Social Networks in Saudi Education

Gasim Alkhurmi, University of Brighton - UKSupervisors: Lyn Pemberton and Mithileysh

Sathiyanarayanan

  Whether social networks are viable for Saudi Arabian education

system and what are the solutions for implementing in the Saudi Arabian higher education?

How Social Networking is Revolutionizing Education system and how it can have impact in Saudi Arabian higher education?

How to carry out a critical evaluation of the current and the potential use social networks by Saudi Arabian higher education students?

How to carry out a critical evaluation of particular barriers (such as social, cultural, economic and technical) to the usage of social networks in the Saudi Arabian higher education?

Research Questions

The main aim of the study is to assess the current and the potential use of social networks by the Saudi Arabian higher education students.

Aim of the Study

Investigate the reasons for Saudi Arabian students love for the social networking sites.

To discover how the students of Saudi Arabia are using the social networking sites.

To investigate the potential use of social networking sites in the Saudi Arabian higher education.

To determine how the social networking sites can be used as a platform for educational learning in Saudi Arabia.

To provide set of guidelines/suggestions for using social networking sites for the students of Saudi Arabia.

Develop a prototype social networking website.

Objectives of the Study

Model for the Study

Figure: Social Education Model: A theoretical model to understand students' behaviour towards social networks

H1: There is a relationship between Socio-environment factors and Personal factors.

H2: There is a relationship between Personal factors and Behavioural factors.

H3: There is a relationship between Socio-environmental factors and Behavioural factors.

H4: There is a relationship between Socio-environmental factors and Usefullness factors.

H5: There is a relationship between Personal factors and Usefullness. H6: There is a relationship between Personal factors and Usefullness. H7: There is a relationship between using social networking sites and

e-learning (not shown in the model).

Hypothesis to Test

98% of the students were in the age of 17 to 25. 62% male and 38% female took part in the study. 100% students were pursuing their under graduation (UG). 12% each of Arts, Business Management, Engineering, Faculty of Law and Political Science. 26% each of

Computer science and Informatics and Science. 100% students have heard of Social Networks. 100% students use social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and others? 72% students have been using social networks in their day to day life for more than 4 Years. Most of them feel, their idea of Social Networks is to -Communicate with friends and

relatives ,Communicate with new people Share updates and information. Only 28% students use Social Networks for their Educational purpose . 47% students confirm there are rules from the University not to use mobile in the classes. 53% students think social networks are distracting them in their studies. 62% students are able to manage between their studies and using social networks. 67% look at their social networks in class. 58% teachers encourage not to use social networks while the class is on. 81% students use the social networks at home and other places. 64% students think social networks would improve learning ability. 90% parents allow their children to use social networks at home or outside which is confirmed by the

students. Most of the students use Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. Most of the students think using social networks while teaching would help learn better. 85% students think social network will be a part of the academic education in the future.  

Results

The results helped to establish the relationship we developed in the ‘Social Education Model’.

Results – Hypothesis Tested

Dedicated social networking sites for education (academics) will help in understanding assignments/courseworks without any distractions - chat based website with the blogging page and Forum.

Social networking sites with the educational materials would be really helpful.

Dedicated pages where teachers can upload material related to specific topics that students can read from exam point of view.

Recommendations by Students

Website – Home Page

Secondary Education Webpage

Web Store Page

Blogs/Forum Page

Good: students can use it to connect with each other outside of the classroom.

Good: students can create a Study Group online to share knowledge or academic doubts.

Bad: students may use it for killing their time and distract other students.

Analysis from the Survey: Pros & Cons

Build an application: Computer science students can learn valuable skills for the future by taking on a project to create an educational app that can be used on other social media.

Brainstorm: Ask students to collaborate and brainstorm on your classroom's Facebook page.

Archived videos: Important lectures, slides, and more can be shared and saved on social educational networks.

Flashcardlet: Using Flashcardlet, you can create your own flash cards that students can study on social networks.

Ways to Use Social Networks

Youtube – Educational videos are available (as presentations). Check YouTube.com/Teachers

TED – Many videos related to education and technology are available. Check TED.com

Khan Academy – A library of education materials. Check www.khanacademy.org LinkedIn – Helps in connecting with professional people working on various

projects. ResearchGate – Helps in connecting with researchers around the globe and you

share/ask questions related to your projects. Academia – Helps in finding some papers related to your projects and follow

researchers around the world. Delicious - A social bookmarking site, extends learning outside of the classroom

even after a course ends. SlideShare - the world's largest community for sharing educational presentations. Tumblr, Wordpress, or Blogger are helpful in improving your creativity and writing. Ning – Educational website.

Ways to Use Social Networks

Though the results prove beneficial to have a social education website and it has a significant influence in the academic performance of students, but how it distracts has not been identified. An in-depth investigation is needed to confirm what distracts students the most and why?.

Saudi Ministry of Education should start thinking of coming up with a real time social education website which can be designed and tailored to the specific educational needs of students related to their course.

Overall, Social Networking Sites (SNS) can be an useful tool in improving academic performance of students in Saudi Arabia.

Future Works

Thank You very much for giving me this opportunity to study in Brighton University.