East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2011 Social Media in Higher Education: Building Mutually Beneficial Student and Institutional Relationships through Social Media. Megan L. Fuller East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Computer Sciences Commons, and the Education Commons Recommended Citation Fuller, Megan L., "Social Media in Higher Education: Building Mutually Beneficial Student and Institutional Relationships through Social Media." (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1275. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1275 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. 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Social Media in Higher Education: Building Mutually Beneficial Student and Institutional Relationships through Social Media -------------------- A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Computer & Information Sciences East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Computer Science by Megan Fuller May 2011 -------------------- Dr. Tony Pittarese, Chair Mrs. Jessica Keup Dr. Sally Lee Dr. Edith Seier Keywords: Social Media, Higher Education, Student Teacher Relationships ABSTRACT Social Media in Higher Education: Building Mutually Beneficial Student and Institutional Relationships through Social Media by Megan Fuller Social applications such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have driven the public growth of Web 2.0. Universities and colleges are using social media to reach student prospects, keep contact with current students and alumni, and provide a mechanism for group collaboration and interaction in the classroom. Higher education institutions are influenced by current social media trends, and figuring out how to effectively interact with various constituencies within the social media environment can be challenging. In this study, a group of higher education students were surveyed about their social media practices and preferences with a focus on education-related activities. The goal of the research was to determine what aspects of social media use were most effective in reaching the student constituency based on social media usage patterns. The results led to significant observations that aid in the development of social media tactics to reach university and college students. 2 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 2 LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ 13 LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... 28 LIST OF CHARTS ....................................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 37 Web 2.0 Defined .......................................................................................................... 39 2. ENTERPRISE SOCIAL MEDIA ..................................................................................... 42 Visibility and Feedback................................................................................................ 42 Positive Financial Performance with Engagement ...................................................... 43 Industry Social Media Marketing ................................................................................ 46 3. HIGHER EDUCATION SOCIAL MEDIA...................................................................... 49 Marketing and Communicating.................................................................................... 49 Classroom Collaboration Using Wikis ........................................................................ 52 4. FUTURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ....................................................................................... 55 5. RESEARCH PLAN .......................................................................................................... 57 Research Purpose ......................................................................................................... 57 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 57 Target Audience ........................................................................................................... 58 Participants ................................................................................................................... 59 Class Classification ............................................................................................... 60 3 Chapter Page Gender ................................................................................................................... 61 Program of Study .................................................................................................. 62 Survey Collection, Coding, and Analysis .................................................................... 65 6. ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA SURVEY .................................................................. 66 General Overview ........................................................................................................ 67 Current Social Media Tool Accounts ................................................................... 67 Ranking of Current Social Media Tools ............................................................... 68 Method of Joining a Social Media Site ................................................................. 69 Facebook Questions ..................................................................................................... 70 Q1: Post on Friends‘ Walls/Statuses/Comments .................................................. 70 Class Classification. ....................................................................................... 71 Gender. ........................................................................................................... 73 Program of Study. .......................................................................................... 74 Summary. ....................................................................................................... 76 Q2: Post on Fan Pages‘ Walls/Statuses/Comments .............................................. 76 Class Classification. ....................................................................................... 78 Gender. ........................................................................................................... 79 Program of Study. .......................................................................................... 81 Summary. ....................................................................................................... 83 Q3: Like Friends‘ Walls/Statuses/Comments ....................................................... 83 Class Classification. ....................................................................................... 84 Gender. ........................................................................................................... 86 Program of Study. .......................................................................................... 88 4 Chapter Page Summary. ....................................................................................................... 89 Q4: Like Fan Pages‘ Posts/Statuses/Comments ................................................... 89 Class Classification ........................................................................................ 91 Gender. ........................................................................................................... 92 Program of Study. .......................................................................................... 94 Summary. ....................................................................................................... 95 Q5: Post Pictures ................................................................................................... 95 Class Classification. ....................................................................................... 96 Gender. ........................................................................................................... 98 Program of Study ........................................................................................... 99 Summary. ..................................................................................................... 101 Q6: Create Events ............................................................................................... 101 Class Classification. ..................................................................................... 102 Gender. ......................................................................................................... 104 Program of Study. .......................................................................................