Role of social media in academic achievement among Northern Border University sudents

Introduction

Social media is considered one of the forms of communication through the internet, used by people around the world. On the personal level, social media allows communication with family and friends (Yildiz et al, 2019) learning new things, works on developing personal interests, in addition to being means of entertainment. While on the professional level (Sapkota & Vander, 2018), they can be used to expand knowledge in a specific field and build a professional network through communicating with other professionals in the field of work. At the company level, they allow communication between clients and the public and the promotion of the trademark (Razmjooei et al, 2019). While on the educational level, many educators find that social media networks, which are considered second-generation web tools, have made several changes, whether positive or negative (Naseem et al, 2019), in all fields of life. Moreover, their uses are no longer limited to communication and contacting individuals, instead, they have greatly surpassed that when they have come to be used in educational establishments and universities as an effective educational method and a communication mechanism between those active in the educational process (educator and educated), which bestowed on the process an interactive and dynamic character that was not available through classic education.

The results of previous studies looking into the educational role of social media varied. Some studies revealed the positive and important role of social media, as in the study by (Kalpidou et al, 2011), which showed Facebook as a social network that strengthens social relations and assists the social and psychological adaptation of students. The study by (Lee & Lee, 2011) revealed that the use of social media networks has predictive indicators of the psychological and social adaptation of students. The results of (Zoabi, 2012) study showed high levels of self-esteem in students using Facebook.

Some studies revealed the negative role of social media as in the study by (Rouis et al, 2011), which indicated that Facebook does not place an important role in the academic performance of students. The results of (Lei & Wu, 2007) study, also revealed a positive correlation between psychological isolation and the high number of hours using the internet.

 The widespread of the various types of social media networks and the increased number of their users around the world, at 2.307 billion users according to this year (2016) statistics, with a 31% increase from the previous year, made those specialized in the educational field reconsider the educational methods to cope with the scientific and technological advances in the information community, after the traditional educational methods no longer cope with this community, which considers computers, the internet, and social media as its main and effective tools (West, 2017). On the other hand, think of means to use the features characterizing social media networks, such as seamless and free use, breaking the barriers of time and place, in addition to the interactive feature, without mentioning the services they provide to the benefit of the educational process. Based on that, they now use social media platforms in developing the educational process (Sidorov, 2019) the matter that made education specialists consider education through them as one of the most important distant education types (Alhamadi, 2017) due to the obvious effect they had on the efficiency of the educational process. Those media contributed to rebuilding a new formula for the relationship between the professor and the students on the one hand and amongst the students and the professors themselves, which will be a strong motive for learning to strengthen the relationship between those parties. This effect reached an extent that led some researchers to consider that social media platforms will soon completely substitute the traditional electronic education programs (Allam & Elyas, 2016).

Despite the presence of several theoretical and field studies that affirmed the importance of social media in academic achievement at universities, and despite Northern Border University seeking to adopt social media as one of the enablers of academic achievement criteria, yet, there are no studies available in this field and on Northern Border University. This led the researchers to consider conducting a study to assess the use of social media in the academic achievement process at Northern Border University specifically, in addition to assessing the University's efforts to provide social media applications and how this reflects on the institutional performance at the University.

Accordingly, it is possible to summarize the study problem in the following questions:

1. What are the social media applications used by Northern Border University students in the academic achievement process?
2. How to determine the extent and trends of use of each social media application?
3. What are the social media applications provided by Northern Border University to its students?
4. To what extent have social media applications contributed to improving the educational process for the students?
5. What are the obstacles that prevent the spread of social media applications among Northern Border University students?
6. What is the proposed concept for developing the technological capabilities of Northern Border University students for using social media applications to increase the academic achievement process?

The study aims to achieve the following:

1. Determining the actual use by the students of social media applications as one of the academic achievement enablers at Northern Border University.
2. Scientific analysis of the social media application used among the student body at the university.
3. Assessing the points of strength and weakness in using social media applications among Northern Border University students.
4. Defining the failures and obstacles limiting the students’ ability to use social media in the academic achievement process.
5. Identifying the true availability by Northern Border University of social media applications to students.
6. Reaching specific outcomes for the study problem through which it is possible to prepare a specific proposal and recommendations for developing the technological capabilities of the student to use social media application to increase academic achievement.

The present study coincides with the interests and requirements for achieving the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Vision 2030, which seeks to embed technology in every part of the Kingdom, with a special emphasis on education. Therefore, the study conforms to the requirements of the Vision. The study also addresses the variable of social media at universities (Northern Border University being an example), which seeks to implement quality and academic reliance standards, with social media being considered as one of the enablers to increase the academic achievement of students. Also, the study seeks to identify the present reality of the students’ use of social media applications among the students of Northern Border University. Over and above that, the study sets a proposed concept and specific recommendations that can be relied on to activate the role of social media platforms at Northern Border University, to help improve student performance about increasing academic achievement.

Study Theoretical Framework

Social Media

A collection of technologies available over the web (Le, Dobele, & Robinson, 2019) is used by people for communication and interaction purposes. This concept has recently developed to cause a serious riot. This concept means all electronic communication media available in the twenty-first century. Some individuals use the concept of social media applications loosely to describe the various types of cultural phenomena that include communication and not only communications technologies (Neto et al, 2015). In many cases, people use the expression social media to refer to the content provided by users through writing, publishing, or sharing using electronic publishing means. It is worth noting that the majority of social media forms are electronic, granting the users the ability to communicate and interact with each other using computers, smartphones, internet networks, and other social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest (Hassell & Sukalich, 2016).

There is a large number of social media, the most important and popular of which are:

• Blogs: It is a platform for casual dialogue and discussions about a specific topic or a specific opinion.
• Facebook: It is considered the biggest social network in the world, used by more than 1.55 billion active users monthly according to 2015 statistics, where users open a personal profile, to which they add friends, exchange messages, and establish commercial pages.
• Twitter: A blog allowing groups and individuals to maintain contact through the exchange of short messages of up to 140 letters maximum.
• YouTube and Vimeo: Applications to watch videos and web applications.
• Flickr: An electronic site that allows the publishing of photos and video online, sharing photos on Facebook and Twitter, and other social media networks.
• Instagram: A free application that allows users to share photos and videos, use digital filters, frames, and special effects on photos, and then share them on varied social media applications.
• Snapchat: A mobile phone application that allows users to send images and video clips to their friends or to their story, which disappear after 24 hours of publication.
• LinkedIn: A site that allows groups of professionals with common fields and interests to share information and discussions.

Forms of Social Media

Social media vary; they also include social networks such as Twitter and LinkedIn. There are electronic means online to organize and manage communication between people individually or in groups (Sharma, 2019).

Social networks usually allow their visitors to form groups, allowing them to communicate. Another form of communication is also blogs, which provide a micro-blogging service. Some forms enable sharing videos, such as YouTube, and some are to exchange photos such as Instagram and Flickr (Santoveña-Casal, 2019) not to mention the services provided by some applications such as distant meetings, shopping, and distant buying and selling. Speaking about the limit for the spread of this media in communications (Sanderson, 2018), there are no indicators to show that this will happen soon, on the contrary (Shields & Peruta, 2019) it is noticed that these media are adopting wider dimensions and are spreading more. Several inventions and ideas can arise from these media and despite the presence of some negative aspects for them, yet, we have to admit that they have some positive effect on the lives of many, as they facilitate communication despite the increased distances and travel (Dudin et al, 2019).

The rate of global events accelerated in the twentieth century, knowledge and science doubled in an unmatched way. This went hand-in-hand with the development of many various technologies that worked on facilitating life and filling the gaps resulting from the problems that prevailed around the world from east to west. Perhaps the field of education is one of the most prominent of the fields that modern technology had served and developed (Ahmed & Hassan, 2017). The accelerated events created the need for solutions for the educational process, ones that would be able to cope with the significant scientific developments and the daily growing population needs (Alghamdi & Hamed, 2019). This led communication technologies and media to play an effective role in this sensitive field. In the following, we shed light on the most prominent aspects related to such technologies and their relation to education.

The Importance of Communication Means in Education

Communication means play an important role in education, for there is an increased demand by students on learning, by making them partners in the use of these important means and technologies (Watson, 2017), and interacting with them. This all serves the interest of the student, as it works on establishing the academic subjects in his mind, in addition to allowing him to gain important and real scientific, practical, and life experiences (Freberg & Kim, 2018). The use of communication means helps to develop the sense of beauty in students, through the ability to utilize these media to teach the art effectively and beautifully. Introduce the elements of entertainment and fun into the educational process, and avoid rigidity, dullness, and boredom, which could have a negative unfavorable effect on the students themselves. Develop the various abilities and senses of the students as such media uses all human senses effectively and significantly (Alruwaili & Ku, 2019). These media make the student the most important element in the educational process, in addition to contributing to changing the role of the educator, whose role is no longer limited to passing information to the students; instead, it exceeded that to other, more important roles (Melchiorre & Johnson, 2017). The utilization of the various capacities of such media provides the opportunity for the students' feedback. It also contributes to lowering the cost of the educational process, while increasing quality in many cases.

The Educational Roles of Social Media

Social media is considered one of the interactive contributors to the development of education and turning the school from an educational environment limited by its walls to overcome the boundaries for education to transcend time and place (Kumar & Nanda, 2019). Added to that, it includes all parties of the educational process with the community (Woods et al, 2019). including parents and various establishments, as well as bestows the social aspect of the educational process. Social media also increases communication opportunities, students' level of communication and dialogue skills. Furthermore (Aksoy, 2018). it works on raising the levels of social growth among students, through the student’s participation in all social sectors of his virtual community within social media (Lundgren & Crippen, 2019). It helps to eliminate the problems of shyness and introversion, through a real opportunity for virtual communication and the development of the student’s social skills. (Hosseini et al, 2019) Therefore, Social media have become some of the important educational and social electronic establishments that play an important educational role in teaching the students and give them the proper educational knowledge, customs, and traditions if well managed (O'Neill, 2019).

Research Methodology

Represented in assessing the use by students of social media platforms to increase academic achievement. A stratified random sample of students from all specialties was selected during the academic year 2018_2019.

The study relied on the descriptive survey method, which allowed the collection of accurate data on the study subject focus of the research. The researchers used the (questionnaire) measurement tool, through which he was able to measure and analyze the opinions of a stratified random sample of students, to assess the effect of using social media platforms on increasing academic achievement.

The researchers also processed the data statistically using the statistical packages of the SPSS Statistics Program in its twenty-first edition, applying one of the non-parametric statistical methods (non-hypothesis), known as (Chi-squared) or (X2), where this test is necessary to process repetitions to determine their statistical significance, with (X2) used to calculate the significance in numerical data differences that can be converted into repetitions and measure the difference in observed frequencies and expected repetitions.

Therefore, the repetitions of sample responses to each of the objective items in the questionnaire shall be calculated. He set the statistical function of (X2) at (0.05), to represent good estimates, while the researchers saw items under (0.05) as indicative of a deficiency in the relation.

The study also used two methods to verify the validity of the tool as follows:

1. Virtual validity: Through presenting the questionnaire to a group of specialists for assessment, grading, and amendment.
2. The validity of Internal Consistency: Pearson Correlation Coefficient was calculated to determine the internal validity of performance, whereas if the value of the correlation coefficient was under (0.25) it would be considered low, between (0.25 - 0.49) it would be considered moderate, while if its value was between (0.50 - 0.75) the coefficient would be considered high and the relationship is strong. While if higher than that, it would mean that the relationship is very strong. The study also used Cronbach's Alpha equation to measure the stability of the study tool.
3. Each response was given a choice and weight based on a Likert three-point scale.

Study Community and Sample

Based on the aforementioned limits of the study, its community included a stratified random sample of university students, equal to (420) students as follows:

Table No. (1).
Shows the distribution of the individuals of the study sample by gender.

Table No. (2).
Shows the distribution of the individuals of the study sample by academic specializations.

1. Study Tool

A questionnaire was designed consisting of three main parts, the first deals with the characteristics of the sample members, the second deals with the actual use by the students of social media in academic achievement, while the third part deals with the role of the University in providing and facilitating the use of social media for its students.

2. Tool Validity

The researchers used two methods to verify the validity of the tool:

• Virtual validity:

After designing the questionnaire, the researchers presented it to a group of educational professionals. It included the following: The association between the questionnaire’s statements and the study’s objectives and questions, the quality of each statement’s wording, and gradient in the questionnaire. Their comments and corrections were received. The researchers carried them out fully in terms of modifying the wording, deleting certain statements, adding certain explanatory statements, deleting and replacing words from the statement with other words for illustration. The professionals nearly agreed on the quality and thoroughness of the arbiters compared to the study objectives and questions. Only one arbiter objected to the final formula, but it was approved by the other four.

• The validity of Internal Consistency

After ensuring the virtual validity of the study tool, the researchers distributed and applied the questionnaire in the field through personal interviews and distribution via e-mail to a stratified random sample of university students to a total of (500) questionnaires. After collecting the questionnaires, (80) of them representing 16% of the distributed questionnaires were invalid. SPSS was used in calculating the Pearson correlation coefficient to figure out the validity of the internal performance, as the correlation coefficient between the degree of each statement of the questionnaire and the total degree of the related part was calculated. The following table shows the Pearson correlation coefficient for each statement of the second and third parts of the questionnaire, noting that if the correlation coefficient value is less than (0.25), it is low, if the value is (0.25 – 0.49), it is considered medium and if the value is (0.50 – 0.75), it is considered high and strong. If the value is higher than the foregoing, it is considered very strong.

Table No. (3).
Showing the validity of the correlation of the questionnaire statements.



The previous table shows that all questionnaire question statements have a positive correlation, ranging between moderate to high, but not reaching the level of very high. This indicates that all the statements are valid in what they measure, represent the part to which they belong, and realize the internal validity element of the questionnaire.

3. Tool Reliability:

The researchers measured the reliability of the study tool (questionnaire) using Cronbach's Alpha (a) to ensure the reliability of the study tool.

Table No. (4).
Shows the reliability coefficient of the study tool.



The above Table shows that the values of the reliability coefficient of the questionnaire parts are high, indicating that the study tool (questionnaire) has a high degree of consistency and can be relied upon in the field application of the study.

4. Statistical Processing

The researchers used SPSS Program, using the following statistical methods:

1. Pearson correlation coefficient to calculate the accuracy of the questionnaire.
2. Cronbach's alpha coefficient to calculate the reliability of the questionnaire.
3. Frequency tables to calculate the percentage of each statement and to determine the degree of approval of each statement.
4. Chi-Square test to calculate the moral differences between the answers and the impact factor of the variable on the answer.

The study relied on the descriptive survey method, which allowed the collection of accurate data on the study subject focus of the research. The researchers used the (questionnaire) measurement tool, through which he was able to measure and analyze the opinions of a stratified random sample of students, to assess the effect of using social media platforms on increasing academic achievement.

The researchers also processed the data statistically using the statistical packages of the SPSS Statistics Program in its twenty-first edition, applying one of the non-parametric statistical methods (non-hypothesis), known as (Chi-squared) or (X2), where this test is necessary to process repetitions to determine their statistical significance, with (X2) used to calculate the significance in numerical data differences that can be converted into repetitions and measure the difference in observed frequencies and expected repetitions. Therefore, the repetitions of sample responses to each of the objective items in the questionnaire shall be calculated. He set the statistical function of (X2) at (0.05), to represent good estimates, while the researchers saw items under (0.05) as indicative of a deficiency in the relation.

The study also used two methods to verify the validity of the tool as follows:

1. Virtual validity: Through presenting the questionnaire to a group of specialists for assessment, grading, and amendment.
2. The validity of Internal Consistency: Pearson Correlation Coefficient was calculated to determine the internal validity of performance, whereas if the value of the correlation coefficient was under (0.25) it would be considered low, between (0.25 - 0.49) it would be considered moderate, while if its value was between (0.50 - 0.75) the coefficient would be considered high and the relationship is strong. While if higher than that, it would mean that the relationship is very strong. The study also used Cronbach's Alpha equation to measure the stability of the study tool.
3. Each response was given a choice and weight based on a Likert three-point scale.

Discussion and Results

The study reached many results that will be reviewed and discussed according to the use of social media for university students in academic achievement, as well as the most important forms of social media in academic achievement, in addition to the university’s keenness to adopt the permanent and continuous use of these means in the educational process and the extent of communication between students in using All means of communication as following:

1. Using social media in the educational process at university.

2. The most important types of social media applications used in academic achievement

3. Clear awareness by the Northern Border University of the use of social media in the educational process.

4. The University endeavors to dissemination and spread the use of social media in the educational process.

5. Sufficiency of the social media applications to fulfill the needs for communicating with the students and faculty members.

6. The use by students of social media in academic achievement.

7. Size of students’ use of social media

8. Social media contribution in achieving the educational outcomes of students.

9. The presence of obstacles facing the use of social media in the academic achievement process.

Discussion

Conclusion

We conclude through the results that there is a varied trend among the students, where it is evident that a very high percentage of students use one or more social media applications in one form or the other. However, there is a clear variation between the use of social media applications, in the high use of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, with a moderate pattern in using the remaining social media applications. There is also a moderate trend on the part of the University in spreading the awareness of the importance of social media applications. The results show a weakness on the part of the university in generalizing the use of social media among its students, that social media applications are considered sufficient to a great extent to contribute in academic and technical communication amongst the students as well as with the faculty members, which is what prompts students to use social media, enabling them to submit and receive all educational files, communicate academically with colleagues and faculty members, form academic and personal friendships, fulfill personal needs and fill their free time. As for the size of the use of social media, the results show a varied increase in the rate of use, with the use varying between high trends in what can be called social reasons among students, with other moderate trends between the academic inclination group to increase academic achievement. Results also show that social media contribute at a higher than the average rate in the development of the educational skills and capabilities of the students as well as increasing the ability to comprehend the academic curricula, in addition to improving the learning environment within the University.

Proposed Vision and Study Recommendations

The following recommendations can be made through the study:

1. The need to work on raising awareness of spreading social media to both the students and the faculty members through the organization of workshops, training courses, and holding conferences and the positive participation by specialists with advanced studies in this respect.
2. The need to transfer the technology and establish it about the experiments in using social media at the university through international experiences and the companies active in this field.
3. The University shall endeavor more to spread awareness of the importance of social media through the distribution of tablet PCs connected to the internet to its students as well as faculty members.
4. Intensify the periodic training on the use and application of social media among the students and the faculty members.
5. The University shall commit to direct students and faculty members to prepare and exchange the academic homework, assignments, and scientific research through interfaces shared among educational groups.