Social Media and Equine Science: The Effect of Linkedln on In-Class Engagement of Eauine Hiaher Education Students1

摘要

Social media is a major method ot communication in society today, allowing people worldwide to interact with just the click of a mouse. Social media has also become more frequently used in the equine industry. This study explored the benefit of usinga social media site as a teaching tool in equine higher education curriculum. In particular, it involved the incorporation of Linked In as a required participation effort for equine science students. Four equine science classes were selected for participation in this study. All classes were taught by the same instructor and in a traditional lecture/discussion format; however, two courses had an additional social media component added. The treatment groups participated in assignments during the semesterusing Linkedln. Pre-course, mid-course and post-course data collection were conducted in each class and grade data was collected at the end of the semester. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results revealed that the majority of students felt social media was an effective tool in the equine science classroom; however, it did not replace the traditional lecture format as the most effective method of teaching. Results also suggested that students felt the social media portion positively influenced the teacher-student relationship.