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Students Attitudes and Perceptions of the Use of Social Media at the University of North Texas

Abdulrahman Alamri

CECS 6512

University of North Texas

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Section A
Introduction
Pew Research Internet Project (2013) indicated that 73% of adults online now use a
social networking site. Their statistics also indicate that 71% of online adults are now Facebook
users as compared to 67% that was recorded in late 2012. There are high levels of engagement
among Facebook users. The statistics have indicated that approximately 63% of users visit the
site at least once a day. On the other hand, about 40% visit Facebook many times in a single day.
Research indicates that despite the prevalence of social media outside the classroom today, only a
marginal amount of scholarly work has been devoted to the topic in an educational setting (Fleck
& Hussey, 2013; Munoz & Towner, 2009; Roblyer, McDaniel & Webb, 2010; Jacobsen & Forste;
2011).
Currently, Web 2.0 technology, including social media networks such as Twitter and
Facebook, has increasingly become a large part of our lives. The use of social networks has
exponentially grown in the recent past by both the old and the young. The University of North
Texas (UNT) at Dallas instituted a social media policy on January 17, 2012. According to
university policy, Social media means any Web-based platform, application, or technology,
which enables individuals to interact socially using highly accessible and scalable
communication techniques. Some of the components includes, but is not limited to: blogs, wikis,
discussion forums, photo-sharing networks, online virtual communities, podcasts, message
boards, and user generated videos. In addition, it captures the mainstream social networks like
Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, and any other site or emerging technology with
content generated by both the owner and the audience (UNT Dallas, 2012). The university
developed guidelines that were geared towards protecting both the students rights and

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universitys image (UNT Health Science Center, 2012). The question that arises is how effective
is social media in education. Some UNT departments have conducted exercises with social
media such as recreating the voyage of the titanic (UNT Denton, 2013) and using social media to
discourage drinking while driving (Star-Telegram, 2013). In the classroom, there are some
advantages of using social media to increase the quality and efficiency of communication
between students and the instructor, access to class information, ease of collaboration, and
stronger social connections between classmates. On the contrary, the disadvantages are related to
aspects around the use and access to social media (Odom, Jarvis, Sandlin, & Peek, 2013)
This study explores the effectiveness of social media by examining students perceptions
and attitudes towards social media in a university-sponsored setting. Key questions and subquestions to be explored are:
Major Qualitative Research Questions
1-Defining social media and gauging usage
o Are you an active social media user? Why or why not?
o How many social media channels are you familiar with?
o Which devices do you use to access social media?
o Have you used social media in a classroom setting previously? If so, in which context?
o How often do you use social media? How much time do you spend using it per week?
2-The effectiveness of social media when integrated with classroom assignments or activities
o In your opinion, does the integration of social media help or hinder classroom
instruction?
o How does the integration of social media activities affect learners cognitive load?
o How do social media promote collaboration with your fellow learners and others?

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o Which features in social media help to advance your learning? Why do you think so?
o How do social media promote community or group learning?
o How can students participate with YouTube or Flickr with an assignment that involves
your subject domain?
o Which subject domain would be best suited with the use of the Pinterest website and
why? Do you feel the integration of the Pinterest website would be beneficial?
o Do you feel that it is more or less difficult for an instructor to evaluate an assignment
that integrates Facebook or Twitter usage?
o Do you feel that social discourse tools such as discussion boards, wikis add value to
classroom instruction? Why or why not?
o To what degree does social media bring the outside world into the classroom?
o What are some of the limitations associated with social media when implemented in a
classroom setting?
o Should a course require students to know how to use social media without providing any
instruction?
o What alternative methods or devices could be used in the classroom in place of
integrated social media? Do you feel these other methods and devices are more or less
effective and why?
3- Students rights and social media
o Does social media cross-societal boundaries or is it safe to use in your personal point of
view? What about for international students?

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o What types of activity constitutes violating students right using social media and
why? Would students be more apt or less apt to participate if their social boundaries
were crossed?
o Describe a scenario in which you feel that another student when using social media has
violated students rights.
o What should happen to an individual who violates someones rights when using social
media?
o What entity should be notified when a students rights has been violated using social
media?
o How concerned are you about having your profile publically available to others on
social media?

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Literature Review
Manago, Taylor, & Greenfield (2012) found that on average 21% of university student
Facebook friends were close connections, 18% were those that had maintained connections from
the past, 27% were acquaintances, 24% were teammates and classmates, 4% were strangers, 2%
were online connections, and 4% were classified as other. Thus, only 39% of Facebook friends
were either close or maintained contacts. Johnston, Chen, & Hauman (2013) have indicated that
Facebook was used for learning purposes; with 55% of respondents using Facebook to contact
other students with academically related issues, and 47% using Facebook to discuss class work.
Social media has been classified under seven major categories (Kwon,Ojoung, 2013; Kriegler,
2010) including:
1- Social networks (e.g., Facebook, Linkedln, Myspace)
2- Blogs and Microblogs ( Twitter, WordPress, Blogger)
3- Wikis (Wikipedia, Wikispaces)
4- Video (YouTube, VodPod)
5- Pictures (Instagram, Flicker)
6- Audio (Podcast,Odeo)
7- Collaboration( Google Docs, Zoho, WriteWith)
The Effectiveness of Social Media
In recent years, social media and technologies have become prevalent as a routine in life.
Social media was used for various types of academic, and co-curricular discussions, this means
that it can be utilized as a tool in education that involves students while engaging the faculty in
involving and participatory roles. (Junco, Heiberger & Loken, 2011). The benefits of using social
media in education include incorporation of students preferred learning styles into instruction,

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early recognition of students learning needs, enhanced communication among students and
between students and the instructor, creation a kind of a collaborative atmosphere, and increased
student engagement (Blazer & Miami-Dade County Public Schools, 2012).
Social media tools can be used to provide great opportunities for children and adults. It
has been used in exploring bounders of self, learning, building relationships, exposure to other
diverse perspectives, and the self-management of intimacy and privacy (Huffman, 2013). In
2007, the Higher Education Research Institute conducted a survey that indicated that
approximately 94 percent of students in first year in college spend much time in social media. In
2011, approximately 30 percent of teaching faculty has used social media for posting content for
students to view outside class. (Abe & Jordan, 2013).
Odom, Jarvis, Sandlin & Peek (2013) explored students perceptions towards social
media in a leadership course, their current use of social media, and their comfort level with
specific social media tool. In the study, there were 92 undergraduate students enrolled in two
leadership courses at Texas A&M University. The students pointed out both advantages and
disadvantages of using social media in the leadership classroom. Some of the advantages
mentioned include; it provides a good and efficient communication platform between the
students and the instructor. Another advantage is that it facilitates access to information in the
classroom setting, ease of collaboration, and stronger social presence among classmates. On the
other hand, the disadvantages mentioned include, being a source of distraction, loss of classroom
interface, among other internet-related evils.

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Risks of Using Social media

Risks often associated with education-based social networking include cyberbullying,
exposure to offensive material, invasion of privacy, and reduced opportunities for face-to-face
communication. The majority of districts schools have limited in-school use of social
networking, based on fears that students will be exposed to inappropriate online content,
unwanted adult interactions, and bullying from peers (Blazer & Miami-Dade County Public
Schools, 2012). A study involving 4,400 middle and high school students indicated that 26%
reported that they had been recently bullied at school while 8% said that they had been recently
bullied online (4% on Facebook). In October of 2013, a few hundred middle schools in a small
school in the Midwest surveyed, and the findings found that 20% had been bullied at school in
the previous 30 days, while 5% were bullied on Facebook during that same time (Cyberbullying
Research Center, 2010).
Even though many district schools have made efforts to restrict the use of social
networking, the U.S. Department of Educations National Education Technology Plan 2010
encouraged all states and districts to experiment with social networks in expanding collaborative
learning opportunities for students and create communities among educators (Blazer & MiamiDade County Public Schools, 2012). Huffman (2013) suggested that before using social
networking tools, the teacher should acquire adequate training not only for themselves, but also
for the benefit of their students. Training may include:
1- A basic understanding of social networking (safety guidance, features, etc)
2- The ethical use of online technology
3- The protection of predators teachers and students, and snare of cyberbullying
4- The development of positive learning spaces for social networking environment.

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5- The benefits of social interaction in teaching online

Students data has shown that more than 50 % of the students do not invoke the privacy
setting of using Facebook, therefore exposing them to potential intrusion of their privacy
(Harmon, 2014).
Social media can be empowering for victims of intimate partner violence, and can greatly
extend the social support network for victims. Victims use the Internet for the same reasons as
other users; to share pictures or to connect and talk with their friends and family online using
social networking such as Skype, webcams, e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter (Baughman, 2010).

Section C
Research Methods for Data Collection and Analysis
Rigor and trustworthiness
Rigor and trustworthiness are essential elements to any study to demonstrate and show important
factors includes: credibility, transferability, dependability, and conformability during and at the
conclusion of the study (Golafshani, 2003). To add credibility to this research, we used the peer
debriefing method to check summaries, analysis, and reporting materials gathered via email.
Development of the research
The research used mixed methods, which involve both quantitative and qualitative form. Mixed
method refers to the use of two or more quantitative and/or qualitative strategies within the same
project. Quantitative and qualitative methods both are underpinned by a philosophical approach:
positivism underpins quantitative methods, and post-positivism underpins is the basis for
qualitative methods (Al-Hamdan, Z., & Anthony,2010). The explanatory sequential mixed
method is intended to use in the research through two distinct phases quantitative survey online
first then follow up qualitative interviews phases in the second (Creswell, & Clark, 2011,

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p,71) by 2- participants to more deeply understand their perceptions and attitudes about course
quality when social media is employed in classroom instruction.
Data Collection
First, eighty three participants of undergraduate and graduate of University of North Texas
accepted the consent to complete the survey about basic demographics section questions such as
sex, age, and they completed their perspective about technology usage through multiple-choice
questions.
Online Quantitative Survey: The Qualtrics internet survey consists of approximately 25
questions and it has taken approximately 20 30 minutes to complete. Students had taken an
online survey which is categorized in three sections. The first section gathers basic demographic
information about the student such as contact information, gender, age, ethnicity, major, course
hours taken etc. The second section gathers basic information about students motivation and
attitudes regarding school such as how they feel when using email, the internet, or new software.
The third section seeks to understand which tools (e.g. wikis, discussion boards etc.) and
environments (e.g. Blackboard, Civ3, Facebook etc.) they have used in the past along with
gathering information about their attitudes and beliefs about social media.
Section D: Data Analysis
Participants Demographics: There were (n=38) participants in the research study who ranged in
age from 20 to 63 years with an average age of 37. Gender-wise 13(34%) were male, and

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25(66%) were female.

Figure 1: Survey participants gender

The majority of participants ethnicity are White/Caucasian 24(65%), with other participants
being classified as 7(19%) Black/African-American, 3(8%) Asian/Pacific, 1 Native American, 1
Hispanic, and 1 categorized as other.

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Figure 2: Survey participants ethnicity or race

The majority of participants currently live in the United States 30(83%), whereas 6(17%) live
outside the U.S. borders on a permanent basis.
Most participants level of study at the graduate level could be classified as either Masters or
Ph.D 22(59%), and 15(41%) are currently in undergraduate programs.
The survey responders major program of study is primarily Learning Technologies 25(68%),
whereas 6(16%) fall under Library & information, and 6(16%) can be categorized as other as
depicted in figure 1.

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Figure 3: Survey Participants Major Program of Study

The survey results indicated that all participants had taken online courses, and they possess
experience which ranged from 3 to 20 courses with an average of 9 courses per participant.
22(59%) participants had taken blended courses (a combination of face-to-face, and online
courses), whereas 17(46%) participants had taken online courses only, and 3 participants had
taken only face-to-face courses.
12(32%) participants indicated that they are full-time graduate students enrolled in 9 hours or
more of coursework this semester, whereas 9(24%) participants indicate that they are part-time
graduate students enrolled in less than 9 hours of coursework. 10(27%) are full-time
undergraduate students enrolled in 12 hours or more of coursework, and 5(14%) are part-time
undergraduate students enrolled in less than 12 semester hours of coursework.
Participants teaching experience ranged from 0 to 27 years with the average number of years
being 6.
Experience in LMS and Social Media

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9(28%) participants indicated that they have worked in a K-12 environment as an

instructor/teacher, 11(31%) are currently unemployed, 10(28%) worked in higher education,
7(19%) worked in corporate/business, 9(25%) worked in a role related to teaching but not as the
primary educator, 6(17%) worked as an instructional designer. The majority of participants
(97%) indicated that they were not seeking teacher certification.
Participants were asked about their experience with using learning management system (LMSs)
and 29(76%) of the participants indicated that they had lots of experience with using Blackboard
with a mean of 5.30, and 23(60%) of participants had some experience with using Moodle with a
mean of 3.93. On the other hand approximately two-thirds, 25(66%) had no experience using
Schoology, and 24(63%) had no experience using Canvas.
Participants were asked about their experience with using social media tools. Most students
indicated that they had some (39.6%) or a lot of (37.4%) experience using them. Only (23%)
indicated that they had no experience using such tools and oddly visual programs such as
Pinterest, Flickr and Instagram garnered the largest percentages in this area. In contrast,
discussion boards, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube and Facebook garnered the highest utilizationin
this category.
Perceptions and Attitudes Toward Online Course, Gamification, and
Social Media
In regards to participants' attitude and beliefs towards online courses, the majority (70%) felt that
money is being well spent on online courses; most (86%) believe that video or canned lectures
are only fun, and interesting to watch; a slight majority (63%) of students felt that text-based
environments were moderately fun to use and one-on-one time (67%) with the instructor is

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important; the majority (70%) of students favored learning from the instructor over learning from
other students in a group setting; most students (97%) believe that having well-organized course
content is very important; although the majority (73%) students indicted that they felt
comfortable in an online setting, a slight majority (53%) favored face-to-face interactions over
the virtual environment, most students (73%) believe orientation towards learning management
system is important; and the participants were evenly divided (50%) about whether taking online
courses were similar to self-regulated learning online.
The majority (73%) of students feel that multi-player games are more interesting than single
player games; only a slight majority (59%) believe that video games can serve as a brief
distraction from doing homework; most students (54%) did not favor leader boards as a
competitive device to help student's achievement efforts; the majority of students (64%) believe
that leader boards can be detrimental to students' attitudes; a slight majority (55%) of students
feel that leader boards do not make them feel more engaged in the course and can discourage
them (59%) when being compared performance-wise to others; while a slight majority of (52%)
students feel leader boards are not fun, most (82%) believe that it is difficult to stay at the top of
the leader board. A slight majority (54%) believe leader boards make the course competitive
whereas 59% of students believe that leader boards are boring and pointless; an overwhelming
majority of students (93%) do not want their leader board results shared on social media; most
(64%) students believe badges online is stressful and hard; however 57% of students believes
this activity helps them to stay more engaged in the course; a large percent of students (81%)
believe that earning badges should not be based on assignment grades; 57% of students aren't
interested in taking quizzes to obtain badges; the vast majority (70%) of students do not believe
badges should be used to help calculate grades as a means of fairness; the vast majority (85%) of

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students do not wish to share their badges on social media sites; a slight majority of students
(55%) believe that earning badges in online courses are fun. We can deduce from the data that
students value their privacy when it comes to sharing leader boards beyond the classroom and
that the majority of students feel that leader boards are competitive in nature.
In the area of social media, most students felt positive. For example, the majority of students
(77%) felt that using social media in a learning environment was fun and interesting whereas
only 55% of students feel that using social media can make the subject matter more relevant;
conversely the vast majority of students (72%) believes social media makes course content more
interesting when implemented correctly; most students (59%) believe that implementing social
media in a learning environment is not difficult ; a slight majority (54%) of students view social
media channels as being different and unique; and finally an overwhelming number (80%) of
students believe that social media can in fact impede on the rights of other individuals. In
summation, the greatest concern is protecting the rights of others when using social media; but if
it is used correctly and effectively, it can be a useful educational environment.

Semi-Structured Interviews:
In general, three types of interviews do exist (Whiting, 2008); they include the structured
interviews, the unstructured interviews, and the semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured
interviews are utilized in this research as data gathering method by which allow all participants
to be asked the same questions within a flexible framework that provide open ended questions,
and further questions as concepts emerge from the dialogue (Dearnley, 2005). Whiting (2008)
has indicated that key features of semi-structured includes; scheduled in advance at a designated
time, location normally outside everyday events, organized around a set of predetermined

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questions, other questions emerge from dialogue, and usually last from 30 minutes to several
hours. To know participants experience and opinions using the social media, an interview is
required. Interviews provide information about the participants thoughts, behavior, and feelings
in response to questions posed through the interview questions. The surveys were followed by
deeper qualitative interviews about social media and course quality and are expected to take 3060 minutes to complete (Whiting, 2008). These questions are primarily open-ended and seek to
gather students attitudes, beliefs, and experiences in using social media networks and discourse
tools. Students responses from the interviews will be used to triangulate their responses from the
Qualtrics surveys and current social media research.
Recording the interviews, and note taking are common methods of recording, it is used in
this study through the digital recorder. The transcription of the interview recording was done
verbatim. As groups, we conducted One-on-One Semi-structured Qualitative Interviews. Subject
selection based on quantitative survey results: 1 International Student (Arin) & 1 US Domestic
Student (Bradley), and we used the member checked data with interview subjects, and peer
reviewed results with fellow team member.
Interviews
Based on the quantitative survey questions, Arin is a 34-year-old Ph.D student in the
Department of Learning Technology. She is an international student had lived most of her life in
out United States. Arin has previously taken 17 online courses, and now she is taking the
Blended type of courses (Face-to-Face and Online). Currently Arin is full-time graduate student
(enrolled in 9 semester hours of coursework). In addition, Arin has one-year experience in
teaching despite not seeking teacher certification. In general, motivation and attitude, she prefers
having the instructors compared to when she has to interact with information on her own online.

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In addition, she needs faculty feedback on her assignments within a few weeks because she can
review what she did. She looks forward to learning new skills when she is asked to use
technologies such as e-email, Internet, or new software.
Regarding her experience and attitude towards the use of learning management systems
(LMSs) tools and environment, she has a lot of experience using Blackboard, Moodle, Canvas,
and has no experience using Schoology. Arin has some experience with Second Life, and no
experience with Civ3, Minecraft.
Regarding with social media, she has lots of experience using Discussion Board, some
experience using Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flicker, Linkedln, Online virtual communities, and
no experience using Instagram, Pinterest, and Podcast.
Regarding her attitude and believe concerning social media, she agrees that social media
is an effective tool for learning when integrated with classroom assignment or activities. She
slightly supports the view that social media rarely impedes on the right of others. However, she
slightly disagrees that using social media in learning environments is fun and interesting. Her
teachers' use of social media in the classroom makes the subject matter more relevant, and
integrating social media in learning environments is easy, social media channels are similar and
interchangeable.
Regarding online learning course preparation, she strongly agrees that well-organized
course content and clear instructions about where to find resources is very important in learning.
Arin agrees that the money spent on online courses is well worth spending. She says that
watching instructional videos for personal growth (such as youtube, TED Talks, etc) is engaging.
On the other hand, she says that instructors should participate actively in online discussions. It is
also important to have online discussions with classmates.

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Concerning video-based lectures, Arin says they are fun and interesting. Video-based
lectures are helpful; however, asynchronous text-based discussion forums are too timeconsuming. She gives preference to working individually than doing online collaborations in
groups for assignments; she wishes could have more one-to-one interactions with the instructor.
A thorough student orientation to the learning management system is very important before
taking an online course.
We can learn more from our classmates as opposed to the instructor in an online course. I
much prefer face-to-face interactions in a class than online interactions. Taking an online course
is no different from teaching oneself. Arin slightly disagree with the above propositions.
Asynchronous text-based environments are fun and interesting. Audio/video-based lectures are
more effective to my learning than text-based ones. The technical issues I encounter when
participating in online activities negatively impact my learning. I am easily lost in an online
course.
Regarding her attitude and believe toward gamification, Arin agrees that earning badges
should not depend only on the assignments grades. She slightly agrees that single-player video
games are more interesting than multi-player games; playing video games is beneficial as a brief
distraction from doing homework. She agrees that leaderboards in online courses help students to
achieve more quickly, leaderboards are fun and exciting, being on the top in leaderboard is hard,
leaderboards are boring and pointless, earning badges in online courses is stressful and hard, and
she would like to take quizzes as much as she wants to collect badges.
Arin slightly disagrees with the following items:

Leaderboards can be detrimental to students attitudes

Leaderboards will make me more engaged in the coursework.

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Using leaderboards discourages me by being constantly compared to others.

I think that leaderboards will make the course more challenging and competitive.

Earning badges makes me more engaged in the coursework

Using badges in assessment is more satisfying and fair than grades.

Earning badges in online courses is fun and exciting.

Finally she disagree that I like to share my badges on social networks like Facebook and
Twitter, and I like to share the course leaderboard on social networks.
Based on this background of demographic section and attitude toward use of social

media, online learning and gamification, we intended to interview Arin to give us a deeper
understanding, the interview will be based on three major perspectives:

Defining social media and gauging usage,

The effectiveness of social media when integrated with classroom assignments or

activities,

Students rights and social media

Concerning the definition of social media and gauging usage, Arin uses social media to
connect and chat with her friends, and she is familiar with approximately five of the most
common social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter. Arin uses her smart phone and
her computer to accesses social media sites. She used social media as a graduate teaching
assistant in helping students determine which content area to focus on and design teaching plans.
She often spends around one hour per day on social media. She feels that social media
helps the instructor teach, but that whether it is a plus or minus depends on how it is used. Arin
feels that social media can help students learn from each other and get more involved in the

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classwork. However, she thinks that if the experience is not designed well, it will result to
cognitive overload.
Arin believes that social media promotes collaboration by letting members of a group
share information that they have discovered instantly, and she thinks that the feature of social
media that most helps to advance her learning is the immediate sharing of information and the
immediate availability of additional information on a topic of interest to her. She also believes
that social media promotes community or group learning because information can be shared
instantly, so people know that their group members are working together and are interested in
the same topic.
In relation to her subject domain, she said that together her colleagues used social media
to talk together about a video that they were making. She feels that it is hard for an instructor to
evaluate an assignment that integrates Facebook or Twitter usage because some students do not
like using Facebook or Twitter, so it is hard to evaluate them based on their usage of those
media. She feels that discussion boards or wiki can add value depending on how they are
designed; however, they have a disadvantage of being slower than Facebook or Twitter.
She believes that social media makes one to disconnect with the real world, while the
classroom setting provides the real world. She believes that social media is not in any way
designed for educational purposes and therefore it has several limitations. For example,
messages are short, and they are not organized by topic, so it can be hard for students to find
what they need. In addition, security and ownership can be an issue.
She feels that any requirement to use social media should be accompanied by instruction
both in the use of media and in etiquette, and she could not think of an alternative to using
social media this time. Arin feels that social media might not be safe for her personally,

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especially in relation to posting private information. She believes that students rights are likely
to be violated through cyberbullying. She feels that people who violate others rights in social
media should suffer the same consequences as those who violate peoples rights in the real
world. When someones rights have been violated, they should report to the student, teacher, or
school district. She said I would like to say that social media is not safe to use, and I really
doesn't like the social media in public, I'm not really like use the social media because they do
have some safety issue, and I don't like to public my private information online.
Finally, she is very concerned about having her profile publicly available on social media.
Therefore, she gives only basic information or untrue information for her profile, and she asks
her friends not to tag her photos. She said I'm really concerned about that, so basically when I
use my social media I only give the most basically information, like gender, and I won't even
give my true, uh, real birth date, and I don't tell them where I graduated or where I live, I
probably will say I live in the United States, and that kind of general idea, I don't like my
personal profile to be uploaded.

Conclusion:
This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of social media by examining students
perceptions and attitudes towards social media. There are three major questions of concern:
Defining social media and gauging usage, the effectiveness of social media when integrated
with classroom assignments or activities, and Students rights and social media. The study was
done through a mixed methods approach. The explanatory sequential mixed method was
conducted in two distinct phases: A quantitative online survey was done first followed by a
qualitative interview to explore students attitudes and experiences in depth. The result indicated

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that most Participants, 39.6% (N=38) had some experience using social media while 37.4% had
a lot of experience using social media. Only 23% (N=38) indicated that they had no experience
using such tools and oddly visual programs such as Pinterest, Flickr and Instagram garnered the
largest percentages in this area. Result from the participants indicates that the highly utilized
platforms were discussion boards, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube and Facebook. The survey results
indicated that most students felt positive toward their attitude in using social media. 77 % felt
that using social media in a learning environment was fun and interesting. On the other hand,
only 55% of students feel that using social media can make the subject matter more relevant.
Conversely, the vast majority of students (72%) believes that social media makes course content
more interesting when implemented correctly; most students (59%) believe that implementing
social media in a learning environment is not difficult; a slight majority (54%) of students view
social media channels as being different and unique. In contrast, (80%) of students believe that
social media can impede on the rights of other individuals. The greatest concern is protecting
the rights of others when using social media. Interview result indicated that the participant
correspond with survey result. Arin is an active user because she usually connects with her
family and her friends every day. Her major motivation in learning about the social media
technology is that it allows her to be familiar with common social media platforms. Her feeling
towards integrating social media in the classroom was a positive one. However, Arin has a
negative perception towards students right because she feels that social media might not be safe
for her personally, especially in relation to posting private information, and she is very
concerned about having her profile publicly available on social media. She suggested giving
only basic or untrue information in her social media profile.

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INTERNET AND SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES BY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
PERPETRATORS.Widener Law Journal, 19(3), 933-966
Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd
ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.
Dearnley, C. (2005). A reflection on the use of semi-structured interviews. Nurse
Researcher,13(1), 19-28.
Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative research. The
qualitative report, 8(4), 597-607.
Huffman, S. (2013). Benefits and pitfalls: Simple guidelines for the use of social networking
tools in K-12 education. (2013). Education, 134(2), 154-160. Retrieved from
http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2053/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=eue&AN=93663126&scope=site

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Harmon, O. (2014). Online Discussion and Learning Outcomes. International Advances In

Economic Research, 20(1), 33.
Fleck, B.K.B., Richmond, A.S. & Hussey, H.D. (2013). Using social media to enhance
instruction in higher education.
Jacobsen, W.C. & Forste, R. (May 2011). The wired generation: academic and social outcomes
of electronic media use among university students. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and
Social Networking, 14(5): 275-280.
Johnston, K., Chen, M., & Hauman, M. (2013). Use, Perception and Attitude of University
Students Towards Facebook and Twitter.Electronic Journal Of Information Systems
Evaluation, 16(3), 200-210.
Junco, R. R., Heiberger, G. G., & Loken, E. E. (2011). The Effect of Twitter on College Student
Engagement and Grades. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 27(2), 119-132
Kwon, O., Min, D., Geringer, S., & Sang-Kyu Lim. (2013). Students perception of qualifications
for successful social media coordinator. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 17(1),
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Odom, S., Jarvis, H., Sandlin, M., & Peek, C. (2013). Social media tools in the leadership
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Index Questions Interview (Participant 1)
Abdulrahman Alamris interview with Arin

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Are you an active social media user? Why or why not? Uh, Yes, I am kind of like sort of the
active social media user, but, its not like, uh, Facebook, or Twitter, things, I usually use, um, a
social network online, or we chat, its basically, its like MSN, or before that, will be like ICQ,
its basically, its one to one social media, and they do have little things, little post things, like
Facebook, but its not like Facebook, um, social media, and um basically I use the social media is
to connect to talk, uh, to chat with my friends and to chat with my co-workers or something like
that.
How many social media channels are you familiar with?
Actually, all those, most of the famous social media channel, I kind of like play around with, like
Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Research Get, uh, I think its called Research Get, and we chat,
[. . .] and also like Google hangout, Google Plus, so basically its, theres a new social network
coming out, and I know that, and I will go, register an account and play with it, but I dont really
use it a lot, I just, use the particular I familiar with,
Which device do you use to access social media ?.
Mostly its my smart phone and my computer.
Have you used social media in the classroom setting previously, if so, which context?
Um, yes, I used the social media when I was a graduate teaching assistant, we teach the social
media how to enhance the educational technology in classroom, so we used, um, Twitter, and
[], and also the [], it looks like Facebook, but its mostly like educational setting. And in
which content, actually we basically more focus on people, on student how to use it, and they
will think about what kind of content area they are focused on, and they come up with a
teaching plan, incorporate with the social media.

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How often do you use social media, how much time do you spend using it per week ?
oh, I probably spend around like an hour in my social media, most of time because I talk to my
family, my friends, you know, just catch up or make sure everything is alright, so, probably
around like one hour a day so pretty much like seven hours a week.
In your opinion does the integration of the social media help or hinder classroom instruction?
Actually, I think social media definitely will help the instructor to teach in the classroom, and
especially in online learning; however, if, it really depends on how you design and how you
incorporate the social media into your class, so yeah, I will say that that [...] it can be good, and
it can be bad, too.
How does the integration of social media activities affect learners' cognitive load?
Back to my point, say, there's a good instruction, which is, if you have a good designed social
media learner experience, it definitely will be really good because you can help students learn
from each other, build on a connection to each other, and also you use the technology really
well, and that's the thing they, most of them are familiar with, so it's easy to help them get
involved, to the class, but if you have[n't] really, you know, really thought about that and
designed a good environment for them to use, they probably go bad pretty quick because it
sometimes is just doesn't like the actual classroom, we can, you know, we have the classroom,
we can do the classroom management because social media is hard to, and it's public, and oh, so
you don't know what will happen in that virtual world. So, it will really depends, um, it will
really depends how good design you have or not, so if you have a good design, and I think they
will help learners to learn, and won't overload their cognitive, you know, but if you have bad, if
you really doesn't design well it probably just overload their cognitive .

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How does social media promote collaboration with your fellow learners and others ?
Um . . . I will say it's really help you to share what you're interest and definitely help the, each
other to collaborate, but the thing is outside the classroom, how can you more collaborate in the
certain, uh in the other than the assignment, Okay, I'm rambling now, uh, anyway, I think,
yeah, the social media really help because you can for example, if I have uh, if I have something
new, and I can just post or a tweet, I can just do a twitter, and everybody can get the, everybody
in the same group or in my class, they can get the same information at the same time, so pretty
much you can share your knowledge, share your inquiry, share your question or anything at the
same time, so I think that really help each other to work together.
Which feature in social media helps to advance your learning and why?
I think the most important feature in social media is they share information very fast, so I think
that's the good part to help me learn because if I do interesting something and I can get some
information at the same, and the time when I see the social media and also I can go deeper to
dig out whatever I want to know, I think that is the most feature help me.
How does social media promote community or group learning?
I think that is, go back to say they share the information very fast, and we can share
information to each other, and if you have to send interest, it's really easy to build up the
community or the group feeling because you know everybody is work on the same topic, and
everybody is interest in the same topic, so you have the option to talk to each other, and you can
share your interest, share your question to each other, so I think that is social media promote the
community or group learning here.

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How can student participate with Youtube or Flickr with an assignment that involves your
subject domain? Well, I think, um, I always had a [...] before, a [...] before, we made a Youtube
video, and we talked each other, you know, discussed a video on Youtube, and also we were
talking on a vlog, it's called vlog, v-l-o-g, and that's really a help for everybody to talk, and
some, we kind of like have a new idea when we watched a movie, watched a video together, and
we talked together, that's, I hope that it's still the question, the answer.
And the next one is I'm not sure about a Prinster, so I would like to skip this one.
Do you feel that it's more or less difficult an instructor you evaluate an assignment which
integrates Facebook or Twitter usage?
I think that's more difficult for an instructor to use or evaluate the assignment based on the
Facebook or Twitter usage because that is, some people just don't like Facebook or don't like
Twitter things, like me, I don't like post my opinion, or online that publicly, so it's a hard, doing
that to push somebody to uh, you know, uh, we really need to evaluate your usage, your
performance on Twitter or Facebook, so I think that Twitter or Facebook mostly is for
enhancement, they help to, students to connect each other, but it's really really hard to evaluate
the performance on Twitter or Facebook just based on the usage, and I also think that's unfair
because it's, it really doesn't, I don't think that's really the way most of the people can, uh,
accept.
Do you feel the social discourse tool such as discussion board wiki add value to classroom
instruction?
Yes, I do think about that because even though there's a discussion board or wiki, and blog, that
kind of thing, it's not so um share the information so fast, and not like the Twitter or Facebook,

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but they still, they help the student to think about more deeper, and to work together, about the
one topic, so I think they still add the value, and it just depends on how you design it.
What degree does social media bring the outside world into a classroom?
I think, when you start using the social media in the classroom, you gotta connect to the real
world, and the real world will get into the setting, get into the classroom by that kind of social
media, because they are public, they are not even, you only have a small group of people, and
you grew up together, but still there have somebody will coming in, that already coming in, and
you know, cross over the, your classroom.

What are some of the limitations associated with social media when implement in a classroom
setting?
I think the limitation will be, the first thing is social media they have the certain um, they are
not for education, so they do have their limitation, for example they are sharing the small,
shorter message, rather than longer one, and they are, they are not grouping the topic by the
subject, so if you have too much people, for example, if you have ten people at the same time
that post something, they just, your whole page is being, is really, it's, I would say, if there's ten
people that post together, and the different topic, it just make you feel dizzy, when you try to
look for something specific or when you trying to follow, and that's really really hard and that
means, that still means sometimes that will happen. And also, I talked about before the security
issue because the social media is public, so how can you keep your classroom private, and how
can you, you know, there's, have the ownership issue here, so how do you keep your group
secure enough to not have any problems with that, and the other limitation is the people

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limitation because just like I said, not everybody loves to use that social media in public or they
want to use the social media in their school work. So I will say that's another limitation, how
much is enough, and how much is too much, how less is too less, or what is the exactly uh, the
right way to use it?
Should a course require students to know how to use social media without providing any
instruction?
No. Definitely not. Any course who requires students to know how to use the social media
should provide instruction and I will say very good instruction, detailed instruction, um, not
only when you should use that and how you should use that, and also how you should say
something in there, and how you should perform yourself because people intend to be rude
when they cannot see people, when not see others, uh, when not speak in front of people.
What alternative method or device could be used in the classroom in place of integrated social
media, do you feel this other method and device are more or less effective? Why?
I really cannot think about the alternative method or device can be used in the classroom to
replace social media, so I'm not sure about the second question too.
Does social media cross societal boundary, or it's safe to use your personal point of view? I
would like to say uh, what about for international students? Well, I would like to say that social
media is not safe to use, and I really doesn't like the social media in public [...], and either for
international students, for me, um, I know lots of people love to use the Facebook to connect
with their friends from back to their home country or home town, but I'm not really like use the
social media because they do have some safety issue, and I don't like to public my private
information online.

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What type of activity constitutes violating a student's right using social media and why? Would
students be more . . . I don't know what is question about, so I will jump to the second one,

Describe a scenario in which you feel that students' rights have been violated by any other
students using the social media,
only I think is the cyber bullying, and that's the only scenario I can think, but I'm not sure about
this question.
What should happen to the individual who violated somebody's rights when using the social
media?
I would like to say if somebody really violate someone's rights, when using the social media,
they should, you know, they should be informed that there will be the same happens when they
violate somebody's right in the real world, that's what I think.
What entity should be notified when a student's right has been violated using social media? , uh,
I am not sure what is the means, so probably report to the student, the teacher or the school
district or whatever, I'm not sure this question.
How concerned are you about having your profile publicly available to others on social media ?,
I'm really concerned about that, so basically when I use my social media I only give the most
basically information, like gender, and I won't even give my true, uh, real birth date, and I don't
tell them where I graduated or where I live, I probably will say I live in the United States, and
that kind of general idea, I don't like my personal profile to be uploaded to you know, the
public, and I even inform my friends not to tag my photo or my face on a Facebook, stay, they

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are not really listen to me, but that's how I concerned about my personal information, I even ask
them not to tag, you know the tag thing is you have a little piece of, you have a photo in the
Facebook and you have the little place of each person's face, and you can say, oh, this face is
who, and this face is whom, and I told them not to make my face. Anyway, that's pretty
practically proof how I concerned, I really really concerned about that.

Okay.

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Survey Questions

Data Attributes / Comment

Basic Demographic Questions

What is your email address (e.g. YourName@my.unt.edu)? This
email address will be used to route you a copy of your survey and
to contact you for follow up interview questions.

Fill in the blank, text, cannot be

blank

What is your gender?

Only allow one option to be

selected, this option can be left
blank

Male
Female
What is your age?

Fill in the blank, numeric only,

cannot be blank

What is your ethnicity or race?

Select one option; allow a text box

when Other is selected. This option
can be left blank

White
Hispanic or Latino
Black or African American
Native American or American Indian
Asian / Pacific Islander
Other

In which country have you lived the majority of your life?

United States
Other
What is your level of study?
Undergraduate (Bachelors Degree)
Graduate (Masters or Ph.D. Degree)
Non-degree seeking
What is your major program of study?
Learning Technology
Library Science
Other

Select one option, cannot be left

blank, allow a text box when Other
is selected
Select only one option, cannot be
blank

Select only one option, allow a text

box when Other is selected

What is the number of online courses which you have previously

taken? (If you have not taken any online courses, please enter
0.)

Fill in the blank, numeric only,

cannot be blank

What is your current course load this semester?

Select one option, cannot be blank

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Full-time Undergraduate (enrolled in 12 semester hours or more

of coursework)
Full-time Graduate (enrolled in 9 semester hours or more of
coursework)
Part-time Undergraduate (enrolled in less than 12 semester
hours of coursework)
Part-time Graduate Student (enrolled in less than 12 semester
hours of coursework)
What type of course are you taking now?
Face-to-face only
Online only
Face-to-face and Online

Select multiple options, checkboxes,

cannot be blank

How many years of teaching experience do you possess?

(Please enter 0 if you have not taught school).

Cannot be left blank

Are you seeking teacher certification?

Select one option, cannot be left

blank

Yes
No
Maybe
I have worked as (check all that apply):
Corporate/Business Instructor/Trainer
K-12 Teacher
Higher Education Teacher
Full-time Student
Instructional Designer
Other

Can select multiple options, allow a

textbox when Other is selected

General Questions that Give Insight into Motivation and

Attitudes
When an instructor hands out directions for an assignment, I
prefer:

Select one option, cannot be left

blank

Figuring out the instructions myself

Trying to follow directions on my own but I am willing to ask for
help as needed
Having the instructions explained to me
I need faculty feedback on my assignments:
Within a few weeks, so I can review what I did
Within a few days, or I forget what I did
Right away or I get frustrated
When I am asked to use technologies such as e-mail, the
Internet, or new software:

Select one option, cannot be left

blank

Select one option, cannot be left

blank

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I look forward to learning new skills

I feel apprehensive but try it anyway
I put it off or try to avoid it
Broad Questions Regarding Experience and Attitudes Using
Tools and Environments
What is your level of experience using the following learning
management systems (LMSs)?
Blackboard
Schoology
Canvas
Moodle
Other
What is your level of experience using the following
environments?
Second Life
Civ 3
Minecraft
Other (!)
What is your level of experience using the following social
discourse tools and social media networks?
Wikis
Discussion boards
Online virtual communities
Podcasts
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter
LinkedIn
Flickr
YouTube
Instagram
Other
Please rate your attitude and beliefs about the following:
Social Media
Using social media in learning environments is fun and
interesting
My teachers' use of social media in the classroom makes the
subject matter more relevant.
Social media is an effective tool for learning when integrated with
classroom assignments or activities
Integrating social media in learning environments is easy
Social media channels are similar and interchangeable
Social media rarely impedes on the rights of others
Universities should use social media to discuss social issues
such as drinking and drugs

Show choices in grid and allow

participants to rate from 1 (no
experience) to 5 (lots of experience)

Show choices in grid and allow

participants to rate from 1 (no
experience) to 5 (lots of experience)

Show choices in grid and allow

participants to rate from 1 (no
experience) to 5 (lots of experience)

Show choices in matrix/grid and

allow participants to rate from 1 (I
dont care) to 5 (very strongly)

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May we contact you for a brief 30 60 minute follow up to this
survey?

39
Select one option, cannot be blank

Yes
No
What is your name and the best way to contact you?
First and Last Name:
Contact Information:
Course Number:
Instructors Name

If the participant answered Yes to

the question above, ask for their
name and contact information.
Neither field can be left blank. They
should be editable text boxes.