Abstract:

Various scholars and practitioners advocate that instructors incorporate social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in higher education to enhance positive education-related outcomes. The push for integration relates to the perceived educational needs of the current generation of students who are enrolled in higher education and are known as “digital natives.” However, this literature review illustrates that the oft-cited divide between digital natives and digital immigrants, which is used as rationale for course enhancement via social media, is specious. In addition, extant research suggests that the use of Facebook and Twitter in higher education is correlated with at least three positive outcomes: an increase in student engagement; an increase in student perceptions of instructor credibility; and an increase in student perceptions of instructor immediacy. However, research about the effects of supplementing traditional in-class interaction with Facebook and Twitter is in its infancy. The authors conclude that the integration of social media into higher education should be undertaken with care because Millennial students may not be as technologically-savvy as originally thought, and because extant studies about the benefits of integrating social media into higher education are limited.

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