The Impact of Social Media on Social Presence and Student Satisfaction in Nursing Education

The purpose of this study was to determine if social media can enhance the student’s learning experience by employing a medium in which they are already comfortable and familiar, and interact with on a daily basis. This study involved assessing 49 nursing students who used social media, or Facebook to be more exact, compared to when they used a traditional online learning platform. A counterbalanced research design, where participants were randomly assigned to systematically varying sequences of conditions, was used for the study, allowing for two groups of students to experience both social media and a traditional online learning platform over the course of 12 weeks of the 15-week semester. Undergraduate nursing students who used the online learning platform for the first six weeks and then began using social media combined with the traditional online platform for the last six weeks, scored significantly higher in social presence than the group that started with social media during the first six weeks. Implications for nurse education are discussed. Instructors have been frequently confronted with the challenge of how to best communicate and reach the students in their classes (Hodges, 2011). The challenges of today’s learning environment, “requires that a teacher look at not just course material but the technology involved and the ways in which they will communicate with their students” (“Online teaching strategies,” 2011). Ultimately students must accept responsibility for their education and the instructor also has the responsibility of creating a learning environment that meets students’ needs and characteristics. As younger generations become more immersed in the use of technology, and their daily lives become dependent on mobile devices or products such as the iPad, it becomes all the more important for instructors to become increasingly familiar with the current technology used by their students. The use of technology in the classroom is not new. Instructors have been using a number of different methods such as personal websites, wikis, and online tools such as Blackboard, Vista, and Desire to Learn, to assign work, communicate with students, and provide an online platform by which students can communicate, interact, and learn together in one setting (KoenigerDonohue, 2008). However, there are limitations of these approaches, websites and wikis, such as not all students being unfamiliar with the format (Sturgen & Walker, 2009). Mikol (2005) noted that there has also been little to no improvement in communication between student and teacher, or peer-to-peer, for that matter. The primary method for communication outside of the class for the student and instructor is still the typical office visit or email. Additionally, communication between students via wikis and websites do not offer the ability for real time discussion and interaction. Many of today’s students are “digital natives,” and are very comfortable with the various forms of technology and for students it opens educational possibilities that oftentimes meet or exceed those found in a classroom setting (Corbeil & Valdes-Corbell, 2007). No longer are students simply taking notes from the blackboard and reading assigned texts, but are: searching for information in real time during class, and accessing information via the iPad, laptops, smart phones, and other wireless devices. Nursing education have embraced the use of technology in instruction. Streubert, Speziale, and Jacobson (2005) pointed out that, “As society finds new and innovative ways to use information to enhance our quality of life, technology will continue to be part of nursing education” (p. 231). 1 Nursing, Wesleyan College 2 Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology & Counseling, The University of Alabama 24 International Journal of Nursing, Vol. 2(1), June 2015 The characteristics of social media, which point to its influence and potential use within the classroom, are vast, and, in many cases, astounding (Lenhart et al., 2010). Facebook is currently the second largest website, behind Google, in web traffic, with an estimated 500+ million users worldwide, and an estimated 10 million users joining the site every month (Bullas, 2011). These numbers point to a staggering statistic--1 in every 13 people throughout the world is a member of the Facebook community. More interesting still is that for 48% of young Americans, Facebook is how they receive their news on a daily basis, with the same percentage of young people saying that the first thing they do in the morning is check their Facebook account. For college students, a survey of Midwestern universities students found that 90% of students used or had used the site, spending an estimated 700 billion minutes per month on the site (Fournier & Clarke, 2011). Due to these statistics, among many other facets that will be discussed later in further detail, a case can be made that the use of social media in the classroom offers a better opportunity to not only reach students and help them expand their studies, but also further open up lines of communication between the instructor and students as well as between the students themselves. Social media allows for many benefits, not only for the student, but for the faculty and institution as well. Mikol (2005) stated, “Lecturing, with its emphasis on content and cognitive gain, too often creates passivity in students” (p. 87). This is exactly what the use of social media within the classroom seeks to prevent. Social media taps into a culture in which students are already well versed. Social media, while commonplace for many is still new and exciting, presenting multiple possibilities for educational enrichment and networking that will benefit students in and beyond the classroom. In a survey of students, four technology modules were presented to them. Of the four, the social media session was rated as having the highest impact on students (Rutledge et al., 2011). Most importantly, social media is a known commodity with familiarity among most students and faculty alike. According to research done by Bullas (2011), Facebook is currently the second largest website behind Google in web traffic, with over 500 million users worldwide, and an estimated 10 million users joining the site every month. Bullas continued by offering more staggering numbers to evidence the popularity of Facebook by stating that 1 in every 13 people throughout the world is a member of the Facebook community, and that for 48% of young Americans, Facebook is how they receive their news on a daily basis (Bullas, 2011). The same percentage of young people stated that the first thing they do in the morning is check their Facebook account. Businesses have also seen the impact of Facebook, which should be of huge importance to all students who are soon to graduate. According to a study done by the University of Massachusetts, 289 (58%) Fortune 500 companies were on Facebook in 2011, allowing companies to further broaden their customer base and provide information on products and services to those same customers on a daily basis (Barnes & Andonian, 2011). With data such as this, it is no wonder that educational institutions are becoming increasingly interested in how Facebook might be able to improve the educational experience of students. For many students, learning in a digital environment is all they have ever known; therefore, it would be beneficial to continue in a forum with which they are familiar and adept at using. For the ones who are not, it is imperative that students become proficient in the tool as it seems obvious they will be using it long after their education is complete. The purpose of this study was to determine if social media can be an effective learning tool tapping into a medium in which they are already comfortable and familiar and interact with on a daily basis. Social media has the potential to change the overall dynamic of the traditional lecture classroom, opening up new avenues of communication and learning that lecture classes alone are not able to offer. Social media is also a cost effective tool for the institution, as it costs nothing for the faculty or student to join. The idea of social media is an important and valued tool within the classroom. A survey of 606 Facebook users in 2010 found that over 50% of those involved in the study felt that Facebook was an appropriate and comfortable platform by which to discuss education or business, those things which are not for the sole purpose of entertainment. The study also pointed to the high volume of young people, over 70% of those users surveyed, who use Facebook and state they would use it more than just as an entertainment tool (Mazman & Usluel, 2010). Other studies have found similar findings, all which seek to back the purpose of this study (Borup, West, & Graham, 2011). One study looking at how video, which Facebook allows easily to be placed and used on their site, found that online learners, and learners in general, felt that being able to more openly communicate with their professor and colleagues in the class helped with not only their study but improved communication as well, leaving students with a positive outlook and reaffirmed the idea of social media in the classroom for the author.