Abstract:

Over the last two years, online learning has dominated the education world. Courses that were once face-to-face have switched to online almost overnight due to the COVID pandemic. University students who prefer attending class in person have had to make a difficult adjustment to online learning. For many, online learning is not their preferred method of education because they prefer the hands-on, collaborative, and social environment of the traditional classroom. Although social media apps and digital tools do not completely substitute for the richness of the classroom experience, they are being used widely by students to support one another in the online environment. The central question addressed in this qualitative case study will be to determine the role that social media tools have in improving peer socialization and engagement in online courses. The primary objectives of this qualitative study will be to identify the effectiveness of the social media tool used during online graduate courses. The second objective will be to understand the experiences and perceptions of the graduate students who actively utilized a social media tool for peer and group discussions. A purposeful sample of participants will be invited to participate in the study. They will need to be currently enrolled or have recently completed an online course that used one or more social media tools. Participants will be asked to share their perceptions and experiences from engaging with their peers and instructor using social media as the primary means of communication. Another objective will be to identify the preferred strategies and ways that social media was utilized to improve their learning experience. The data collection instrument that will be used will be an online open-ended questionnaire that will be shared via email and through the course LMS system. This study will provide a unique perspective to help understand and identify ways to improve online learning.

Keywords:

Online learning, higher education, social media, engagement, best practices, innovative strategies.