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The Role of Social Network Sites in Connecting Students with Learning and Academic Activities: A Case Study

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Social Media Shaping e-Publishing and Academia

Abstract

Social Network Sites (SNSs) are becoming increasingly popular as means of communication. Much research has been carried out to investigate the use of SNSs in various contexts, such as education. Students are becoming more interested in incorporating social network sites into their academic lives to support learning. It is important to understand how students use SNSs outside the conventional classroom context, as this could provide an insight into how to apply SNSs formally for academic purposes. This study is carried out to investigate the use of SNSs among undergraduate students in an attempt to support their learning and academic activities. Social network sites offer plenty of opportunities to communicate and interact. They can also be used to support learning and academic activities in general. The research strategy used is descriptive survey research design; data was collected using questionnaires. The sample size is 63 students from the library and information science department at the University of Jordan. The results revealed that all students use at least one social network site. The results also showed how students connect for the purpose of learning or for any other academic activity. Recommendations are drawn from the findings regarding the use of social network sites among students and the role that academics may play to further encourage the phenomenon.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

    Dina Tbaishat

Authors
  1. Dina Tbaishat
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dina Tbaishat .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

    Nashrawan Taha

  2. The University of Jordan , Amman, Jordan

    Rizik Al-Sayyed

  3. The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

    Ja'far Alqatawna

  4. Department of Business Information Technology, King Abdullah II School of Information Technology (KASIT) The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

    Ali Rodan

Appendices

Appendix 1: The Questionnaire

The role of social network sites in connecting students with learning and academic activities: a case study

Kindly find a few minutes to fill in this questionnaire, which is intended to investigate the use of Social Networks Sites (SNSs) among undergraduate students of the library and information science department at the University of Jordan, in an attempt to support their learning and academic activities. The data gathered through this questionnaire is totally anonymous and will only be used for the purpose of this research. The questionnaire consists of four parts as follows:

Part two: The extent of usage of Social Network Sites (SNSs) among undergraduate students. Please tick your choice.

Part three: The role of SNSs in supporting education/academic activities. Please write X where appropriate.

Part four: The challenges students face when using SNSs for educational purposes and academic activities.

Thank you for finding the time to complete this questionnaire

Dr. Dina Tbaishat

Appendix 2: Statistical Analysis (Results)

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Tbaishat, D. (2017). The Role of Social Network Sites in Connecting Students with Learning and Academic Activities: A Case Study. In: Taha, N., Al-Sayyed, R., Alqatawna, J., Rodan, A. (eds) Social Media Shaping e-Publishing and Academia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55354-2_6

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