Students Perceptions of Social Media Integration into Academia

In today’s world, nearly every app, tool, and website has a social media component to it. From sharing Youtube videos to communicating through platforms, educators could benefit from exploring the functionality of bringing technology into the classroom. Social media allow people to collaborate, communicate, and share information online in a social environment as creators of their own content through a virtual community. This study utilized focus groups in order to determine the perceptions that college students have about bringing social media into an educational setting. Focus groups allow participants to have a group conversation about a particular topic, while also identifying key ideas and challenging their thought processes with a group of their peers. This study examined responses from two focus groups, with a total number of nine participants. Results revealed three major themes to help identify if and to what extent social media should be incorporated into academia: Content of media, perceived strengths of social media, and perceived cons of social media.https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/urscom/1001/thumbnail.jp