USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA, AND INFORMATION SHARING OF THE FACULTY OF A STATE UNIVERSITY: A BASIS FOR CRAFTING ACADEMIC POLICIES

Christian  N. Escario,

USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA, AND INFORMATION SHARING OF THE FACULTY OF A STATE UNIVERSITY: A BASIS FOR CRAFTING ACADEMIC POLICIES

Discipline: Higher Education Research

Abstract:

One of the growing issues brought about by the paradigm shift in education during the pandemic is misinformation, along with the use of social media by both teachers and students in blended learning. As a result, academic institutions may need to develop policy-driven guidelines for faculty use of social media for academic reasons. The current study looked into the usage of social media and information exchange among faculty members at the Quirino State University, Cabarroguis Campus. It also delved into their motivations for utilizing social media, how they manage what they post, and how social media may support the university's academic activities while maintaining truth and integrity. Data were collected using the convergent mixed approach from 24 convenience sampled individuals. Among the findings is that individuals utilizeD Facebook, YouTube, and Google Mail more frequently on a daily basis for academic information, general news, and health information exchange. This was subsequently corroborated by the participants' statements that they used social media mostly for academic objectives, information gathering, and socializing, among other things. Participants also shared their thoughts on factors to consider while sharing information on social media, such as following only reputable sources, relevant, fact-checking, and removing disinformation. The paper then suggests that these findings be incorporated into policies governing the use of social media in the academe.

References:

Awidi, I. T., Paynter, M., & Vujosevic, T. (2019). Facebook group in the learning design of a higher education course: An analysis of factors influencing positive learning experience for students. Computers & Education, 129, 106-121. DOI:10.1016/j.compedu.2018.10.018
Bashir, I., Malik, A., & Mahmood, K. (2021). Social media use and information-sharing behaviour of university students. IFLA Journal, 47(4), 481–492. https://doi.org/10.1177/0340035221991564
Boer, N., Baalen, P., & Kumar, K. (2002). An Activity Theory approach for studying the situatedness of knowledge sharing. HICSS Proceedings of the 35th Annual Hawaii International Conference, 3(2), 1483-1492. DOI:10.1109/HICSS.2002.994017
Burkhardt, J. M. (2017). Combating fake news in the digital age (Library Technology Reports 53.8). Chicago: ALA TechSource.
Dyson, M. P., Hartling, L., Shulhan, J., Chisholm, A., Milne, A., Sundar, P., Scott, S. D., & Newton, A. S. (2016). A Systematic Review of Social Media Use to Discuss and View Deliberate Self-Harm Acts. PloS one, 11(5), e0155813. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0155813
Ezeah, G. H., Asogwa, C. E., & Obiorah, E. I. (2013). Social Media Use among Students of Universities in South-East Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 16, 23-32. DOI:10.9790/0837-1632332
Hossain, T., Ahammed, B., Chanda, S. K., Jahan, N., Ela, M. Z., & Islam, N. (2020). Social and electronic media exposure and generalized anxiety disorder among people during COVID-19 outbreak in Bangladesh: a preliminary observation. PLoS ONE, 15, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238974
Junco, R. (2012). The relationship between frequency of Facebook use, participation in Facebook activities, and student engagement. Computers & Education, 58(1), 162-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.08.004
Kendeou, P., Robinson, D. H., & McCrudden, M. T. (2019). Misinformation and Fake News in Education (Current Perspectives on Cognition, Learning and Instruction). Information Age Publishing.
Kent, M.L., & Taylor, M. (1998). Building Dialogic Relationships through the World Wide Web. Public Relations Review, 24, 321-334. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0363-8111(99)80143-X
Leont’ev, A. (1978). Activity, Consciousness, and Personality. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. https://www.marxists.org/archive/leontev/works/activity-consciousness.pdf
Mali, A. S., & Hassan, S. S. (2013). Students’ Acceptance Using Facebook as a Learning Tool: A Case Study. International journal of Asian social science, 3, 2019-2025.
Manca, S. (2020). Snapping, pinning, liking or texting: Investigating social media in higher education beyond Facebook. The Internet and Higher Education, 44, 100707. DOI: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2019.100707
McClure, P. K. (2016). Faith and Facebook in a pluralistic age: The effects of social networking sites on the religious beliefs of emerging adults. Sociological Perspectives, 59(4), 818–834. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731121416647361
Pennycook, G., Bear, A., Collins, E. T., & Rand, D. G. (2020). The implied truth effect: Attaching warnings to a subset of fake news headlines increases perceived accuracy of headlines without warnings. Management Science, 66(11), 4944–4957. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2019.3478
Polanyi, M. (2015). Personal Knowledge Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy (Enlarged Edition). The University of Chicago Press.
Sharma, B., Jain, M., & Tiwari, D. (2015). Students perception towards social media – with special reference to Management Students of Bhopal Madhya Pradesh. International Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences (IJEAS), 2(1), 30-34.
Sobaih, A. E. E., Hasanein, A. M., & Abu Elnasr, A. E. (2020). Responses to COVID-19 in Higher Education: Social Media Usage for Sustaining Formal Academic Communication in Developing Countries. Sustainability, 12, 6520. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166520
Sobaih, A., & Moustafa, M. (2016). Speaking the Same Language: The Value of Social Networking Sites for Hospitality and Tourism Higher Education in Egypt. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 28(1), 21-31. DOI: 10.1080/10963758.2015.1127169
Wok, S., Idid, S., & Misman, E. (2012). Social media use for information-sharing activities among youth in Malaysia. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 2(11), 1029-1047. DOI:10.13140/2.1.2299.4560