Connecting learning to the social media phenomenon amongst secondary students

Abstract

Social media usage is reported as being a daily activity carried out by secondary school students (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010). Researchers state that despite the fact that figures are likely to increase, use of social media in education is minimal (Blunk, 2010; Bunus, 2010). This research aims to find out what is the perception about the use of social media by secondary students, when this is adopted for both formal and informal learning. Findings help us gain more insights into the social media tools adopted by the teenage students and their perception about the learning occurring using such tools. Data is collected using 100 surveys, distributed among 13 to 15 year old teenagers of both sexes, studying Computing. More data is collected using focus groups having 12 students, after these made use of Edmodo during I.C.T./Computing. The findings show that the use of social media is pervasive among the participant teens. The results obtained indicate that, according to the participants, use of social media triggers and enriches the learning experience. Participants mention several skills acquired through the use of social media and give examples of how social media can be used in the classroom context. We believe that social media has its place in both formal and informal learning. We therefore pose a series of recommendations and guidelines for the adoption of social media in formalised class structures, more specifically in the area of Computing.