Impacts of Learners Engagement with Social Media: Effects on Learning of Students (Dissertation Review Sample)

Impacts of Learners Engagement with Social Media: Effects on Learning of Students
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Introduction
Internet-based tools that bring about information sharing and promote collaboration can be referred to as social media. Such kind of tools can be utilized in academic environments in promoting and facilitating learning among students as well as better learning (Ossola, 2015). Time and efforts invested by students regarding educational matters are measured by the engagement of students. In most cases, the engagement aims at achieving positive outcomes for learners, such as the development of the individual student and critical thinking (Dunn, 2011). In this review, I aim at discussing how student learning and student engagement are connected. Later, I will be discussing the pervasiveness of social media among learners and its impact on learners’ interaction, collaboration as well as knowledge in creation (Lusk, 2010).
Social media predominantly used my students
Due to tremendous development of information technologies, we have witnessed creative integration of social media with several pedagogical processes and application (Ossola, 2015). As mentioned earlier, social media encompasses a range of web-based services and tools aimed at sparking the development of society and through collaboration and sharing of information. By using these tools, individuals get opportunities to express themselves besides interacting with other users (Lusk, 2010). Some of commonly used tools include wikis, blogs, media (photo, video, text, audio), networking platforms (Twitter, Facebook, whatsApp, Viber), sharing tools and virtual worlds (Fewkes, 2012).
According to current research, the use of social media platform as an instrument for education can increase students’ engagements. This is because of the connections students develop with other peers hence establishing a fundamental community of learners, eventually increasing their overall learning process (Lin, 2013). It is important to appreciate the fact that everything that has an advantage must also come with its disadvantages. Social media has several advantages to students as I will be discussing in this review. Furthermore, it is interesting also to note that the disadvantages can be adverse to the learners to the point of impacting negatively to their grades as opposed to helping them gain creative skills and boosting their GPA. It all downs to how the learner decides to utilize social media (Lin, 2013).
What is the significance of this review?
The use of social media recently has been on the increase throughout all age ranks. Pew Internet conducted research and discovered that the rate of social media use among for adults between 18 and 29 is 83% (Fewkes, 2012). On the other hand, approximately 73% of teens aged between 12 and 17 use the same tools. Noticeable disparities arise due to age restrictions as well as restricted access to social media which is mostly common in preadolescent learners. In academic settings, social media implementation aims at motivating students to share, participate and learn with other peers (Lin, 2013). It is equally important to note that learners have been using IT commonly in school and private lives. Be that as it may, most learners prefer using social media to other course related software and technologies since they feel they are more comfortable and are already accustomed to the features and settings (Fewkes, 2012).
Social media in encouraging social and synergetic learning
In the contemporary world, most scholars observe that information is not stored in one’s mind alone but also in dialog and communications among folks (Lin, 2013). Through that interaction, learners are able to participate actively; this is the most fundamental component in students learning process. It is also important for students to develop skills, to learn with others and share knowledge both through technology like social media and face to face situations. Abram (2012) observed that learners formed learning communities when they work collaboratively in constructing knowledge. Social media plays a crucial role in developing these learning communities when they encourage communication and collaboration. Furthermore, through such interactions we strengthen the realization of desirable learning results (Lusk, 2010).
Consequently, social media encourages collaborative learning that eventually ensures creative learning processes strengthen (Dunn, 2011). In essence, concerted education is defined by learners’ connections & interactions with the coursework. Through social platform, students get the opportunities to expand their learning atmosphere because only a percentage of students take their studies in a confined classroom (Ossola, 2015).
Waleed Al-Rahmi (2013) further suggested that it is educators’ responsibilities to discover methods of incorporating present-day social platforms into their respective schoolrooms. It is equally important to note that, when social media is appropriately incorporated in classrooms, instructors can easily develop creativity among their students. Creativity is realised only when they encourage them always to consider exploring the content materials in new ways (Brydolf, 2007). For instance, social media equips learners with options for coming up with trustworthy inventive products through tools like YouTube, blogs, and podcasts (Dunn, 2011).
Furthermore, students can as well use social platform in researching course work content materials for them to develop fresh understanding of knowledge (Lusk, 2010). When they allow the desires of artistic apprentices to meet through a supportive learning setting, learners are in superior position to weighing scale their individuality with a sense of contacting other peers hence allowing fresh ideas to blossom (Fewkes, 2012).
However, when utilized unconventionally, technology does not essentially result to learning. Waleed Al-Rahmi (2013) that learners taking their notes by hands are higher achievers in test scores as compared to those using their laptops in taking their notes, on the contrary, erstwhile computer knowledge is fundamental in learners’ perceived learning by online methodologies of instruction. However, the internet can be used to offer a rich atmosphere to host learning and educational activities for students. Abram (2012) discovered that learners who principally fancy taking online courses spend most of their time using social media and online tools as supplementary tools of learning when equated to apprentices who mainly attend face to face programs (Lin, 2013).
By complementing learners’ class work with extra sources as well as sharing and creating awareness among peers, it is vital to observe that social media also end up creating an atmosphere where increased collaboration and critical thinking are conceivable (Lin, 2013). Therefore, the dynamic participation and creation of simulated relationship through social platforms give prospects for improved learning because they encourage apprentices to build on the links they have established with new bases outside the classroom (Dunn, 2011).
Integrating course content and social media
Waleed Al-Rahmi (2013) argues that collaboration of classmates on social media forms a network of relationships with students as well as providing instantaneous pathways to disseminate and enhance course correlated awareness outer the walls of a traditional classroom. When using social platform during academic sessions like group confab, several learners can generally discourse a class as well as interacting with the similar content at the same time (Ossola, 2015). The ability of students communicating with one another in a particular location permits learners to build on conversations, even if they are associated with course content or not. In essence, this contributes greatly to chances of having better learning since all learners are contributing to the discourse outside that of the required focus, which can include the considerations that were initially forwarded by their professor (Dunn, 2011).
Co-creating and sharing info through social platform simply demands apprentice to understand the relevance it has for a certain subject in question (Lusk, 2010). Through equipping learners with a mutual knowledge within a simulated community, they as well dig deeper for content besides making connections across various sources (Dunn, 2011). This offers a network of chances in increasing student learning far away from a traditional atmosphere of a classroom (Dunn, 2011).
Social media as tool for connecting a simulated community of apprentices
Those students participating in social platform as a way of learning in a lecture feel that sense of connection as compared to those students that don’t participate in social media (Lusk, 2010). Social media permits learners to group themselves with similar peers as well as enhancing and linking other existing peer groups (Dunn, 2011). Coupled with improving recognized peer sets, social platform is able to conduit the diversity existing in classroom through the establishment of a neutral zone where students are able to interact with each other (Lin, 2013). Waleed Al-Rahmi (2013) established that learners that used social media had a feeling that they were more enthusiastically connected to their peers since they felt that there were people to in an event they are faced with challenges or in case they need help. Moreover, it was observed that such peer links exhilarated involvement of apprentices who felt frightened initially by inside-class debates (Brydolf, 2007).
Networks that learners make with their pals in class on social platform can seriously influence the learning atmosphere formed. Social media input contributes to a m...