The Influence of U.S. and South Korean University Students' Involvement in Social Networking on Teaching and Learning

摘要

Higher education institutions are on a continuous search for creating knowledge and educating students. In order to do this it is important to understand backgrounds and attitudes, towards both academic and social life. The development of the Internet and social media has significantly influenced this quest. Although many discussions have developed about social media used in education institutions, very limited academic research has been done on interactive tools in learning design. Social media is rapidly changing the way people interact with each other. It provides higher education institutions opportunities for new levels of engagement with prospective students, alumni, donors, and community members. It also creates unique opportunities, and challenges, for connecting with the student community and for innovative teaching and learning. Many researchers argue that social media holds great potential for improving teaching and learning through creating student-centered learning; promoting collaboration among students; supporting individualized learning; providing an enjoyable learning experience; and enabling flexible learning schedules. With the growing interest in social media in education, an increasing yet still small number of academic studies on social media in higher education have been conducted. Teaching effectiveness has been investigated extensively in traditional classrooms for more than seven decades. But over the past years, research has become directed toward teaching effectiveness in online or virtual classes. The purpose of this study is to identify the impact-of social media and the strategies for using it in a constructive way in U.S. and South Korean higher education. It aims to investigate the use of social media in the real settings of higher education to gain a deep understanding of the complexity of this issue. The study will define Chickering and Gamson's (1987) seven principles operationally in relationship to traditional and online classroom. Two theories, Bandura's (1977) Social Learning Theory and Vygotsky's (1978) Social Development Theory will be utilized to understand learning through social media. To make a meaningful impact on student learning, it is important that faculty understand the "net generation" students' changing values, needs, behaviors, and learning styles. Researchers propose that this new generation of students has shaped a culture of learning shifting from a teaching centered focus to student centered learning design which demands greater student engagement. This study will also identify how organizations are using technology and social media and how to teach students to use their technology skills to make positive contributions to society. A survey will gather data comparing student and faculty uses of Facebook and their perceptions of its utility as a classroom support tool in U.S. and South Korea. This survey will be implemented during the Spring 2012 semester, utilizing oncampus email accounts and a survey hosted on SurveyMonkey.com a commercial survey-hosting website.