The purpose of this study is to identify what different types of social media students use and how they actually use these different social medias in their school work.
Social media is nowdays a natural part of our lives and our society. We interact and communicate with people close to us as well as people on the other side of the world. We use social media to seek information, receive news, share our thoughts, our lives and our opinions. Social media has gained a prominent place in our society and beginning to be used more and more in schools and education. The qualities of social media has been said to stimulate learning and in some cases improve efficiency and facilitate school work.
We have chosen to look at how students in higher education are using social media in their studies. The selection group we focused on is the first-year students who take the program Digitala Medie at University West. We selected these students based on our own experience of the program, and we know that these students have a fundamental interest in social media and the use of these.
The results show that Facebook is the social media most used by students, both in their individual work and group work. It is primarily the Facebook function "groups" that is used, where students created two groups for the whole class as well as small groups for each team project. Combined with Facebook groups students use Google docs as a place to collaboratively write texts and presentations. In the individual schoolwork Facebook is primarily used as a communication channel, both with teachers, classmates and team members. The students use the joint groups to contact the teacher by "tagging" them, to get help with problems and answers to questions, to get the support and motivation from classmates and to share essential information.
In group projects, then current Facebook group works as an extension of the project, this is where most communication, decision-making and cooperation takes place. Even though the students indicate flaws and minor problems with both Google drive and Facebook in context with their school work, none of the participants search for new alternatives. The results of our study may be of interest for other students and teachers as it can inspire to new ways to apply social media in education.
In our study, we present a variety of tools and services that students use in their schoolwork. We also present distinct examples of how students use different services and platforms. For teachers, this may be interesting to take note of when it can help them to understand students' needs regarding learning tool. It also provides an insight into how students communicate and interact outside the classroom