This post is provided by guest blogger, Kylie Mussay, graduate student at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, MS in Training and Development program.

E-learning technology and social media have become a platform for increasing engagement with online learners. A study by Bialy and Ayoub (2017) found that medical students and their course instructors used social networking sites (SNS) to enhance

understanding of course material such as case studies and medical techniques. In the study, Bialy and Ayoub found that medical students are more likely to use Facebook and YouTube as SNSs because they can interact with their classmates and professors easily without adding them to their own home page. Additionally, content shared on social media garners more interest if it was concise.

I recommend this study for anyone who works with medical students or who thinks about facilitating social media within e-learning. Although this study focused on medical students, the research can be easily replicated on a number of different students. The strategic questions of Bialy’s and Ayoub’s survey were not solely medical, but rather generalized questions for multiple populations. I would not be surprised to find other types of students had similar thoughts and usage of social networking sites to supplement their course material. Overall, I suggest anyone looking to supplement learning by use of social media to read this research.

Reference

Bialy, S. E., Ayoub, A. R. (2017). The trends of use of social media by medical students. Education in Medicine Journal, 9(1), 59-68. https://doi.org/10.21315/eimj2017.9.1.6