No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Use of Social Media in Teaching High School Students: A Case of United Arab Emirates
Abstract
The use of social media platforms by the education sector has grown significantly in the past decade. The advancement in information and technology has prompted the integration of social media use in education. Social media use has revolutionized the learning processes from what was traditionally teacher-centered to the current student-centered approach. People between 16 and 24 years of age are considered among the active users of social media; hence, by incorporating an important part of their lives in school activities, learning may become more amusing and improve performance. Despite the United Arab Emirates being considered the technological hub of the Middle East, it has made minimal steps toward integrating social media in the learning system for high school students. This article explores the type of social media used by students and teachers in the Emirati high school system and examines the favorable social media tools used in learning in high schools by teachers and students and responds to questions like the purposes of using social media in learning and does social media use in learning affect student and teacher satisfaction and attitude? Further, it asks what the impacts of using social media on learning are. Finally, it discusses the challenges students and teachers come across when using social media for learning.
... Because of this, teachers had to quickly pivot and use online technologies to teach their students and students were encouraged to use these same online technologies to learn (Hatip, 2020). With the resultant increase in the use of social media for teaching, teachers were required to successfully integrate the use of social media into their pedagogical practices (Jenaibi and Mansoori, 2021). Yet there are challenges inherent in using social media for teaching, which if better understood can help teachers manage them, hence there have been calls for more research to be conducted (Ekberg and Gao, 2018). ...
... As Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) like social media get used more in classrooms, teachers need to understand the platforms to support teaching (Jenaibi and Mansoori, 2021). For example, secondary school teachers in Nigeria have used Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and YouTube as interactive teaching and learning channels for communication and to share information. ...
... Besides being competent in their subject's content, teachers need to be comfortable executing pedagogical methods that are relevant in the 21st century (Moodley, 2019). Teachers from disadvantaged schools with limited ICT resources tend to not have the expertise or skills needed to effectively use ICT for teaching (Jenaibi and Mansoori, 2021). These teachers tend to resist using ICT (Jenaibi and Mansoori, 2021). ...
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a significant shift towards the use of social media platforms to support teaching with educators being responsible for integrating social media into their pedagogical practices. Yet its use has many challenges. This research aimed to describe the challenges secondary school teachers shared about using social media as a teaching tool. This descriptive multiple case study followed an interpretive, inductive, and qualitative approach. Four secondary schools were selected as cases and teachers who used social media as a teaching tool were interviewed. Multiple challenges are described that impact teachers and students. Many are due to the features of social media, and some are due to school infrastructure and policies. Practically this research can help teachers have a better understanding of these challenges before using social media for their own teaching. Policies, curricula, applications, and pedagogies can also be adapted and changed based on the finding of this research.
... The significance of this research, therefore, lies in its potential to inform policy formulation, media practices, and public engagement strategies aimed at advancing SDGs both locally and globally. communication and governmental communication (Darwish, 2017;Jenaibi, 2015;Jenaibi & Mansoori, 2022;Kirat, 2007Kirat, , 2012Mansoori, 2017;Nuaimi, 2010;Rashid, 1999;Wiest & Eltantawi, 2012). ...
This study examines how United Arab Emirates (UAE) national newspapers reported on sustainable development goals (SDGs) following the country's announcement that it would host COP28 climate change summit in 2023. We analyzed the content of a systematic random sample of news articles published in leading Arabic and English language newspapers over a one-year period. Results indicate that sustainable development issues, particularly related to the environment and economy, were covered widely and mostly positively, and were framed in the context of achievements rather than challenges. We also observed significant differences in SDG reporting between the two newspapers selected for our study. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed.
... These studies focused on the history of media and journalism in the UAE (Rashid, 1999;Suwaid & Taya, 2016), environmental journalism (Al-Nuaimi, 2010), PR moral values in the UAE (Kirat, 2012), and institutional communication in newspapers (Mansoori, 2017). In addition, there were studies related to the effects of social media use on institutional and organizational communication in the UAE (Al- Jenaibi, 2015;Jenaibi & Mansoori, 2022), governmental communication (Darwish, 2017), and the use of social media in teaching PR academic programs in the UAE (Kirat, 2007;Wiest & Eltantawy, 2012). ...
This study provides a comprehensive examination of the primary characteristics of opinion journalism within two prominent newspapers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Utilizing a content analysis approach, a systematic random sample comprising 560 opinion articles published in 2022 was analyzed from these two printed newspapers in the UAE. The findings unveiled a predominance of male columnists (87%) and a predominant focus on international issues (67%) within opinion journalism featured in the leading UAE newspapers. Interpretation emerged as the primary goal (37%), with political topics ranking highest on the agenda (37%). Noteworthy differences were observed between the newspapers at the individual level, with
... Yunus et al., (2019) also reported that the advantage of social media helps develop students' writing ability. Jenaibi and Mansoori (2022) contended that social media context allows learners to manage and maintain a learning space that facilitates their learning activities and connections to peers and social networks across time and place. To achieve this aim, the present work specifically seeks to investigate the following research objectives. ...
This research explores the integration and impact of artificial intelligence (AI) within Emirati media organizations, focusing on adoption determinants, obstacles, and interventions. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study incorporates qualitative data from 21 in-depth interviews with media professionals and a thematic analysis of 30 scholarly articles published between 2019 and 2024. The research aims to provide a nuanced understanding of AI's transformative effects on the UAE media landscape. Key findings reveal that AI is significantly enhancing content creation, distribution, and audience engagement processes within Emirati media organizations. AI technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, and predictive analytics are being leveraged to improve operational efficiency, streamline workflows, and deliver personalized content to audiences. These advancements are driving competitive advantages and elevating the overall quality of media output. Despite these benefits, several challenges hinder widespread AI adoption. Technological barriers, including limited access to advanced AI tools and infrastructure, pose significant obstacles. Additionally, there is a pronounced shortage of skilled personnel capable of implementing and managing AI systems, which exacerbates concerns over job displacement and workforce anxiety. Ethical considerations, such as ensuring unbiased AI algorithms and protecting user privacy, are also critical issues that require attention. The study underscores the importance of continuous training and upskilling for media professionals to adapt to the evolving technological landscape. It highlights the role of robust ethical guidelines and governance frameworks in promoting responsible AI use. Government support, through targeted policies, funding initiatives, and incentives, is identified as a crucial factor in facilitating AI integration and addressing adoption barriers. The research concludes by providing strategic recommendations for media organizations and policymakers. It advocates for the development of comprehensive AI adoption roadmaps that include capacity-building initiatives, ethical oversight, and collaborative efforts between industry stakeholders. By addressing these areas, Emirati media organizations can harness the full potential of AI to drive innovation, improve audience engagement, and maintain competitiveness in a rapidly digitizing global media environment. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on AI in media, offering valuable insights into the specific context of the UAE. It provides a foundation for future research on AI's role in media and serves as a guide for organizations seeking to navigate the complexities of AI adoption.
In this article, the researchers investigate the different effects of smartphones on the youth of the United Arab Emirates through an integrated questionnaire among 12 doctors that were randomly sampled and selected about the smartphone use of the youth in the country. Through a qualitative research design by using structured questionnaires, the researcher found out that smartphone usage affects the youth in UAE both in a positive and negative way. Moreover, smartphone usage may lead to negative health issues among the youth including obesity. Also, it was concluded that parents should play a role in limiting the number of hours that youth should use their smartphones to a maximum of 3 hours a day.
Today, in a dynamic technological environment, it is difficult to determine the impact of social media on the student academic achievement. With the rate of technological domination in the education industry, the old pattern of teaching methodologies is obsolescing day by day. It is essential to study how new technologies assist for the teaching and student's education as the younger generation always having technological approach than the older generation. The objective of this research is to identify the how social media influence to student academic achievement. The Questionnaires were distributed through Facebook and E-mails, to find out whether social media impact students education or not. The findings indicate that there is no relationship between social media and student education.
Social media are becoming the most important tools for interaction among people, where everybody can share, exchange, comment, discuss and create information and knowledge in a collaborative way. Social media tools are rapidly changing the communications landscape, their emergence has impacted significantly how students learn and the way instructors teach. In today higher education settings, instructors, students and others collaborate on the tasks of knowledge construction.The definition of social media is "the relationships that exist between network of people" The influence of social media on teaching and learning environment is growing every year and its applications can reinforce class materials, positively influenced discussions, collaborative work, etc. The educators and researchers experimenting the social media technologies to stimulate collaboration, knowledge constructions and thinking skills. The increasingly widespread use of social network sites to expand and deepen one's social connections is a relatively new but potentially important phenomenon that has implications for teaching and learning and teacher education in the 21st century.The main aim of the paper is to find the gap of knowledge in adoption of social network sites in teaching and learning process in formal sites that can efficiency applied in educational system and provides direction for subsequences researches and as a guideline for future research in social network sites in education.
When writing a manuscript, we often use words such as perfect, strong, good or weak to name the strength of the relationship between variables. However, it is unclear where a good relationship turns into a strong one. The same strength of r is named differently by several researchers. Therefore, there is an absolute necessity to explicitly report the strength and direction of r while reporting correlation coefficients in manuscripts. This article aims to familiarize medical readers with several different correlation coefficients reported in medical manuscripts, clarify confounding aspects and summarize the naming practices for the strength of correlation coefficients.
Abstract
The need for learning has been increased with the rapid growth of modern technology and knowledge. E-learning has dramatically changed the manner and process of delivering learning courses and imparting necessary knowledge. The speed, time and distance related issues have been greatly resolved through it. United Arab Emirates, has stated to adopt the E-learning system.
For this purpose, underlying research questions are prepared and answered demonstrating how e-learning contributes in enhancing effectiveness of education and understanding levels. The study aims to investigate parent’s understanding and perception of supporting, encouraging and adopting e-learning initiative. It has used primary and secondary data sources; The primary data based on response of 1520 parents, to a questionnaire survey that consists of six domains; 1-students’ computer competence, 2-teacher computer competence, 3-quality of teaching and learning, 4-meeting students’ needs through the curriculum, 5-school environment, and 6-students’ personal development. The secondary data was from data and survey findings from published by academicians focus on parents’ perception, difference and choice in selecting private or public institutions, implications on quality of education. To measure the reliability of the study tool; test – retest was used. The scale was re-tested with (175) parents after two weeks from the 1st test. By using Spearman-Brown formula α = (0.9) which is acceptable for the purpose of this study.
The results showed that parents’ satisfaction was moderate with teacher computer competence whereas they are highly satisfied with student computer competence. The students’ personal development, meeting students’ needs through curriculum, quality of teaching and learning all these domains showed parents’ low satisfaction as per the results. The hypothesis (a=0.05) denotes that null hypothesis is rejected and concludes that significant difference exist in parents’ perception of e-learning in Abu Dhabi between public and private schools. Results showed as well e-learning can improve the quality of students learning according to parents’ perception through providing them wide variety accessibility of learning materials. The students are not limited or restricted in any manner, regarding course materials, availability of faculty members, accessibility, and time related issues. They can use and access learning materials 24*7 without any restriction of time or physical barrier. The teachers, professionals and experts are available at one click. It has also identified that students often depict laziness and disinterest in visiting schools and universities campuses on ground of distance factor.
Key words: E-Learning perception, Abu Dhabi Schools, Learning quality.
Social media plays a fundamental role worldwide in changing the way of communication is carried out. Using social media in schools has its pros and cons. This paper aims to explore the perspectives of teachers in Abu Dhabi schools regarding the use of social media for instructional purposes in the classroom. The study investigated recent experience of teachers with social media in schools, as well as explore teachers' point of view regarding the importance of social media in teaching and learning. Finding shows that teachers consider social media is a significant tool in their day-today school communication, and there was an appreciation for the use of social media in teaching and learning. Moreover, teachers depicted that the implementation of social media in teaching and learning is still an elusive target.
The current study was conducted to investigate the impact of using social media and internet on the academic achievement of prospective teachers. Focus group of the research could be expressed as 204 prospective teachers that were studying in 2016-2017 fall semesters. To collect data, Attitudes Towards to Social Media Scale was employed. Result of the study revealed that, prospective teachers’ attitudes towards to social media had an influence on academic achievement. Furthermore, it could be stressed that prospective teachers with lower attitudes towards to social media were more likely to have lower academic success when compared with the prospective teachers with higher attitudes towards to social media. In addition to these, results of the current study also expressed that prospective teachers with social media accounts were achieved better grades when compared with the prospective teachers who did not have any social media account. Lastly, it could be indicated that prospective teachers’ attitudes towards to social media was at a moderate level.
Social media which is an important product of Computer and Internet Technologies has a growing usage level
day by day. Increasing social media usage level gives opportunity for new software developments and making
investments in this area. From this aspect, therefore, social media has not only economic function but also make
persons participate in social life. Furthermore, it also provides opportunities for undemocratic actions and
operations as in terms of democratic society life. Identifying users’ habits has an important function on
determining economic, social and cultural effects of social media. From this perspective, this research aims to
determine social media usage habits of high school students. The data was collected from 853 students in total
(419 female and 434 male). In research, “Frequency of Social Media Instruments Usage Scale” for determining
usage frequency of 10 different social media instrument, and to determine the reasons of these instruments’
usage “Reasons of Social Media Usage Scale” consisting of 20-item are used for collecting data. Scales are also
rated on 5-point scale. The results show that the most commonly used social media among the students
participating in questionnaire is “Youtube”, and “Facebook” follows it in the second place. “MySpace” and
“LinkedIn” are the least used social media sites. Top reasons of students’ social media usage are sharing
document, information and opinion, and entertainment. It was determined that students do not use social media
instrument for presenting themselves by using others profiles too much. Gender differences has an important
impact on social media usage. Students access and use social media mostly with using their smartphones.
Students spend between 1-3 hours daily on social media.
Smart government is a public policy that aims to improve people’s happiness by utilizing information communication technology (ICT) in providing public services. The present article explores the perceptions of public sector managers about the state of smart government within their agencies. Thematic analysis of 34 in-depth interviews reveals that the policy is successful and the managers perceive smart government as relevant to good governance. Implementation of the policy seems to be driven by a combination of moral values (principles, duty, and virtues) and rational interests (public, personal, professional, organizational, and legal). Moreover, the managers indicate that smart government contributes to making people happy, and that the policy improves not only public sector services but also the relationship between people and the government. Although the policy is successful, moral, and rational, some challenges may exist.
This paper presents data obtained from focus groups conducted to investigate male students’ experiences in higher education in the United Arab Emirates. Among the issues discussed by students was the impact of social networks addiction on student motivation and this paper focuses on that issue. Thirteen focus groups were conducted with 83 English as a Foreign Language male students at four government campuses including United Arab Emirates University at Al Ain Campus, Higher College of Technology at Ras Al-Khaima Campus, and two campuses (Abu Dhabi and Dubai) of Zayed University. Students access social network sites for both educational and non-educational aspects. Students spoke about their experiences and how social network addiction influenced their academic motivation to study. The resulting themes from the focus groups show that social network addiction has had an impact on student class performance and in some cases led to class failure. Recommendation for better class management and intervention programs are suggested to policy makers and instructors to foster a better student learning experience.
This study uses structural equations modeling to test a hypothetical social network model with applications to a sample of 34,896 school children in Abu Dhabi. The main independent constructs in the model are related to children’s attitude with regard to social networking, reasons for using social networks, things done on social networks, and topics used. The dependent constructs cover perceived school performance and social effects of social networking. The study will describe the relations among the various constructs. The effect of other variables, such as parental knowhow, is also investigated. Our work has improved our insight in the social networking model. Results support the idea of reciprocal relations among perceived performance, learning from social networking, and the effect of social networking. Evidence for a model that includes opposite pathways implies that the problem of social networking constructs, its antecedents, and possible consequences should be examined with caution.
The emergence of social media changed the communication landscape and the way people interact. Additionally, instead of being only a digital content consumer, one can also be a digital content producer. The interactivity of social media also provides potential for enhancing the student experience within the higher education. Various types of social media platforms could be used as instructional and communication tools, since student adoption rate of social media is very high. In recent years, social media use in higher education received some attention among academic researchers. As some studies suggest, social media facilitates dynamic interactivity, accessibility, and a new level of semi-formal relations between students and instructors. Social media will continue to play an important role within the constantly changing learning environment. However, the perceived semi-formal character of social media can limit its use. Especially, from a lecturer perspective. On one hand, students seem more willing than faculty to interact through social media while faculty seem relatively cautious toward interaction with students through different social media platforms. Using data from a convenience sample of undergraduate students in Croatia and Germany, this article focuses on the use social media for student-lecturer interaction.. The main aim of this study is to investigate what motivates students to use social media in a course, together with their perception of student-lecturer interaction through social media. The study also focuses on attitude differences between Croatian and German students.
This paper looks at the usage of social media devices and applications, and parental knowledge and involvement among Abu Dhabi children in Grade 6 or higher. It examines the young children’s usage of personal computers, mobile phones and tablet PCs, and social media related apps. The paper tries to understand the reasons for joining or not joining online social networking. It explores the parental knowledge of such activities and their chance of being invited to join their children’s’ social networking groups. More than 31,000 children from private and public schools participated in the online survey. Results show a high home access to the Internet of 91.7 %. Children reported using social networks mainly for keeping in touch with family and friends, and to find information. Most of the children reported that their parents were aware of their online social networking activities (82.2 %). About 38.7 % said that their parents were in their friend group on online social networking. There is negative correlation between time spent on social networks and perceived student performance in specific subjects. The paper also discusses gender, grade (or age), and school type and implications.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the ways of achieving Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in UAE. Previously, sustainability within an entrepreneurship context has been related to economic viability as opposed to sustainability in its broadest sense. Through a survey research method, we have highlighted the effects of three independent variables and two intervening variables on three important outcomes, innovation, need for achievement and motivation, which ultimately contributes towards STI. These data have been collected from the students of a well-known university in Al-Ain, UAE. The responses of 251 students have been utilized for analysis. For hypotheses testing, we used AMOS 18 (Structural Equation Modeling) and SPSS 20. The study revealed that all of the predictors have a strong effect on the outcome variables, which leads to STI in UAE. There is a strong need to revise the curriculum of higher education institutions of UAE to develop self-confidence, locus of control and risk taking propensity among students. The study provides novel insight into entrepreneurship education and serves as an initial benchmark in the field.
This paper aims to explore the goals and motives of electronic government utilization among the citizens, the motives of their preference as well as the extent of use of these smart applications in the UAE. Also, it investigates the basic element of Smart Government uses within the federal authorities, response times, and recommendations for improving smart government. This study answers the following questions: What is the purpose of creating smart government? What are the users' aims in using smart government and what level of satisfaction do they experience? To augment this research, 450 questionnaires were distributed among federal authorities' users in all 7 emirates in the UAE. In addition, 18 interviews were conducted with managers in the federal government. The users reported high levels of satisfaction using smart government technologies, indicating a high level of usage and trust. The results also show that higher service speed contributes to higher levels of satisfaction. Managers are very optimistic about Smart Government, but some challenges remain, such as the existence of a lack of information or guidelines for using smart government. There is currently no central government department for applying smart government, and no clear vision or philosophies regarding smart government.
Online learning has gained importance in education over the last 20 years, but the well-known problem of high dropout rates still persists. According to the multi-dimensional learning tasks model, the cognitive (over)load of learners is essential to attrition when dealing with five challenges (e.g. technology, user interface) of an online training (Tyler-Smith, 2006). The experienced load might depend on learner characteristics. The study explored the extent that learners dropping out from a vocational video-based online training about media design for employees of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises differ from working learners’ online learning experience, computer attitude, and computer anxiety. The data were collected from 72 of 128 registered employees who completed a questionnaire before starting the course to analyze differences between the dropout group (submitted no solutions to online training tasks; n = 19) and the active learner group (submitted at least one of 13 task solutions; n = 53). No differences were found in online learning experience, but the dropout group reported more negative attitudes towards computers and a higher level of computer anxiety than the active learner group.
Social networking sites are extremely popular online destinations that offer users easy ways to build and maintain relationships with each other, and to disseminate information in an activity referred to as social networking. Students, lecturers, teachers, parents and businesses, in increasing numbers, use tools available on social networking sites to communicate with each other in a fast and cost-effective manner. The use of social networking sites to support educational initiatives has received much attention. However, the full potential of social network sites has yet to be achieved as users continue to strive for optimal ways of using these sites, as well as battle to overcome the negative characteristics (for example, privacy, security, governance, user behaviour, information quality) of these sites. This paper proposes factors for successful use of social networking sites in higher educational institutions. These success factors need to be adopted by users in order to develop the positive aspects of social networking, while at the same time mitigating the negative characteristics. An initial set of factors for successful use of social networking sites, as well as measures to test successful use of social networking sites were derived from the literature. These factors were tested by means of an online survey of students at a university, the results of which informed the final factors for successful use of social networking sites. The factors enable users to overcome the negative characteristics associated with social networking sites. If used successfully, social networking sites can offer lecturers and students a useful tool with which to develop their relationship and contribute to their learning experience.
Social media provide new means and opportunities for learning that are consistent with major tenets of both social and cognitive constructivism, and extend the process of learning and meaning construction to more diverse communities and universally accessible shared activities that are jointly and concurrently engaged in by both peers and experts.
This chapter presents the challenge of communication during teaching and learning and presents a theoretical background to consrtuctivism. An argument is put forward that students, in trying to undestand how the world works, form ideas and explanations which they bring with them to the classroom. Constructivism takes these children's ideas into consideration and various pedagogical approaches are put forward.
This study aims to investigate students' attitudes towards use of social networking sites, Facebook in particular, in language classroom. Social media has a great effect on people's lives and millions of students are spending many hours for social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube. Although millions of students are using these Web 2.0 tools worldwide, there hasn't been much research regarding the educational use of social networking. Considering the probable potential of these websites for educational use, this study was carried out at a university in Gaziantep, Turkey with 48 undergraduate students who were enrolled in one year compulsory English preparatory class. The research design included a 5 point Likert-type questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. It was found out that students have a very positive attitude towards the use of Facebook activity as a supplement to language classroom, but traditional classroom based language learning still remains a backbone for language education.
Computer and video games have become a popular form of entertainment among adolescents and adults. Day by day, the numbers of computer and video game players have increased significantly. According to the “2014 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry” report released by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) in April 2014, total consumer spend on game industry has been $21.53 billion dollars in 2013. Recently, many researchers concentrate on the more negative aspects such as excessive play and addiction of adolescents’ computer game playing. However, the loneliness has been found to be one of the essential predictor of game addiction. The purpose of the current study was to determine between the loneliness level and game preferences of 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. To accomplish this purpose, survey method was used and the data were obtained by a game playing habits and preferences questionnaire and loneliness scale. The participants of the study consist of 843 secondary school students, ranged from 11 to 14 years, in Istanbul, Turkey. The analyses of obtained data were presented and discussed at the results and conclusion section of the study.
Young people today are growing up in a digitalized environment. What challenges do they face in navigating this content-rich, symbolic environment? In this article, the researcher reviews university students' perceptions of media literacy by examining the use of social networking platforms (SN) in academic settings. The researcher distributed 1200 surveys evenly split between Chinese and UAE students and 998 were returned and analyzed. The findings reveal that while many students believe that media literacy should become a priority in modern curricula, this urgency is not felt by the majority of students. The researcher reviews current views and methodologies in the literature related to media literacy and its status in current pedagogy. The study draws from gravitation theory to place the use of SN tools within a broader background of communication. The Uses and Gratification Theory is also invoked to explain how SN was made attractive to campus activists and protesters in the two countries.
During the last decade social media has grown exponentially. With increased accessibility to internet, people nowadays tend to socialize through social mediums rather than face to face mode. More than 1.2 billion people use Facebook regularly according to numbers released in October 2013; a recent report by Business Insider reported 2.7 billion people — almost 40% of the world population— regularly use social media(NMC Horizon-2014). Social media is the current trend with which our lives are presently defined. Social media has invaded in all aspects of human lives. Learners of all levels, be it the school level or the higher education level are using social media tools like Face book, You tube, Twitter etc. to communicate with their peers and teachers. Horizon report 2014 and other trend setting documents forecast increased presence of social media for educational purposes in the current year. National curriculum framework 2005 has emphasized the need of social constructivist approach in the education system. ICT policy in school education 2012 also envisages enhanced availability of ICT infrastructure in schools. . Research evidences suggest that Social media has the potential to tap the resources available to the fullest extent. Social media has the potential to catch the very nature of social constructivism by allowing learners to become active participants in knowledge construction rather than passive consumers of content. Hence the learning process becomes more participatory and collaborative. Due to the ability of social media to enhance connections by making them easily accessible, social media can yield many benefits for the young, including providing a virtual space for them to explore their interests or problems with similar individuals, academic support, while strengthening online communication skills and knowledge. However, in a country like ours there is a need to devise a framework which can answer the issues related with using social media in classrooms. The present paper intends to discuss the approaches and challenges which are associated with using social media in classrooms.
Social networks are becoming an integral part of people's lives. Students are spending much time on social media and are considered the largest category that uses such application. This study tries to explore the influence of social media use, and especially Facebook, on high school students' performance. The study used the GPA of students in four courses and their responses regarding the use of social media. Statistical analysis is used to infer this relationship and its implications. Results indicated a support of this study aim and the relationship between the different dimensions of Facebook influence on students with respect to the time spent on the Internet and Facebook specifically. Conclusions and future work are stated at the end.
This thesis is an exploration of the engagement of young Emirati tertiary students (aged 18-25) with digital technologies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). International research in recent years has documented the access to, and use of, digital technologies by young people in many parts of the world, largely in response to claims made at the turn of the century about posited characteristics of young people today, referred to in the debate as digital natives. In reaction, governments and educational institutions in many parts of the world have considered or accepted the need for a rethink of their educational systems, with an emphasis on increased integration of technology into teaching and learning, in an apparent endeavor to remain relevant to students of today, and the society of the future.
The documentation of the impact of technology on the young Arab population of the UAE, however, is an important contribution to this debate, where most research to date has been conducted in more developed countries. This research also considers the historical, socio-economic, linguistic and cultural context of the UAE within which technological changes have occurred, as well as the impact of digital technologies which in turn have continued to influence social and cultural change. Consideration of the inter-relationship between technology and the environment in which it has impacted has enabled a challenging of the determinist arguments put forward in the wider digital natives debate.
This research used a mixed-method approach involving multiple tertiary educational institutions in the UAE, and included students from a wide variety of geographical locations and academic disciplines within the country. Mixed methods research was eminently suited to this exploration, to enable both internationally comparable data on Emirati youth as a result of use of an adapted survey instrument (N=587), and insight into possible local implications and influences of cultural, educational and language factors by also using semi-structured interviews (N=15). This is the first extensive, multi-institutional research project to address this topic in a region which includes a very high population of young people, who are increasingly wired and educated, at a time of remarkable change and challenges in the Middle East.
The primary aim in this research project was to determine the extent to which Emirati higher education students were engaged with digital technologies, including the Internet, and whether this level of engagement was similar to patterns internationally. Six major findings emerged from the data.
Firstly, data confirmed that most Emirati tertiary students have almost comprehensive access to broadband Internet, both from home and their place of study, using mobile technologies such as tablets or mobile phones, as well as laptops or desktops. Educational improvements in the UAE have been pivotal as an impetus for technological changes, with digital technologies now ubiquitous within tertiary education institutions, as well as in the homes and communities of families with Emirati students. Secondly, while regularly using digital technologies, Emirati students involved in this research have usually engaged with technologies in a largely unsophisticated way, biased towards consumption and simple, regular access and use, rather than a high level of competence with a range of technology tools. In contrast, the third finding was that Emirati students self-identified their own skill and confidence level with a range of activities using computers, the Internet and mobile phones, very highly. This disconnect between the self-perceived high skill level and confidence of young Emiratis in their use of digital technologies, and their documented engagement with more basic technologies, is important to acknowledge if an overestimation of technological competence is not to be made, especially as students transition from school to tertiary education.
The fourth finding relates to the important issue of technology integration into education in the UAE, concluding that while Internet access and use is established at tertiary institutions in the UAE, in the majority of cases it is not widely available or integrated into the curriculum of Emirati students at school, making the transition from largely low-tech high schools to laptop universities and colleges with ubiquitous Internet provision a challenging one. A major finding in this research is a strong agreement by students on the need for more integration of technology into their tertiary education, although suggestions targeted enhancement of current directions such as an increase in mobile technology facilities, rather than radical changes to the education system. In this study, survey and interview results confirmed a diversity of use and engagement with technology across the Emirati student population, including significant diversity between students living in urban as opposed to regional areas. Surprisingly, younger Emirati students are using most technologies less often, and in a less sophisticated way, than students a few years older. These findings flag the inappropriateness of assuming homogenous levels of engagement when designing effective ICT programs for Emiratis in tertiary education. Further, marked variation in the technological capabilities of teaching faculties, although a smaller part of this study, requires recognition and active intervention if the goals of both tertiary institutions and the UAE government in moving towards a knowledge-based economy can be achieved.
The fifth finding in this research focuses on the substantial impacts of recent technological changes in the UAE, usefully contextualizing these with other changes to the social, educational and economic fibre of this fast developing country. Key social and cultural factors influencing the engagement of students with digital technologies have emerged from this research, including changes in the availability of education, the influence of language, the changing roles and expectations of Emirati females, and attendant changes to more traditional information and communication sources previously only available within the family network. This research concludes that most Emirati tertiary students frequently engage with many forms of social media, and that females are generally more engaged with digital technologies, are more active in their use of social media, and are often engaging with digital technologies at a more advanced level, than Emirati males. Contrary to a determinist viewpoint, this research contributes to the view that social, economic and educational changes in the UAE have strongly impacted upon the introduction and acceptance of digital technologies, especially for young Emiratis, and that these technologies, in turn, are likely to have an important and enduring influence upon the social, cultural, economic and political development of the country.
Lastly, comparison of these UAE research findings has been made to determine the extent to which Emirati tertiary students today reflect conclusions reached in other recent international research. Overall, Emirati students in this study demonstrate better access to digital technologies than in many other countries, but that they are less likely to be considered digital natives, as their engagement with these technologies has largely only been active since attendance at tertiary education.
In summary, the impacts of recent technological changes in the UAE are substantial, and engagement with digital technologies by Emirati tertiary students in this research is widespread, if at an unsophisticated level. These findings have been important to provide a snapshot of Emirati student engagement with digital technologies, to base possible implications for future integration of technology into higher education on empirical data rather than anecdotal evidence or sweeping generalizations.
Today, it is crucial to determine the impact of social media on the academic performance of students. Technology is booming rapidly from year to year, and the younger generations are the ones caught in this rapid change. Questionnaires were distributed through Facebook and E-mails, to find out whether students academic performance is impacted by social media or not. The findings demonstrate that there is no relationship between social media and academic performance; this is clearly projected in their overall grade average.
Social networking has become one of the most popular communication tools to have evolved over the past decade, making it a powerful new information sharing resource in society. To date realising the potential of Social Networking Sites (SNSs) beyond their leisure uses has been severely restricted in a number of areas. This paper focuses on the application of SNSs in a learning environment and the impact this could have on academic practices. While undoubtedly, due to the very casual nature of social networking, there are serious concerns over how it could be integrated in a learning environment; the potential positive outcomes are many and varied. As a communication tool, its effectiveness is already manifesting in the millions who use these networks to communicate on a daily basis. So it is conceivable that educators should be able to create a learnscape - an environment for formal and informal learning - that adheres to educational guidelines, but also harnesses the social support system of these on-line communities. This paper examines the risks involved in the creation of this new learning ecology, and explores the challenges faced by both technology experts and teachers in delivering a truly innovative and effective new approach to education.
The purpose of this research is to find out how Facebook and Web 2.0 tools create a positive effect when used in education and to investigate teachers' opinions about the Online learning environment. This experimental study was carried out in primary and secondary schools with teachers who use Facebook. The study took six weeks and 30 hours. The teachers attended lessons and accessed materials online and offline, in face-to-face learning environment. Moreover, they were able to co-operate and share information with their colleagues via Facebook. The study sample consisted of 35 teachers from primary and secondary school who constituted a blended learning group and 36 teachers from primary and high school who formed an online learning group that enrolled in the material development for Facebook course. These teachers were chosen randomly. The participation was anonymous and the study was carried out amongst volunteered teachers. Data was collected using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire created by the authors and entitled "Teachers' Opinions about Facebook in Education". The questionnaire consisted of 39 positive statements about Facebook. It was completed by teachers at the beginning (pre-experience test) and the end of the study (post-experience test). Results show that, if used for educational purposes, Facebook could bring about a positive change in teachers' opinions. Results also indicate that Facebook virtual environment helps teachers to do many activities with online classes, which is not possible to do in schools. Teachers are convinced that this environment helps students not only to improve their team work, but also to improve their learning skills. Based on the findings, recommendations are made about using Facebook in education.
The use of social networks is a growing phenomenon, being increasingly important in both private and academic life. Social networks are used as tools to enable users to have social interaction. The use of social networks (SNs) complements and enhances the teaching in traditional classrooms. For example, YouTube, Facebook, wikis, and blogs provide a huge amount of material on a wide range of subjects. This research aims to explore the need to change the traditional style of teaching and learning after the innovation of Web 2.0. The main objectives of this research are to discover the motives for the use of social networks by higher education students in Oman, to recognize the impact of social networking tools in learning and education generally, to analyse the problems that students might face when using social networks, and to determine whether the traditional learning methods need to be changed in the era of Web 2.0 technologies? In order to achieve the objectives of this research, the research methodology is to conduct a survey amongst Omani students at different universities, colleges, and other higher education institutions and to explore the social networking tools that might have an influence on teaching and learning styles. The type of data collected will be both quantitative and qualitative. This study is based mainly on the student's perspective - the impact on students of using social networking tools and what effect it has on the traditional style of learning and teaching. This study highlights the benefits of using social networks as tools for developing a new style of learning, and the negative impacts that can affect the process of learning, in order to provide a justification for using social networks in higher education.
Traditionally, consumers used the Internet to simply expend content: they read it, they watched it, and they used it to buy products and services. Increasingly, however, consumers are utilizing platforms--such as content sharing sites, blogs, social networking, and wikis--to create, modify, share, and discuss Internet content. This represents the social media phenomenon, which can now significantly impact a firm's reputation, sales, and even survival. Yet, many executives eschew or ignore this form of media because they don't understand what it is, the various forms it can take, and how to engage with it and learn. In response, we present a framework that defines social media by using seven functional building blocks: identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, and groups. As different social media activities are defined by the extent to which they focus on some or all of these blocks, we explain the implications that each block can have for how firms should engage with social media. To conclude, we present a number of recommendations regarding how firms should develop strategies for monitoring, understanding, and responding to different social media activities.
While listening to and learning from customers has long been recognized as important, social media are fundamentally changing interaction between firms and customers. To help understand this changing interaction, we conceptualize customer dialog management in a Megaphone, Magnet, and Monitor (3-M) framework, with the Megaphone representing firm-to-customer communication, the Magnet customer-to-firm, communication and the Monitor customer-to-customer interaction. This framework provides a structure for understanding the opportunities and risks presented by social media. We describe an in-depth case study of Starbucks, a firm widely regarded as a leader in corporate use of social media. Using the 3-M framework, we identify the challenges social media introduce and offer case-based examples of how to manage these challenges. Based on our analysis, we provide guidelines that can assist firms in navigating the evolving environment of social-media-based customer dialog.
Students with different learning styles approach learning differently. With the rise of social media technologies, investigating the effect of these styles on their intentions to use social media for learning has become all the more important. This study explored the factors affecting students’ intentions to use social media for learning based on their learning styles (i.e., participatory, collaborative, and independent), using the social media acceptance model. By convenience sampling, 300 Malaysian students were recruited via an online survey (Nparticipatory = 116; Nindependent = 97; and Ncollaborative = 87). The survey was prepared by drawing on the social media acceptance model. It was piloted before the final data collection step was conducted in August 2013. The demographic details of the students were analyzed using Statistical Program for Social Sciences 21, while path modeling and multivariate analyses were conducted using SmartPLS 2.0. The results revealed the significant effect of Self and Performance on students’ intentions to use social media regardless of their learning styles. A pair-wise comparison revealed that Self was more significant in participatory students than in collaborative students. Effort was found to be the least significant factor, indicating the popularity of social media among students. Further insight into the different factors that drive students with different learning styles to use social media will help educators use this technology to assist learning more effectively.
There is an achievement gap in the United States, with African American students underperforming relative to their White and Asian American peers. At the same time, media portrayals of African Americans are often based on stereotypes that suggest intellectual inferiority. Despite the prevalence of racial stereotypes in the media, few studies have examined connections between media use and academic achievement among African American youth. Using data from a survey of 247 African American adolescents (72% female; mean age = 15 years), this project explored the potential consequences of media stereotypes on the academic performance, self-perceptions, and career interests of African American youth. Overall, the results suggest that media use contributes to lower academic performance, lower self-perceptions, and less interest in college-oriented careers. Parental involvement was a significant moderator of the relationship between television use and students’ career interests, with significant relationships only existing for those students whose parents were less involved in their media use. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for how parents and media socialize African American youth about their potential for academic success.
Investigating the role of social networks in enhancing students' learning experience: Facebook as a case study. International Association for Development of the Information Society. Paper presented at the International Association for Development of the Information Society
- R Faizi
- S El Fkihi
Constructivism reconsidered in the age of social media: New directions for teaching and learning
- M Kendrick
Technology and the changing education landscape
- F Healy
The impact of social media on students’ academic performance-A case of Malaysia Tertiary Institution
- S O Mensah
- I Nizam
Students' attitude toward the use of social media for learning purposes (Case Study: Al-Baha University, College of Sciences & Arts-Biljurashi)
- A A A Salih
- A S Elsaid
22 percent of online time spent with social media
- M Porterfield
Digital and social learning: Transforming education for the next generation
- K Alzouebi
- S El Salhat
Effectiveness of social media in education
- S Rajesh
- J Michael
Transforming education in the Arab world: Breaking barriers in the age of social learning
- F Salem
- R Mourtada
- S Alshaer