Hi, my name is Allison Coppola and I am from Sarasota, Florida. I am majoring in Communications and minoring in Classics. Before this research project, I was already very involved in social media and had thought a little about what other people do on social media that may differ from myself. Because of this, my research project was a perfect topic to mix my interests in the world around us!
Networked Knowledge Activities on Social Media
Authors: Allison Coppola, Vanessa Dennen
Student Major: Communications
Mentor: Vanessa Dennen
Mentor’s Department: Educational Psychology & Learning Systems
Mentor’s College: Education
Co-Presenters: Ayesha Swaich
Abstract
In this research study, interviews were conducted throughout the student and faculty body of Florida State University. Participants were tested through a card sort that focused on how they as individuals receive and send information they are exposed to on social media, in order to answer the research question: How informative can social media be? The purpose of this study is to identify the benefits of social media specifically as an academic outlet, in hope that the result of this study will help eliminate the stigma social media currently has. Participants were interviewed in three sections, the first being how they use social media in an academic environment whether it be through professors and apps or their own online textbooks. The second part was the card sort that was broken up into three parts all focusing on the techniques and likelihood they see educational information on social media how often they choose to send it. Lastly, the last part focused on areas participants struggled in to allow researchers to have a better understanding of the limitations of their study and where they can improve for future research. Though data is still being gathered, from what is known through the interview process the majority of participants, though find useful and informational ideas from social media, are not as open to sharing the information with others they do not know well, compared to many communicating and sharing ideas with people close to them.
Keywords: apps behavior social media interview