Search

Secondary schools do not have the same technical resources and capabilities as universities. They usually need to rely on ready-to-use tools to fulfill their information and communication technology ( ICT) structure. Social networking site ( SNS) has emerged as a practical solution to this need. However, few have collected empirical data on the application of SNS in a secondary school setting. This paper probes into the current condition of SNS usage among secondary school students using a sample of 851 students in Macau, a Special Administrative Region ( SAR) of China. Data in terms of access, profile and activities are collected. The activities on SNSs are analyzed by regression techniques to produce a prediction model relating perceived academic benefit and SNS activities. The model yields a strong positive relationship between that benefit and activities such as raising questions and engaging in study-related discussions. The model also yields a weak dependency on activities such as searching for information and entertainment. The paper also evaluates the actual academic utilization of a Facebook Group for one class of secondary school students for a period of one year. At the end of the year, various opinion parameters are measured, and improvements are observed in most parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feedback has long been utilised as an effective tool to enhance learning. Between students and teachers; students and students; students and schools, feedback provides a channel of communication between all parties within an education system. With the emergence and development of social networking sites (SNSs) over the past decade, it has become very convenient for people to stay in touch with each other, through computers, tablets and mobile phones. On SNSs, the barriers of face-to-face feedback between students and teachers can be diminished, and students can ask questions any time, anywhere. SNS can serve as a platform for effective feedback communication to improve student-teacher relationships and student performance. This paper presents a case study in which a class of students used Facebook as a hub for feedback between themselves and their teacher. The study utilises a mixed-method approach that substantiates the analysis with both quantitative and qualitative schemes. It also taps into both student and the teacher perspectives on their experiences with using SNS for feedback. Various aspects of the feedback mechanism have been manifested on Facebook, especially in terms of timeliness, motivation, consistency and clarity of feedback. Strategies for teachers to moderate the feedback process on SNS effectively are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]