Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate university students’ perceptions of social media as a learning resource (SM-LR) in China and the USA in terms of their attitudes, perceived usefulness and behavioral intentions. An instrument used for this study was adapted from a prior validated survey based on the Technology Acceptance Model. The sample population consisted of 241 respondents from universities in China and the USA. The results suggested that most respondents (>75%) from each nation had used social media for learning purposes and that they shared similar understandings and definitions of social media. However, significant differences by nation were found concerning students’ attitudes, perceived usefulness and behavioral intentions. Most respondents from China were more positive about SM-LR than their counterparts from the USA. Also, respondents who had previously used social media for learning were more positive about SM-LR. No correlations were found between students’ self-reported academic performance and their attitudes, perceived usefulness, or behavioral intentions. Proposed areas of future research are discussed.
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Abbreviations
- SM-LR:
-
Social media as a learning resource
- SME-L:
-
Social media experience for learning
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The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available at the following site: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hANvYWQ2LARw8IMjd9VpT9iY32RvgZAs/view?usp=sharing
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Shanshan Ma. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Shanshan Ma and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board, University of North Texas (No. 18–276).
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Ma, S., Knezek, G. & Spector, J.M. University Student Perceptions of Social Media as a Learning Resource in China and the U.S.A. TechTrends 65, 524–534 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-021-00597-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-021-00597-6