Abstract:

As claimed by Snell (2009), “if you are not online, you don’t exist’’. The remarkable global phenomenon of this age is social networks sites (SNSs) that are web pages with social features. Computing students tend to use SNS extensively for communicating during their learning or for sharing their learning outputs. There are five broad major areas of extensive work in SNSs that are (i) Impression management and Friendship performance, (ii) networks structure and visualizations of link data in SNSs, (iii) bridging online and offline networks, (iv) the issue of Privacy, and (v) the relationship of SNSs with cultural values. Drawing on literature review and digital human interaction reports, as well as on theoretical behavioral sources, this paper examines the factors of SNSs that diffuse through different variables to determine the transformation of the educational sector with the use of SNS. In particular, the paper proposes a conceptual model based on extensive literature review and the supporting data collection for assessing the role of SNS in Computing Education (CE). The paper discusses a multi-methodological approach in interpretive-inductive research where quantitative tools (e.g. surveys with computing students) are intertwined with qualitative ones (e.g. ethnography of student Facebook pages and focus group). The paper presents a comprehensive model investigating the relationship between SNSs and key dimensions affecting digital readiness process in education. The research is focused on research carried out in Egyptian social media, therefore the proposal and subsequent findings will be in the first instance consider Egyptian education.

Keywords:

Social Networking Sites, Digital culture transformation, Computing education.