Educational Use of Social Networking Technology in Higher Education

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2010

Department

Computing

School

Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering

Abstract

This study explored how social networking technology can be used to supplement face-to-face courses as a means of enhancing students' sense of community and, thus, to promote classroom communities of practice in the context of higher education. Data were collected from 67 students who enrolled in four face-to-face courses at two public universities in Taiwan. Findings indicated that the majority of participants developed strong feelings of social connectedness and expressed favorable feelings regarding their learning experiences in the classes where social networking sites were used as a supplementary tool. Learner difficulties and concerns of instructors about the educational use of social media are addressed with recommendations for future research and practice.

Publication Title

Teaching in Higher Education

Volume

15

Issue

6

First Page

703

Last Page

714

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