the approach of quantitative methodology, which involved 300 undergraduate students’. From the study it can be found that students’ believed Facebook could be utilized for the purposes of learning English. Teachers also found Facebook as meaningful as an educational project. Notwithstanding much criticism, this study focused on quantitative methodology which does not include students’ detailed personal views on how they felt about using these sites. A qualitative methodology could quite precisely give reasons and in depth information.

Peck (2012) carried out a study: ‘Engaging Students online and in Class’. The study involved the use of social networking sites to enhance learning. The study specified the ways in which new technologies expand learning through different means (social media). Especially, considering collaborative-based learning and connecting communities rather than students’ learning by themselves, or through teachers in class sessions. The aim of the study was to find out the ways in which social media enhanced and supported students’ learning. A social networking site was implemented in a university unit. Students were expected to engage in both online and face-to-face classes. The findings in the study were further used to examine online instructor behaviour and presence, which involved students actively taking part.

Although the study aimed to look at the use of social media within a classroom-based environment, the study also found a correlation in ‘gender’ and the use of ‘blogs’. Males were found in all likelihood to post blogs and gain higher response rates as compared to those blogs posted by females. According to the study, there are many benefits of using social media as tools for learning as the study indicates that those students who were observed to be quiet and were less likely to get involved in class discussions found it easier to engage in online discussions. To conclude, the study found that students’ initial cynicism towards social media changed and more students decided to get involved in group work. Group work increased student participation, for instance face-to-face interactions. This demonstrates the significance of the use of social media within a classroom-based environment.

Numerous authors have argued the benefits of social media in higher education. Vilhelmina and Viktorija (2012) conducted a study based on social media in adult education. The study established that students’ perceived social media as means of online communication. Students’ viewed social media as a use for informal motives (socialising with friends) rather than as educational resources. Vilhelmina and Viktorija claimed that social media needs to be understood as benefiting students’, and therefore such media should be used as tools for educational purposes. It is comparatively argued by respondents in the study who suggested qualified teachers who have expertise in social media as a means of education should take part in learning and teaching through social media.

Likewise, Espuny et al (2011) carried out questionnaires which directed towards the reflection on students` attitudes towards the use of social networking sites and in particular, the use of these sites for educational purposes. Results proposed that students` regarded social networking sites positively and were aware of the uses of these sites. The use of social networking sites for educational purposes seemed to be lower among respondents. It was also found that no respondent who took part in the study mentioned the use of these sites as being instructed by teachers. The expectation of the use of social networking sites in academic context remained relatively low. Negativity towards the use of social networking sites for educational purposes was not found amongst any of the respondents. The study offers an overview of the contexts in which students use social networking sites for educational and non-educational purposes.

Various students are perceived as coming into higher education with extensive experience in social media. Many organisations and institutions are requiring employees to have high proficiency in such technologies. Charles Wankel (2012) carried out a study which looked at the use of social media in teaching. As numerous authors have previously stated the significance of collaborative learning in higher education through social media, Wankel’s study also specifies similar findings.

Cultural Studies

It is vital to explore the ways in which the use of social media differs among diverse cultures, specifically looking at countries in the Middle East. One particular study which indicates the use of social media in higher education has been carried out by Alsurehi and Youbi (2014). The study was carried out in higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia. The approach and methods of the study involved quantitative methodology, this included surveys to gather information. It was found that the use of social media was limited, explicitly the use of Facebook which many students were unaware about. This can be compared to studies that have been carried out in the Western world, where the use of social media is on the rise. Facebook can be perceived as an important application for collaborative-based learning within higher education institutions in England. This particularly illustrates the ways in which social media may be on the rise in some countries, whilst may not be considered as essential in others for the purposes of educational learning. The study by Alsurehi and Youbi emphasised the under-utilisation of social networking sites in universities constituted in Saudi Arabia. However, the study quite critically hampers the importance of these sites as they are seen to aid in students’ learning.

Furthermore, some studies point out the use of social media in higher education institutions for scholarly purposes, such as in Israel. The study carried out by Forkosh and Hershkovitz (2012) focused on the use of social media for educational purposes. The study comprised of a research population of 47 Facebook accounts and 26 Twitter accounts used by Israeli universities and colleges. The study acknowledged the use of Facebook and Twitter for educational purposes outside of the classroom-based environment, and further found that social media promoted knowledge sharing. This is similar to considerable research, which has previously been covered and has quite radically demonstrated the importance of social media for purposes of collaborative-based learning. The sites were found to correspond to parallel patterns in the higher education community, and quite evidently were found to promote, and reinforce the role of higher education institutions within the community.

An alternative study carried out in a university in Spain, indicated the practices under which social media has developed as forms of extensive support for individual growth, and in gaining support from groups of people. Social media can be assumed as carrying significance for both education and learning. One reason for this being: the potential effects social media have shown on students. There has been an increase in students’ enthusiasm which has further enabled long-standing educational goals (Gewerc, Montero and Lama, 2014).

Recent news also indicates the ways in which universities are beginning to promote the benefits of being active in the use of social media. The US Official News (2013) offers particular news in which Johnson State College issued the news release that Twitter and other social media ought to be used positively. The students were said to think as if they were marketing themselves and so their goal was to get noticed by recruiters. Lecturers explained to students the importance of using ‘Twitter’ to become subject experts and likewise, LinkedIn to advance ideas, as well as to be able to connect with professionals who are studying in the same field. This explains the use of social media within university based environments.

Research has been carried out on the usage of mobile devices in higher education institutions. In particular, concentrating on student perspectives on learning with cell phones, smart phones, and social media, Gikas and Grants (2013) study has directed towards the exploration of teaching and learning through the use of mobile devices. A qualitative method of study was carried out across three different universities in the United States. The instructors at the universities were observed to have been using mobile devices as essentials for course related teaching, for the duration of at least two semesters. The methodology used student focus group interviews. Gikas and Grant established two main themes which appeared to emerge from the interview data. The first being: advantages of mobile computing devices for student learning and the second being frustration from learning with mobile computed devices. Many benefits were found concerning the use of social media. The sites created opportunities for interaction, collaboration and allowed students to be able to create content and share it with other students as tools of assistance and connectivity. The advantages of using mobile computerised devices comprised of being able to access material quickly and being able to communicate with other students (collaborative based learning), proposing diverse ways to study, as well as forms of situated learning. It was also established that students’ were frustrated with teachers who were not willing to incorporate technology in their courses. It was reported that several teachers’ requested students to put away their devices as soon as they entered the classroom.

The above literature focused on in the research study, offers a foundation for the research that is to be carried out in the dissertation. In summary, numerous researchers have found many positive and negative effects associated with the use of social media in the setting of higher education institutions. One common theme that can be found among many of the studies involves ‘collaborative learning’ and the customs in which students use social media to engage in collaborative-based learning. In keeping with this finding, the study that is to be carried out in the dissertation on social media and higher education will address the use of social media for related reasons, through the methods of interviews. The research that is to be carried out will also aim to challenge some of the negative features found by academics in relation to the usage of social media for educational purposes.

Recent news puts forward the relative implications social media has on students and the ways in which they choose to use these sites. Students are seen to be posting content which may perhaps cause risks for employment. Is social media safe for employees to post ‘tweets’ or ‘statuses’ regarding work? In current news it was reported that Pearson (textbook company) claimed to have been monitoring students during exam period. This illustrates the private functioning to monitor students, making sure they are disciplined when posting content. Social media can be used for many purposes. The purposes focused on in the dissertation involve the use of social media for ‘learning and teaching’ purposes. Having revised the literature it is now important to look at the types of methodology which are appropriate for this specific study.

Chapter 3: Methodology

Having previously established the theoretical outlook of the dissertation, it is essential to reflect on the ways in which information will be collected in support of the arguments that will be presented in the findings. The arguments consist of negative and positive characteristics found in relation to the use of social media in the context of higher education. Particularly, considering collaborative-based learning as a tool for group learning as well as student success rates based on classroom-based learning. There are numerous methods involved in carrying out social research. The use of qualitative methodology can be considered as a central type of methodology that is to be adopted for the specific study on students’ and teachers’ views on the use of social media in the context of higher education.

The study seeks to the use of social media in higher education institutions without rigidly structuring the direction of inquiry by means of simplifying a priori definitions_. For that reason, this study will utilise a qualitative interactive research design. The approach is in line with interpretivist perspectives as the study involves meanings and understandings, which are socially developed through the use of social media. This specific approach will allow the research to rely on naturalistic methods, which ensure that the researcher and students engage in a meaningful conversation or exchange on the use of social media for the purposes of learning. Quantitative methodology, aligned with objective ontology and includes numerical data, requires much larger samples while in this study we have a very small sample. The study highly relies on meanings and understandings of students’ and teachers’ views on social media and this cannot be accessed through numerical data.

This designated approach allows relatively detailed descri ptions of the use of social media, particularly in terms of gaining in-depth information about students’ and teachers’ behaviours, needs, desires, routines and so forth which are essential in relation to the study. In this way the researcher can identify trends in the results rather than use statistical analysis, as is the case in quantitative methodology.

There are numerous methods to collect information on students and teachers regarding the use of social media. Initially, it would be vital to establish the means under which students use social media and the ways in which the use of social media is viewed by both teachers’ and students’. This can be accomplished through the use of qualitative, semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews have many advantages such as: informal, free flowing, and open ended conversations. Students and teachers have the ability to provide detailed information based on their thoughts and opinions on the use of social media, through open ended questions.

It is easier to analyse data through quantitative methodology in computerised programs such as SPSS. The methodology serves as very useful form for large samples and thus, in this kind of research will prove to be useful. However, when carrying out research using a small sample of 18 participants, it is much easier to conduct interviews in which you can gain in-depth information, and personal opinions giving weight to the research. Espuny et al (2011) carried out a similar study using questionnaires to reflect on students` attitudes towards the use of social networking sites, and the uses of these for educational purposes. Although the questionnaires allowed students to answer questions based on their use of social networking sites, they were unable to express their opinions and views which could have been obtained through qualitative interviews. Also, looking at the research of Al Surehi and Youbi’s (2014) which involved a quantitative survey design, results indicated the limited use of Facebook sites. Here it could be argued that there is the problem as to the reasoning of why this happened. This could be better understood through the use of qualitative methodology. Hence, this is why qualitative methodology will be used in the study: to indicate in-depth views of the uses of social media in the context of higher education.

In accordance with this, this study on social media and higher education involves semi-structured interviews which will be open ended. Kvale (1996:2) described qualitative interviews as: “a construction site of knowledge, where two (or more) individuals discuss a theme of mutual interest”. In accordance to this, semi-structured interviews will allow structures to be emerged through skilful use of questioning participants’ answers gaining knowledge on many different facets. These will consist of non-directive style interviewing. The role of ambiguity is vital when constructing the interviews as participants should not really be able to make a guess about which questions are going to be asked. This will result in gaining good data, as compared to interviews in which individuals are able to make guesses and know what the research is about which would on the other hand involve bias. We want to refrain from this as much as possible in the study.

The sample has been selected through the use of purposive sampling where students and teachers will be approached depending on their availability, and whether they use social media or not. The sample consists of 10 students and eight teachers. Of course, it is essential to interview both individuals who do or do not use social media, to pose questions as to why students may not use social media for educational purposes, gaining in-depth views and opinions on the specific use of these sites. Students have been approached on the University of Salford’s campus. Students will be given an informed consent form giving relative information about the study gaining consent on whether they wish to take part or not. Similarly, teachers have been approached through emails (arranging a meeting with them to carry out the interviews). The interviews took place in quiet environments such as the university library as it is believed that students will feel more comfortable here. Similarly, the interviews with teachers took take place in their offices.

Interviews involve an intervention: Patton (2002) has explained in this connection the ways in which good interviews lay open thoughts, feelings and knowledge for both the interviewer and the interviewee. This is highly dependent on the relationship that will be formed with the individual being interviewed. It is essential not to expose the identity of the interviewee involved in the research. These matters will be managed through anonymity.

There are ethical implications to the study, which need to be addressed. This has been considered as the work has been made to comply with the British Sociological Association guidelines. The BSA guidelines have been thoroughly read to help overcome any ethical issues that may rise from the study. Referring to ‘point 6’ in the study (in the BSA guidelines), the findings have been reported accurately and truthfully and as according to ‘point 11’ this research on social media does not involve taking over the rights of others for the purpose of gaining knowledge. Students and teachers have been told about the potential risks and benefits of the research through informed consent forms, which they have been asked to, read and then sign. Participants’ have the right to withdraw from the study at any point, whether this is after the interviewing process or before. Information disclosed will be kept anonymous and in relation to this: participants will be referred to as ‘informant 1 and informant 2’ and so on. The research has ensured the physical, social and psychological well-being of the participants involved.

The analysis of the results will include the processes of initial and focus coding. Patterns found in the results will be used to make comparisons as well as to find similarities in the interviews. The themes that will be observed include: collaborative learning, learning purposes, effect on grades, socialisation purposes, time spent on social media, general use, and the use of social media for teaching use. In vivo, codes will be used in the notes to be able to understand codes in the language of the participants. The process of coding will take place before and after the interviews.

Chapter 4: Findings

This proposed study aimed to acknowledge students and teachers use of social media in the context of higher education. This specifically involved evaluating teachers’ perspectives on the use of social media. Many central themes have been addressed within the course of the study and these include: the general use of social media, the use of social media in the classroom, the use of social media for learning outside the classroom, and lastly, the overall view of the effects of social media use in teaching and learning. The results specify common themes such as: collaborative learning, time spent, and the effect on grades, general use, and teaching use. The themes evolved from the literature observed within the course of the study, were eventually adapted to this specific study on social media. Having analysed the data collected through semi-structured interviews, the main results are presented below.

Firstly, when observing the theme of ‘time spent on social media’ in terms of social media’s general use, it was found that four of the students’ claimed to have used social media for more than six hours per day. This illustrates the excessive use of social media in the daily lives of students’. The use of ‘Facebook’ and ‘WhatsApp’ were common amongst all students who were interviewed. When asked about the purpose of using social media, students gave similar responses. One student claimed “I mostly use these sites for er…the purpose of staying connected with friends and family you know”.

Here, another theme emerged and this was categorised as ‘socialisation’. All students interviewed mentioned the use of social media for the purposes of socialisation and entertainment. Students’ mentioned the idea of wanting to stay ‘connected’, to ‘socialise’, ‘talk to friends’, and interact with friends. Social media as a whole involved the process of individuals engaging in communication exchanges with one another. Here it is important to consider a theme concerning the use of social media for ‘entertainment’ purposes as mentioned by students. When looking at the uses of social media in the classroom it was found that nine of the students interviewed mentioned used social media in the classroom to overcome, so they claimed, boredom. A study with a larger sample could confirm whether or not the majority of students do this. One participant claimed that “if the lecture is boring then I keep myself busy by using my phone to message my friends”. Another student claimed using social media within the classroom only during ‘breaks and free time’. This illustrates the level of concentration of students’ in the classroom, lectures, and seminars. One student who had mentioned using social media only during breaks and free time explained how he was able to concentrate without being distracted from teaching and learning. Four of the students also interviewed mentioned that social media should not be used for educational purposes. This mainly involved reasons such as: “it should be used for recreation purposes, I can’t see it mainly being used for education” and also reasons as to social media being a distraction, and being used for purposes of socialisation only. One participant claimed to join pages on Facebook for fun and not for educational purposes. This again illustrates the use of social media for purposes of entertainment rather than for learning.

Although, the findings so far demonstrate the use of social media for socialisation and entertainment purposes, the findings in this study also suggest that there is a relative use of social media for learning purposes. Students claimed to have used social media for the purposes of learning, whether this involved finding information or gaining help from peers. One student even claimed to have used social media within the classroom for the purpose of getting rid of misunderstandings with the work given, and if there were difficulties in understanding certain terminologies. This students also said that “social media is sometimes useful for learning but not all the time”. This shows that social media is used for learning but also for other purposes. Two of the students interviewed stated not using social media for purposes of reading or finding articles. Nonetheless, five of the students claimed to use social media for the purposes of finding definitions, course related information, articles, readings for seminar preparations, and for quick information (i.e. not having to wait for lecturers to reply). This shows a particular benefit of using social media for learning purposes. Another student claimed that social media should be used for educational purposes due to its availability. Over half of the students interviewed claimed that social media should be used for educational purposes, with some claiming it should be used for educational purposes but to an extent, whereas the remainder claimed it should not be used for educational purposes at all. Again this implies the use of social media for educational purposes as well as for other uses outside of a learning-based environment.

Having examined the findings on social media being used for learning purposes, it is relevant here to mention the theme categorised as ‘collaborative learning’. All students’ claimed to have used social media for the purpose of getting involved in some form of group work, or receiving help from fellow students. Four students’ explained the use of social media for group work which was related to their course. These students’ claimed their involvement in group discussions through social media sites ‘WhatsApp and Facebook’ (posting links to work) outside the classroom, as well as group work in the classroom to find information. All students’ claimed to use social media during seminars and lectures to learn and engage with peers. One student explained using social media within the classroom for the purpose of gaining access to lecture slides for note-taking and to check emails, whilst another student mentioned that social media should not be allowed in the classroom.

When asked about teachers and whether they asked students to access social media sites for educational purposes, many different responses were given by students’. Over a quarter of students’ claimed to have been asked to fill out a quiz towards the end of the lecture, in order to test students on the content covered during the lecture. Similarly, six students claimed that their lecturers asked them to access Twitter to find course related material to aid in learning and for assignment use, whilst the rest of the participants stated that lecturers did not ask them to use social media for learning purposes. One student mentioned their lecturer using YouTube during teaching to show videos relevant to the work being taught. This explains the use of social media as a benefit for teachers’ who want to share content with their students through the use of social media sites.

In relation to the last theme, ‘effects on grades and learning’, one common statement found among all students was that social media is a distraction from learning. Many students who used social media sites during class time claimed that this decreased their levels of concentration causing a diversion in their minds from the teaching processes that are taking place. Some students’ claimed to have not used these sites within the classroom to simply avoid being distracted: “I only use my phone in free time when we get a break”. Students were also seen to indicate not being able to read a lengthy article without being distracted by the use of a social media sites. This is a very significant finding as it indicates the use of social media during learning, whilst simultaneously highlighting its potential to being a distraction. It was claimed by a student: “I can’t read an article that is more than two pages long without being distracted by a message or a notification”. Distraction can be seen as a key finding in the results as it has been mentioned by students’ for both purposes of reading and in the class-based environment. A student mentioned “Social networking sites shift my attention sometimes in class and so I avoid using them so that I can focus on my work”. Furthermore, one student explained the ways in which social media had a negative impact on the grade they achieved, whilst three students’ claimed the use of social media having a positive effect on the grades they achieved. Lastly, over half of the students’ claimed social media having no effect on the grade they achieved.

In a similar context, eight lecturers were interviewed regarding the use of social media in the context of higher education. The main themes that emerged from the findings were: general use, use in class, learning/teaching, distraction, effect on grades, entertainment, and collaborative learning. Many similar responses were found across the interviews. Looking at the general use of social media, the social media site ‘LinkedIn’ was found to be the most commonly used site among lecturers. LinkedIn and the university website ‘Blackboard’ were explained by teachers’ as being more professional rather than the use of Facebook and other social media sites, when interacting with students. The findings suggested that lecturers spent little time using social media sites as compared to students, and mostly used social media for educational purposes. Lecturers also mentioned the use of social media for purposes of maintaining professional profiles, where students and other academics can interact with one another. Quite interestingly, one lecturer claimed to use LinkedIn to track on graduates and career paths. This illustrates the use of social media by lecturers to help students not only during their study time at the university but also after graduation to be able to maintain contact with graduates.

Another theme appearing within the category of ‘general use of social media’ consisted of the level of involvement with the use of social media in the classroom. Just under a half of the teachers interviewed, it was found that teachers’ claimed students do not actively engage in class discussions due to excessive use of social media through the use of mobile devices. Two lecturers also took into consideration the fact that not all students have access to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and therefore, the materials for learning are always posted on the university website: Blackboard. The statement that ‘more students reply on social networking sites’ pages as compared to the universities website (Blackboard) discussion board’ was found to be common amongst lecturers.

Looking at the use of social media in the classroom, four lecturers claimed to use YouTube during lectures to show examples of diagrams and videos in relation to the work being taught. The links to the sites were found to be posted on the universities website (Blackboard). Half of the teachers’ claimed to ask students to use social media within the classroom, whereas the other half claimed to not ask students to use social media during class time. Another finding is that the students use of social media to find relevant information related to class work. Here it is important to look at the teaching and learning processes that are used through social media, as mentioned by teachers during the interviews. The social networking site ‘Twitter’ was found to be encouraged for teaching and learning purposes by some lecturers. One lecturer said: “I encourage students to use Twitter. We have a ‘hashtag’ for the module, this is for the purpose of…if students have any information then they can contribute through the use of this hashtag to help other students”. Another lecturer claimed to use Twitter for the subject ‘History and Politics’, to aid the learning process on this module by posting published work, which can be accessed immediately. The use of Facebook for teaching purposes and student interaction was also found to be common within the interviews. Teachers explained social media as being useful for learning and likewise one lecturer stated: “students need to be able to use social media or they will find the work difficult and therefore it is definitely a useful resource”. Social media was also described as being useful in terms of easy accessibility for obtaining articles that are posted online and other electronic resources.

In addition to this, another theme explored was ‘distance learning’. The use of social media here was found to be extremely common. This included online degrees that comprised of online marking, reading, and video conferencing (exams are taken online through Skype). Followed by this are exchange programmes, which are placed overseas through the use of social media (and the internet as a whole). Blackboard (university website) was explained as being more professional and therefore, the majority of course related material was claimed as being posted there. Conversely, one lecturer explicated the ways in which students use social media more often and therefore, are more likely to read an article or assigned reading given on these sites, as compared to going on to the university website to access reading material. This illustrates the potential social media has, in pushing students to use academic literature through easily accessible sites (day-to-day visited sites, Facebook and Twitter). It was also found that there was good potential for social media use in learning as it was seen as useful in allowing students to easily access key information in the classroom through social media sites. One participant also explained the ways in which the university provided workshops in relation to using social media within teaching in the classroom. Two teachers explained the negative impact social media had on students’ work and this was due to students’ use of websites that may be inconsistent with their reference lists. Therefore, it was rendered important to teach students the ways in which social media ought to be used for learning purposes. In relation to this, one of the lecturers explained the ways in which students are taught to distinguish between websites that are academically accredited and websites that are not.

All the lecturers interviewed explained the ways in which social media could be a distraction during teaching processes in the classroom-based environment. The reasons for this were that students did not actively engage in lectures through discussions and answering questions. Many lecturers claimed taking phones off students, so that they would engage and not be easily distracted. Teachers’ also complained about the fact that, students were unable to read a full length article when asked to, instead they tended to skim through it, as they are easily distracted by the use of social media and socialising with friends through their phones and laptops. This is a very consistent finding and a very significant one as it has to do with the capacity to focus attention on a task (reading) that requires concentration and this has major implications for learning .The levels of distraction can be seen to correlate with the impact on the grades students’ achieved. Three of the teachers interviewed claimed that social media had a negative effect on students’ grades because social media was being used for socialisation purposes (students are easily distracted), whilst two teachers claimed that social media had a positive impact on students’ grades, and likewise three of the others claimed social media had no correlation with the grades students’ achieved.

In relation to the category ‘entertainment’, teachers argued that social media is often used for entertainment purposes rather than learning: three teachers interviewed explained that social media was used for purposes of socialisation. One teacher similarly said: “social media isn’t used for learning it is used by students for socialisation”. Likewise, two lecturers explained that social media is used for entertainment purposes, but also to make students more employable. This specifies social media being used for socialisation purposes but also for purposes of job prospects/

Collaborative learning was a common theme found in both the interviews carried out with students as well as with teachers. Six of the teachers’ explained using discussion boards on the university website (Blackboard) to allow students’ to pose questions and help one another with learning. One lecturer explained the ways in which he asked students to use social media to engage with one another for group related work. Facebook was also explained as being an ‘informal’ discussion board as compared to ‘Blackboard’ (university website) which was seen as being a more ‘formal’ discussion board.

Lastly, teachers from different courses used social media differently. It was found that the teachers from the Business, Computing, Arts, and History departments were more likely to use social media in their teaching. This was for purposes such as distance learning and using online tools for learning purposes. Social media was less likely to be used in the Science and English departments where teachers were more likely to oppose the use of social media within the classroom.

Chapter 5: Discussion

The aim of the study was to advance knowledge about how students and teachers viewed social media, specifically considering how these sites had an effect on students’ learning in the classroom. This involved the commitment and levels of concentration of students’ when teaching and learning processes were going on in the classroom. The core aim of the study was to gain a first understanding of the teachers’ perspectives regarding the issue of social media as well as the differences between those students who chose to use social media within the classroom and those who do not. The themes raised in the study include: the general use of social media, the use of social media outside of the classroom, the use of social media in the classroom.

The findings indicate the high frequency of social media used by students for both purposes of education and socialisation. Students’ mentioned using social media for the purposes of staying connected as well as for entertainment. In the same way, the literature discussed in the report also indicates the use of social media for such purposes (socialisation). Vilhelmina and Viktorija (2012) found that students’ perceived social media as means of online communication. What this study carried out by Vilhelmina and Viktorija did not look at, was the use of social media in the classroom and how this has an effect on learning and teaching processes. However, it is important not to ignore the sample size used in Vilhelmina and Viktorija’s study as this consisted of 105 interviews with both teachers and students. This is a larger sample and therefore is likely to have more validity and reliability.

The research in this dissertation has found similar findings with respect to teachers’ views on social media. Social media was used for teaching purposes during workshops, this suggests that social media is becoming a tool for learning. Viktorija’s (2012) study similarly explains respondents views that qualified teachers who have expertise in social media as a means of education should be used in learning and teaching. Social media in classroom is used for the purpose of getting rid of boredom. We have found in our study a similar use of social media to avoid being ‘bored’. Students’ explained the ways in which social media was a distraction in the classroom and therefore, only used social media sites during breaks and free time, to avoid distraction. Similarly, Roblyer et al (2010) found out in his study that teachers prohibit the use of social networking sites within the classroom.

However, looking at teachers’ use of social media in the classroom, a study carried out by Moran, Seaman and Kane (2011) found that two-thirds of the teaching faculty interviewed, used social media during class sessions and similarly. The study focused on in this dissertation illustrates that 37.5% of lecturers claimed to have used social media within the classroom in particular, YouTube. Similar results were found in this study when interviewing teachers’. It was found that many teachers found the use of social media within the classroom for purposes other than learning distracting distraction for both themselves and the students, as they were unable to concentrate and actively take part in class discussions.

However, the use of social media sites in the classroom for learning purposes, were also found. Students’ mentioned using these sites during lectures to get rid of misunderstandings with the learning as well as to find definitions which they did not understand. This illustrates the use of social media within the classroom-based environment as being a positive factor of getting rid of boredom, as well as being used for educational purposes of finding useful information. In explaining this concept it can be understood that social media has some benefits as well as some implications. In accordance to this, looking at the literature discussed in this study a recent study carried out by Gaudreau et al (2014) study indicated the correlation with low success rates and lower levels of self-reported academic achievement as well as, school related use of laptops was positively associated with academic satisfaction.

However, the study focused on in this paper on students and teachers does not directly show a correlation between students’ uses of social media within the classroom and the effects this has on their grades. The findings do illustrate that some students did mention social media having a negative impact on the grades they achieved due to being ‘distracted’. Similarly, other students claimed that social media did not have any effect on the grades they achieved at all, or even have a positive impact due to using these sites outside the classroom to find course related material. According to the findings on teachers’ views on the use of social media in the classroom it was found that three of the teachers interviewed did not really see any link between the use of social media and the effect this had on grades. Whilst the other three teachers’ claimed social media having a negative impact on success rates, and two explained the ways in which social media had a positive impact on students’ grades.

In relation to the students’ views of social media for learning purposes, it was found that eight of the students’ interviewed mentioned that social media should be used for educational purposes. Six of the students’ stated that their lecturers asked them to access Twitter to find course related material to aid in learning and for assignment use. In this connection, Moran, Seaman and Kane’s (2011) study found that 40% of teachers asked students to visit social networking sites for gaining assignment material. The findings in the dissertation suggest that teachers explained the importance of using social media for learning purposes and similarly, Moran, Seaman and Kane’ (2011) study presented similar findings.

Peck’s (2012) study focused on collaborative based learning and found that those students who were quiet and observed to be less likely to engage in class discussions were more likely to engage in online discussions. Likewise, our own findings show the ways in which students engaged in collaborative based learning outside the classroom. Additionally, there was a high response rate for social media being used for educational purposes as compared to Espuny et al (2011) research, where positive attitudes towards educational purposes of these sites were lower among respondents. A common theme found in this study on teachers’ and students’ views of social media in the context of higher education was the uses of mobile phones in the classroom. Students’ explained the uses of these to avoid boredom whilst teachers explained the use of these as a distraction for both teaching and learning processes taking place. Correspondingly, Gikas and Grants (2013) looked at the uses of mobile devices for learning purposes, it was found that there was an advantage with learning through mobile devices but at the same time there was also frustration from learning from mobile devices. Likewise, similar to the findings in this paper on the uses of social media which indicate students’ quick access to information and being able to communicate with other students’ was also found in Gikas and Grants (2013) study.

The findings in the dissertation are consistent with the literature, and importantly fit in with previously published knowledge on this topic on the uses of social media in the context of higher education. The findings relate to the expectations of the research, as the main focus was on the use of social media in the classroom-based environment as well as, outside the classroom, specifically, looking at the effects social media has on students’ learning both in terms of benefiting and having a negative effect. Teachers’ views regarding the use of social media were to be explored and this has been illustrated in the findings. Teachers’ views on the use of social media were explained in terms of the levels of distraction social media causes in the class room as well as other purposes for which students’ are asked to use social media for instance, for collaborative based learning.

It was found that teachers did not really have any arguments against the fact that students no longer accessed the library for books and journals. Some teachers found social media useful for purposes of finding articles and books electronically. This particular theme of the use of library for the access of articles and books, had not been mentioned in the literature or previous researches mentioned. This was a particularly new phenomenon which indicates the usefulness of social media for higher education. There were also unexpected findings in the study. One student claimed to use social media for educational purposes due to its availability. Similarly, a teacher claimed that social media is an ‘add-on support’ and therefore is very useful but should not replace reading. One interesting aspect was that a teacher claimed that ‘social media is not essential help it is ‘secondary help’ and therefore, helps learning only in some ways’. A major finding was the use of ‘distance learning’. Teachers’ explained the use of social media to particularly engage with students’ doing online tests and having meetings through the help of ‘Skype’. These particular findings stood out from the rest of the findings as these seemed interesting facts which should further be explored in future research.

There were a few limitations in the study which will be bought to light. There were some limitations with the methodology used however, there were no major problems with reliability as this involves larger samples (quantitative methodology). The methodology involved: interviews, which were time consuming for students’. Students may have given socially desirable responses, because if you explained the purpose of the study, the students may have got the idea of what the study would be about and would have given responses which were desirable to the researcher which was you, so maybe next time, just get them to sign a consent form to sign and take part in the study and then provide a full debrief in the end.

Moreover, the sample size consisted of 10 students’ and eight teachers’ this is relatively a small sample however, there may have been issues with reliability as a small sample size was used. Results cannot be generalised to the wider population of students within the university. There were also lower response rates with the use of interviews. Over 50 lecturers were emailed with the response of just eight. Similarly, Stangeland (1993:145) has emphasised on this point and claimed: “The personal interviews are more difficult to carry out, and the refusal rate is higher”. Although these factors may have affected the validity of the findings it is important not to ignore the effectiveness of the findings. Teachers’ were interviewed from different courses which included: business, computing, arts and media, science and technology, and so on. This makes the findings more acceptable as it involves different taught courses in university. This had an effect on the results as teachers from different courses used social media in teaching whilst others used it less.

The results have clearly emphasized that social media plays an important role in students’ education and therefore should be implemented within the classroom-based environment to support individuals in academic studies.

Chapter 6: Conclusion

This chapter will review and summarise the research, discussing the implications for the study. The aim of the research has been to understand students’ and teachers’ views on social media use in the context of higher education, with the purpose of understanding both perspectives on the use of social media for educational and socialisation purposes. In the following paragraphs we will summarise the main aspects and findings of this study.

There was one specific issue outlined in chapter 1 and this was the issue that social media within the classroom had become on the increase in recent times. This issue had been addressed within the course of the study, understanding the implications social media had on the grades students’ achieved. Hence, the issue of conceptualisation in the ways in which students’ chose to study had also been addressed. The findings suggested the use of social media during class time being a distraction for some lecturers and students. Using social media in the classroom was found to be a distraction for both teachers and students, unless social media sites were being used for learning or teaching purposes.

Many teachers explained the use of YouTube to demonstrate information linked to the teaching process. Similarly, teachers also explained the use of professional links such as LinkedIn and Twitter to help students with their learning outside the classroom, providing students with assignment related material. Generally, some students’ and teachers’ indicated the use of social media having no correlation with the grades students’ achieved, whilst others indicated the possible positive and negative effects related to the grades they achieved.

There were many important areas that had been identified in the study and these involved: the use of social media in the classroom for the purpose of boredom, as well as finding information and definitions. Other areas included the use of social media for entertainment purposes, collaborative-based learning, and sharing course related material. Unexpected findings were also assessed as themes emerged regarding ‘distance learning’ which included the use of social media to engage with teachers and students on a one-to-one basis. These themes were considered in chapter 1 in the aims of the research and thus, the findings have been useful and essential in the understanding of students and teachers use of social media in the context of higher education. The findings have simplistically provided understandings and meanings of social media use and the reasons as to why students and teachers use these sites.

The findings of the study indicated the use of social media for the purposes of both socialising and in connection to education. All in all we could say that students mostly used social media for the purpose of entertainment however, they also used social media for the purpose of learning. This mainly encompassed the processes of collaborative-based learning through the use of social media (For instance, Facebook and Twitter). This particularly involved engaging with fellow students’. However, the findings also show that teachers use university websites to get students to engage with one another on a site called ‘Blackboard’, rather than through social media sites which have been explained by teachers as being less professional. Here students were expected to actively engage in group discussions through the use of discussion boards. The findings suggest that students were less likely to engage with one another through the use of university based websites.

There were many important areas that had been identified in the study and these involved: the use of social media in the classroom for the purpose of boredom, as well as finding information and definitions. Other areas included the use of social media for entertainment purposes, collaborative-based learning, and sharing course related material. Unexpected findings were also assessed as themes emerged regarding ‘distance learning’ which included the use of social media to engage with teachers and students on a one-to-one basis. These themes were considered in chapter 1 in the aims of the research and thus, the findings have been useful and essential in the understanding of students and teachers use of social media in the context of higher education. The findings have simplistically provided understandings and meanings of social media use and the reasons as to why students and teachers use these sites.

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