How Social Networking Can be Used to Encourage Education in UAE? Research Paper

Abstract

Definitely, social networking tools have become common among learners who use them for various purposes. As an instrumental tool in education, such tools are increasingly used for research work. There rises a concern on how social networks can be used to facilitate education in public secondary schools. This paper aims at reviewing the literature of how social networks can be used to foster education. This will be done by conducting a research project whereby data will be collected from various target groups. Appropriate research methodologies will be applied when collecting and analysing data.

Introduction

It is apparent that social networking sites have become fully embedded in everyday life including in education (Boyd & Ellison 211). Additionally, social networking sites have become a major focus for research in the contemporary world. Such tools have become instrumental in globalization to an extent that they have impacted positively in the field of education by the way ideas and knowledge is spread quite fast (Ellison, Steinfeld, & Lampe 1143).

Though several studies have been conducted on the rate at which the tools are gaining popularity in UAE, none has adequately addressed the strategies in which these tools can be used to enhance educational research (Boyd & Ellison 211). According to research done, it is evident that their application can be used to foster education in UAE (Menon par. 2). Nonetheless, very little is known on how the emergence of social networking sites can be fully exploited in facilitating education in UAE. In this case, several questions have been raised on how the sites can be of great use in education (Menon par. 4). Meanwhile, this research aimed at identifying how Social Networking Tools (SNT) can be used in education in UAE.

Literature Review: Social Networking Tools (SNT)

Social networking tools are websites that foster social interactions through the internet (Boyd & Ellison 211). Examples of such websites include face book and twitter. These websites allow friends to meet online and share ideas, knowledge opinion and new concepts (Ellison, Steinfeld, & Lampe 1143). The social network tools have user-generated content that heighten the relationship among learners who have access to software technology. Research evidence indicates that, online interaction promotes learning among groups. Increasingly, this technology is becoming a major focus for learners specifically in advancing their research skills (Ellison, Steinfeld, & Lampe 1147).

Imperatively, it is evident that use of social networking tools has penetrated the education system of UAE (Menon par 1). In fact, recent researches unveiled that such program are very common in government institutions such as secondary schools. Reports derived from recent statistical research indicate that UAE ranks among the top 10 countries in the world that have highly adopted the use of social networking tool in classrooms (Boyd & Ellison 213).

As a matter of fact, 45% of the population in UAE is believed to have accounts in various social sites such as face books and twitter (Menon par 1). Moreover, the empirical researches have unveiled that the majority of social site users are young people at the age of 15-17 in secondary schools. However, teachers, parents, students and school administrators have different opinions on the increased usage of social networking sites in education. Nevertheless, teachers and learners feel that social networking sites are channels for exploration and that they will facilitate fast dissemination of knowledge in educational circles (Ellison, Steinfeld, & Lampe 1146). Meanwhile, there are key factors that were responsible in enhancing the social networking tools facilitate education in UAE. However, these will be evaluated during the project’s research.

Objectives

The major objective was to research on how social sites can be used to foster education in UAE. However, there were specific objectives that were to be achieved during the research project. These objectives will act as roadmap and thus drive the project towards a successful accomplishment. These include:

1. To Study the concept of social networking tools from literature and validate the findings from it. This involves using literature to establish different of social networks used in education.
2. To develop a conceptual framework for summarizing perceptions of the effectiveness of social networking tools in education based on findings from literature. This involves finding out perception of people on how effective social networking tools are in education using the literature obtained.
3. To Study the perceptions of teachers, school administrators and student’s parents about Social Networking tools (SNT) through interviewing and surveying them.
4. To assess the steps those are essential for accomplishing education success in UAE through social network tools. This will be done by analyzing the data collected from interviews and surveys.
5. To come up with conclusions and recommendations on how social networking tools (SNT) can encourage education (governmental secondary school) in UAE. This involves establishing what should be done to ensure that social networks are used to foster education.

Research Methodology

Since the concept of social networking is well understood in a wider context by many respondents, triangulation method of research was found suitable for the project. In this case, a combination of research methodologies was used in the study to increase validity of data collected (Kumar 2). In actual fact, this encompassed use of qualitative and quantitative research tools. The research methods were arrived at due to the nature of the research topic. In this case, the method chosen were found suitable in providing both statistical and analytical data (Kumar 4). Examples of qualitative research tools used include interviews, literature and media sources. On the other hand, field surveys were used to collect quantitative data during research procedure.

Facts Findings/ Data Collection

Using the research tools mentioned above, the project targeted to collect data from diversified groups. These groups included students, teachers, school administrators and parents. In the first case, students were interviewed in order to assess their perspective toward use of social networking tools. To emphasize on this, boys and girls were picked at random from different secondary schools. Precisely, there were participants from Al-Ma’aref boys’ and Sukaina girls’ school. During the interview, data was collected on the basis of individual experiences.

Moreover, school administrators and teachers were also interviewed in order to establish the effectiveness of social networking tools on education. Teachers and administrators were also targeted in order to unveil the advantages and disadvantages associated with social networking tools on education. There was an intention to establish the percentage of teachers who recommended the use of social networks in classroom related activities. In line with this, parents whose students were in government schools were also interviewed in order to evaluate their perception. Needless to say, parents involved in the project were interviewed at their work stations and their opinions were noted down.

Additional information was derived from the target groups through survey method. Several survey questions were structured and distributed to students who responded to them depending on their experience and perception on social networks. This method provided quantities data on the percentage of students who used social networking tools in their studies. Moreover, it enabled one to unveil the duration of time spent in such sites on a daily basis. Pointless to say, survey helped in identifying the core goal in which learners use such networks. Surveys also helped in establishing the percentage in which students preferred one tool against the other such as face book and twitter. Definitely, this method was appropriate in deriving the conclusion on how students welcome the use of social networks in education.

To increase approval of data collected, literature and media sources were also used. This involved reviewing written materials and online published documents in order to obtain updated details about social networking sites such as face book and twitter. Needless to say, research and online articles were found useful in establishing the key factors that can make social networks to become useful tools in education.

Research outcomes/ Findings

From the research conducted, it is evident that most of the students in UAE use social networking tools for social reasons like chatting with friends, entertainment and communication (Ellison, Steinfeld, & Lampe 1144). In line with this, UAE was compared with other countries that use social networking tools in education. Such countries include Saudi Arabia, United States and Qatar. However, among the named countries, USA ranked the top with more that 66 percent of learners using social networks in education (Menon par. 4).

To synthesize on this, this has been made possible in USA through creating awareness among learners on the importance of social networks. Such awareness encompasses teaching learners how to utilize social networks to obtain information and how to evade posed challenges such as addiction. Centrally, USA has been able to facilitate such programs since the ministry of education has illustrated to learners how well to use such tools as personal and socializing tool in education(Menon par. 6).

Additionally, from the two schools visited, 75 per cent of the students are members of the social networks such as face book and twitter. This percentage is almost equal in both boys and girls. From the research, it was unveiled that most of the students access the networks via phones and computers. A larger percentage accesses the networks for long hours during the holidays. Whereas others spend about 1-2 hours on the social networks after classes.

However, it is only less than 10 per cent who used the social networks for something academic. From the information collected, 90 per cent of the students interviewed would want to use the sites for education. It is worth to note that face book is the widely used network among the available networks.
Notably, 80 per cent of the teachers are members of the social networks while 20% feel it is a waste of time. Unlike the students, the teachers do use them for more hours daily as they have better access to electronics and internet. However, only a few teachers used it as a tool for education.

Survey of twitter usage in UAE and other neighboring countries

However, 90 % of teachers would encourage it as they feel it would break the monotony of the formal classroom learning. In line with this, social network have a disadvantage since students are likely to misusing the networks. Others may concentrate so much on the networks and alienate use of other resources like books which are equally reliable.

From the parents’ response, it is evident that they are members of various social networks which they use for social reasons. About 20 % of the parents feel that, social networks waste time and would therefore not encourage their children to subscribe. Approximately 40 per cent of the parents would want the networks to be used as a education tool. Whereas others think that it would only be misused thus disrupt the learning.

Data Analysis

Adequate information was collected and recorded. Apparently, the project considered all the Reponses that arose from the respondents. A significant number of questions were answered apart from a few. In this case, a follow-up was made to obtain data for the questions. The follow-up was made and data collected from online materials and mass media. Finally, findings were presented for review (Keenan & Shiri 440).

Recommendations

From the finding and analysis of data collected, it was recommended that social networking tools should be encouraged among students in order to facilitate education. However, teachers and parents should regulate and govern the use of such network to ensure that students do not use them for inconvenient reasons. Learners should not over-rely on social networks in research but also use other learning materials such as books (Hargittai 278).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident from the research outcomes that social networking has become highly embended among secondary schools students in government learning institutions. That notwithstanding, it is apparent that social networks such as face book and twitter play pivotal role in education since they enhance academic skills. In this case, it is uneasy to detach learning from this social networking technology.

Acknowledgements

This research study would particularly like to acknowledge the ministry the education who availed the much needed data on education trends in UAE. In addition, the various heads of schools, teachers, parents and pupils were also very instrumental in the entire study, without which the final results would not have been possible. Finally, there are those who indirectly contributed to the success of this report and who could not all be mentioned here.

Works Cited

1. Boyd, Dinah & Ellison, Nicole. Social Network Sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13, (2008): 210- 230. Web.
2. Ellison Nicole, Steinfeld, Charles & Lampe, Cliff. The Benefits of Face book“Friends:” Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, (2007): 1143-1168. Web.
3. Hargittai, Eszter. Whose Space? Differences among Users and Non-Users of Social Sites, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13 (2008): 276-297. Web.
4. Keenan, Andrew & Shiri, Ali. Sociability and social interaction on social networking Websites, Library Review, 58.6(2009):438-450. Web.
5. Kumar, Ranjit. Research Methodology-A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. Singapore, Pearson Education, 2005. Print.
6. Menon,Vineetha. UAE second in world list for online social networking. 2008. Web.