Teachers' perception towards integrating social networking in education / Nuzuhath Sameer

Abstract:
Social networking has become so popular amongst teenagers is that many of them prefer education via social networking sites. Thus, educators have been trying to involve the technology of Internet in education to connect and motivate the students. However, in Maldives, no research is available in the field, thus the current research is designed to recognize the benefits and challenges of Social Networking in Education and barriers may arise in implementing Social Networking in Education successfully. A qualitative phenomenology was selected to explore the issue. Six secondary teachers were selected judgmentally from a secondary school. Data was collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews, which were analyzed using an inductive approach. The study indicated that there are three main benefits of Social Networking in Education. They are availability of teachers, students and resources, enhancing learning, and boosting students' confidence. Challenges that were noticed are student's exposure to Internet and carelessness towards both online and schoolwork. The barriers that were identified are lack of cooperation from the teachers, parents and students. In addition, network disconnections and unaffordability of Internet are also barriers to implementing Social Networking in Education successfully. Schools should find ways to enhance learning through the benefits of Social networking in Education while trying to avoid the challenges and minimize the barriers, further research is required in the field to have a better understanding of the concepts and components.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of [Master of Education], Centre for Graduate Studies, Open University Malaysia, 2014. Master's project (MBA).
Includes bibliographical references