Abstract
The use of online social networking tools (SNTs) has become commonplace within higher education. In this paper a definition and a typology of educational affordance of social networking service (SNS) are presented. The paper also explores the educational affordances whilst examining how university lecturers and students use SNTs to support their educational activities. The data presented here were obtained through a survey in which 38 participants from three universities took part; two universities in Uganda and one in the United Kingdom. The results show that Facebook is the most popular tool with 75 % of participants having profiles. Whilst most participants perceived the educational significance of these tools, social affordances remain more pronounced compared to pedagogical and technological affordances. The limitations of this study have also been discussed.
This study was part of a doctoral research (in its second year) exploring adoption of social collaborative e-learning in higher education.
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© 2016 Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering
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Otto, F., Williams, S., Lundqvist, K.Ø. (2016). Using Social Networking Tools for Teaching and Learning: A Perspective of University Lecturers and Students. In: Vincenti, G., Bucciero, A., Vaz de Carvalho, C. (eds) E-Learning, E-Education, and Online Training. eLEOT 2015. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 160. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28883-3_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28883-3_24
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