An Evaluation of Social Media Use in the Classroom at a Traditional University

Abstract

Emerging technologies, such as social media, have become essential tools to increase student-lecturer interaction, collaboration and communication in academia. Despite the popularity of social media, few lecturers use these tools for learning purposes. The purpose of the study was to evaluate social media usage in teaching and learning at a traditional university in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition (SAMR) model was used as the theoretical foundation for this study. The data was collected using a quantitative survey method. A questionnaire was distributed to the academics at the traditional university, with a response rate of 39% achieved. From these, descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. The study found that the use of social media at the traditional university can be placed at level two of the model (augmentation) while technology use in the class is further along at the modification level. Barriers that prevent lecturers from using social media for teaching purposes included lack of management support, inadequate resources, lack of training of traditional university lecturers and resistance to change. The study, therefore, recommends that management at traditional universities should reinforce the use of emerging technologies by lecturers to improve student-lecturer interaction, communication and promoting collaborative learning amongst students.

This work is based on the research supported in part by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa: Unique Grant No. TTK150713125504.