Exploring the Social Influence Mechanism of Applying Social Network Technology in a Classroom

摘要

This study examines the impacts of social influence on the academic performance of college students by applying a social network technology to assist instruction in a classroom. Social influence can push systems toward uniformity of behavior while selection can lead to fragmentation. Hence, understanding the effects of these two forces in group or organization behaviors help instruction development. This research applies the stochastic actor-based model to discover these two social forces of knowledge sharing among peer-mediated learners by social media. Drawing on the literature of the knowledge construction and social influence, it aims to have a better understanding of social network technology in two directions: describing how relationships are creating and identifying individual and contextual attribute which facilitate its spontaneous knowledge construction.