Social media for learning: perceptions and behaviors

Abstract

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a particular interest in integrating social media as an educational tool to support the distance learning process. The main problem with this study is the way students invest in networking opportunities for learning. Special emphasis is placed on the Everyday Informal Learning. An electronic questionnaire was distributed to 284 students registered at the University of Sharjah and King Saud University. The results indicate that the participants' extensive use of social media pushes them to easily experience Everyday Informal Learning; The sample appreciates the role of social media in facilitating communication and interaction among colleagues, and acknowledges its usefulness despite some perceived limitations such as the occasional lack of credibility and the ease of switching from educational to personal use; These results are in line with the concept of Online Cooperative Learning Theory as it confirms that the best way to learn through these networks is through collective participation methods. Given these results, the authors consider the idea of including social media as a Formal tool for Learning in educational institutions has become very suggestive, especially in this era in which the efficiency of online space has been demonstrated to preserve education in times of epidemics. Besides, the cost of integrating some advanced educational platforms like Learning Management Systems in some countries in the world makes social networks a better alternative; some countries like Bulgaria have turned to learning via social media during times of quarantine due to the Coronavirus. Therefore, the authors recommend that more research should be done on social media as Formal Learning tools to ask about their suitability for the courses and programs offered by universities in the world, in various disciplines.