Abstract
While education increasingly relies on social media technologies to provide richer learning experiences, the rigid and course-centric design of curricula still imposes a challenge for students to construct meaningful connections between social media and formal learning. Building on the knowledge graphs’ potential to establish semantic links among data entities, this paper investigates to what extent knowledge graph-based tools help students with integrating and accessing transdisciplinary social media content in formal courses, and contribute to constructivism in online learning environments? This study proposes a framework that includes a set of tools built on a novel knowledge graph designed to help educators in exposing detailed coverage of their formal courses through explicit concepts, which can serve as building blocks for students to integrate and access transdisciplinary social media content in formal learning settings. The framework is piloted in a business school where 180 students used these tools in an information systems (IS) course. The preliminary results indicate the majority (around 68%) of materials shared and accessed by students through this framework was connected to other disciplines beyond IS, reflecting the possible creation and exploration of transdisciplinary links between social media content and formal courses. Thirty-three students were interviewed to evaluate their opinion on the tools with respect to social constructivism in online learning environments. The interviews provide initial insights on the tools’ potential to promote constructivism by supporting collaborative, learner-centered, high-quality, authentic, facilitated, and interactive learning principles. The study helps students and educators better integrate and access emerging social media content in formal courses.
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Notes
At the time of writing this paper, cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin) were trending digital assets that were challenging conventional mediums of exchange, providing new investment and service opportunities.
The ontology schema source is available at https://linked.aub.edu.lb/ontologies/socioeducation.
The tool is accessible at https://linked.aub.edu.lb/apps/socialbookmarks/.
Courses available are accessible at https://linked.aub.edu.lb/collab/index.php/Category:Courses.
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Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the editor and anonymous reviewers for their time and effort in providing invaluable feedback that helped improve the paper. I also thank the students who volunteered to test and provide feedback on the tools, and the research assistants who helped with the development of the tools, data collection, and analysis.
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This study was partially funded by the University Research Board of the American University of Beirut.
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Appendix—Evaluation Protocol
Appendix—Evaluation Protocol
[ Action ] (1) Start the voice recorder. (2) Click on the “red dot” in CamStudio to start recording.
3. Ask the following questions, then pause and wait for the answer after each question.
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1.
Generic Questions.
.
[Question] Do you think that courses at the School of Business are always up to date? Why?
[ Action ] Go to this link and play it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc2en3nHxA4.
[Question] How do you think this could be relevant to what you are studying at the School of Business? In which course do you think this could be taught?
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2.
Social Bookmarker.
.
Now I am going to show you again how bookmarking online material works.
[ Action ] (1) Go to this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlBBdoYbzYA(2) Click on the “Bookmark Material” button within the browser. (3) Show the title, material type, cover concept, and description fields.
[Question] Do you have any questions about this feature before you bookmark a video?
[ Action ] Go to this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc2en3nHxA4.
[Question] Please bookmark this link.
[Question] What do you think about this feature? Why?
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3.
Social LMS Explorer.
.
Now I am going to show you again how you can explore shared material within Moodle.
[ Action ] (1) Go to http://lms.aub.edu.lb. (2) Go to the Information Systems Course. (3) Click on the “Extract Material” button within the browser. (4) Click on the “Related Material” button next to “Chapter 1—The Importance of MIS.” (5) Click on “Moore’s Law Got Me” video (without playing it). (6) Show briefly one article. (7) Give the mouse to the student and give them time to explore Moodle with the new buttons.
[Question] Please check the material related to “Chapter 9—Business Intelligence Systems.” What do you think about this feature?
[Question] What do you think about the comments related to the “Big Data - Tim Smith” YouTube? What do you think about having comments like this shared with other students and professors?
[Question] Please go to this article: “The Deciding Factor: Big Data Decision Making Capgemini Worldwide.” A student shared this. Based on her input, this article will appear within Information Systems AND Management courses. What do you think of this?
[Question] How do you think those tools can help you in your courses at the School of Business? Why?
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4.
Social Bookmarks Aggregator.
.
[ Action ] Go to: https://linked.aub.edu.lb/apps/socialbookmarks/and give the student the mouse to browse it.
[Question] What do you think about this page? Do you find it useful? How? Thank you!
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Zablith, F. Constructing social media links to formal learning: A knowledge Graph Approach. Education Tech Research Dev 70, 559–584 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-022-10091-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-022-10091-2