Journal of Applied Information Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Role of Social Media for Knowledge Sharing among Students and Staff in Institutions of Higher Learning: A Case Study of Bomet University College, Kenya


Affiliations
1 Department of Computing and Information Science, Maasai Mara University, Kenya
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Social media has a lot of promise for improving networking, collaboration, experience sharing, and communication. Everyday, the number of people who use these sites grows. The study’s goal was to see how Bomet University College (BUC) students and staff used social media to improve their learning. A case-study survey was employed using mixed methodologies to analyze the role of social media for knowledge sharing. The study’s target population was the personnel and students of Bomet University College, which included a total of 684 undergraduate students. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient was utilized to confirm the instrument’s reliability, with a coefficient of 0.812 obtained from the findings of the pilot study. Interviews and questionnaires were used to gather information. The study established that all respondents used social media for information exchange, sociability, and educational endeavor support, with WhatsApp and Facebook being the most popular social media platforms among both staff and students. The study recommends that policymakers in institutions of higher learning inspire students and staff to make use of social media in a professional and productive manner.

Keywords

Digital Media, Institutions, Knowledge Sharing, Social Networking
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • S. Saijal, Knowledge Sharing: Web 2.0 Applications. 2019.

  • P. L. Frana, and M. J. Klein, Encyclopedia of Artificial Intelligence: The Past, Present, and Future of AI. 2021.

  • L. Argote, and P. Ingram, “Knowledge transfer: A basis for competitive advantage in firms,” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, vol. 82, no. 1, pp. 150-169, 2000.

  • R. Forouzan, K. Mohammad, and S. Paria, “Factors affecting knowledge management and its effect on organizational performance: Mediating the role of human capital,” Advances in Human-Computer Interaction, vol. 2021, 2021, Art. no. 8857572. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8857572

  • O.-L. Porumbeanu Madge, “Creating a culture of learning and knowledge sharing in libraries and information services,” in New Research on Knowledge Management Models and Methods. 2012.

  • T. H. Davenport, and L. Prusak, Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press, 2010.

  • S. C. Karen, International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd ed. 2015.

  • A. Al-Alawi, N. Al-Marzooqi, and Y. Mohammed, “Organizational culture and knowledge sharing: Critical success factors,” J. Knowledge Management, vol. 11, pp. 22-42, 2007, doi: 10.1108/13673270710738898.

  • D. Irawan, E. Bastian, and I. Hanifah, “Knowledge sharing, organizational culture, intellectual capital, and organizational performance,” Journal of Accounting and Investment, vol. 20, no. 3, 2019, doi: 10.18196/ jai.2003128.

  • J. H. Park, “The role of trust on knowledge creation in a virtual organization: A social capital perspective,” Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 84-89, 2006.

  • P. Goodyear, and R. A. Ellis, “University students’ approaches to learning: Rethinking the place of technology,” Distance Education, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 141-152, 2008.

  • Chen, and Bryer, Social Media Tools Instructions. 2011.

  • S. Minocha, “A case study investigation of students’ experience with social software tools,” New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 245265, 2009. [Online]. Available: http://www.ebscohost.

  • com

  • A. M. Kaplan, and M. Haenlein, “Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media,” Business Horizons, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 59-68, 2010.

  • N. B. Ellison, C. Steinfield, and C. Lampe, “The benefits of Facebook “friends”: Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites,” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 111-119, 2007.

  • M. N. Boulos, I. Maramba, and S. Wheeler, “Wikis, blogs and podcasts: A new generation of web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education,” BMC Medical Education, vol. 6, 2006, Art. no. 41. Accessed: Dec. 29, 2006. [Online]. Available: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/6/41

  • T. D. Baruah, “Effectiveness of social media as a tool of communication and its potential for technology enabled connections: A micro-level study,” International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, vol. 2, no. 5, 2012.

  • S. Leslie, and B. Landon, Social Software for Learning: What is it, Why use it? The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, 2008, pp. 1-27.

  • J. Cross, Informal Learning: Rediscovering the Natural Pathways that Inspire Innovation and Performance. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer, 2006.

  • M. O’Fallon, and K. Butterfield, “A review of the empirical ethical decision-making literature: 1996– 2003,” Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 59, pp. 375-413, 2005, doi: 10.1007/s10551-005-2929-7.

  • M. Barbour, and C. Plough, “Social networking sites in cyber schooling: Helping to make online learning less isolating,” TechTrends, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 56-60, 2009.

  • C. N. Gunawardena, M. B. Hermans, D. Sanchez, C. Richmond, M. Bohley, and R. Tuttle, “A theoretical framework for building online communities of practice with social networking sites tools,” Educational Media International, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 3-16, 2009.

  • C. Greenhow, and B. Robelia, “Informal learning and identity formation in online social media tools,” Learning, Media and Technology, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 119-140, 2009.

  • S. Hase, and C. Kenyon, “From andragogy to heutagogy,” 2000. [Online]. Available: http://ultibase.rmit.edu.au/Articles/dec00/hase2.htm

  • S. C. Satapathy, V. Bhateja, R. Somanah, X.-S. Yang, and R. Senkerik, Information Systems Design and Intelligent Applications: Proceedings of Fifth International Conference, INDIA 2018, 2019, vol. 2.

  • C. Bond, “Surfing or drowning? Students internet skills,” Information Technology in Regional Areas, Making IT Happen, 2002.

  • B. M. Tynes, “Internet safety gone wild? Sacrificing the educational and psychosocial benefits of online social environments,” Journal of Adolescent Research, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 575-584, 2007.

  • G. Attwell, “Web 2.0, personal learning environments and the future of schooling,” 2008. [Online]. Available: http://www.pontydysgu.org/wpcontent/uploads/2021/ 02/web2andfutureofschooling.pdf

  • D. Boyd, “Why youth (heart) social network sites: The role of networked publics in teenage social life,” in D. Buckingham (Ed.), Youth, Identity, and Digital Media.Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007.

  • A. M. Kaplan, and M. Haenlein, “Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media,” Business Horizons, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 59-68, 2010.

  • B. Alexander, “Web 2.0: A new wave of innovation for teaching and learning?,” Educase, pp. 33-44, 2006.

  • C. Coyle, and H. Vaughn, “Social networking: Communication revolution or evolution,” Bell Labs Technical Journal, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 13-18, 2008.

  • J. Davies, and G. Merchant, Web 2.0 for Schools: Learning and Social Participation. New York: Peter Lang, 2009.

  • C. Dwyer, “Digital relationships in the MySpace generation: Results from qualitative study,” 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2007. [Online]. Available: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/ xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber¼4076409

  • B. Wellman, “Little boxes, globalization, and networked individualism,” in Digital Cities II: Computational and Sociological Approaches. Berlin: Springer, 2002.

  • N. Burns, and S. K. Grove, Understanding Nursing Research, 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Saunders Company, 2003.

  • E. Vaast, R. Boland, E. Davidson, S. Pawlowski, and U. Schultze, “Investigating the “knowledge” in knowledge management: A social representation perspective,” Communications of the AIS, vol. 17, pp. 314-340, 2006.

  • T. J. Holt, and D. C. Graves, “A qualitative analysis of advanced fee fraud schemes,” International Journal of Cyber Criminology, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 137-154, 2007.

  • O. Mugenda, and A. Mugenda, Research Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. Nairobi: Acts Press, 2003.

  • N. Wallen, and J. R. Fraenkel, How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education, 4th ed. New York: Mc-Graw, 2000.

  • J. P. Carpenter, S. A. Morrison, M. Craft, and M. Lee, “How and why are educators using Instagram,”

  • Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 96, 2020, Art. no. 103149. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103149

  • A. Hemmi, S. Bayne, and R. Land, “The appropriation and repurposing of social technologies in higher

  • education,” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, vol. 25, no. 19-30, 2009, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2 008.00306.x.

  • S. Olubiyi, “Social media and Nigerian youth burden,” 2012. [Online]. Available: http://bluepringng.

  • com/2012/12/social-media-and-nigerian-youth-burden


Abstract Views: 192

PDF Views: 0




  • Role of Social Media for Knowledge Sharing among Students and Staff in Institutions of Higher Learning: A Case Study of Bomet University College, Kenya

Abstract Views: 192  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Winnie Chepngetich
Department of Computing and Information Science, Maasai Mara University, Kenya
Abraham Mutua
Department of Computing and Information Science, Maasai Mara University, Kenya
Shem Khamadi
Department of Computing and Information Science, Maasai Mara University, Kenya

Abstract


Social media has a lot of promise for improving networking, collaboration, experience sharing, and communication. Everyday, the number of people who use these sites grows. The study’s goal was to see how Bomet University College (BUC) students and staff used social media to improve their learning. A case-study survey was employed using mixed methodologies to analyze the role of social media for knowledge sharing. The study’s target population was the personnel and students of Bomet University College, which included a total of 684 undergraduate students. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient was utilized to confirm the instrument’s reliability, with a coefficient of 0.812 obtained from the findings of the pilot study. Interviews and questionnaires were used to gather information. The study established that all respondents used social media for information exchange, sociability, and educational endeavor support, with WhatsApp and Facebook being the most popular social media platforms among both staff and students. The study recommends that policymakers in institutions of higher learning inspire students and staff to make use of social media in a professional and productive manner.

Keywords


Digital Media, Institutions, Knowledge Sharing, Social Networking

References