Faculty Perceptions of Social Media as a Teaching and Learning Tool

摘要

Social media has become pervasive. Some see it as a new media for enhancing the teaching and learning environment. It is rich in tools which can help enhance interaction, discussion and sharing of learning resources. This study investigates King Abdulziz University (KAU) instructors' perceptions of social media as a teaching and learning tool. Data were collected using a specially designed survey during the academic year 2013/2014. The sample size was 507 instructors of different ages and genders representing various KAU colleges. The results indicate that a subset of KAU instructors are using social media tools in their teaching and have the desire to integrate social media as a tool in their teaching at university. Survey outcome signifies prevailing interest and positive potential in adoption of social media into the teaching and learning environment. The paper also reports gender significant differences on preferred social media tools and purposes of social media usage. The findings support the advantages of social media in teaching and learning and do not indicate any obvious disadvantages. They include identification of dominant perceptions pertaining to advantages and disadvantages of social media in teaching and learning. These can help discern possible issues relating to using social media as a teaching and learning tool.