Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to assess how college agriculture instructors use social media in their classes and view social media's place in education. The majority (61.3%) have used social media in class. The social medium used the most was online forums, followed by video-sharing sites (e.g.,YouTube) and Facebook. The media types used the least were microblogs (e.g., Twitter) and non-Facebook social networking sites (e.g., MySpace,LinkedIn). With the exception of online forums and video-sharing sites, participants, in general, did not want to use social media to deliver instructional information. They were most opposed to using microblogs and non-Facebook social networking sites. Participants expected communication with students to increase if social media were used in class. Participants perceived that it was at least probably important that students know how to use online forums, video-sharing sites, and blogs for future careers. Microblogs and non-Facebook social networking sites were seen as the least important for future careers. Future studies should address the appropriateness of social media in education, as well as student perceptions of social media in education.
Keywords:
social media in the classroom, YouTube, Facebook, online forums, blogs, social networking sites
 Settle_JUNE 2011 NACTA Journal-14.pdf | [ ] | 112 kB |
