2009 ALISE Conference

4

Use of Social Networking Websites to Strengthen Peer Communications in Distance LIS Programs: An Exploratory Study

Lili Luo

lililuo@slis.sjsu.edu

Peer communications and establishment of a peer network are a crucial component of educational experiences for graduate students. However, in distance education programs, this component is significantly weakened because students take classes mostly in an isolated online environment and lack the opportunities to engage in real-time interactions with their peers (Nicolson, 2005). As more and more LIS schools are delivering education via online programs, it becomes ever more important to take notice of this weakness of online environments and design strategies to compensate for the rather “removed” nature of distance education and increase the sense of “presence” and “community”. One of the solutions is to use social networking Websites to help graduate students strengthen their peer communications, build peer networks and maintain peer connections in distance LIS programs.

In Spring 2008, School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University (SLIS at SJSU) launched a school-wide social networking website “SLISLife” to help students in the online program to become more connected and engaged in their educational experience. The proposed study will examine how SLISLife and other general-purpose social networking Websites such as MySpace and Facebook are being used by SLIS students to strengthen peer communications in the distance education program.

A self-administered survey questionnaire will be distributed to each student enrolled in the distance education program at SLIS, eliciting information about 1) how they currently communicate/interact with their peers for both course-related purposes and professional networking purposes; 2) the perceived difficulty or inconvenience of peer communications/interactions in the distance education program; 3) their awareness of social networking Websites; 4) the purposes of their current use of social networking Websites; 5) the perceived advantages of using social networking Websites for professional networking among peers; 6) their anticipated/actual use of social networking Websites in establishing a community and strengthening peer connections in the distance education program. The study will be a Web-based survey study. The questionnaire will be pilot-tested and then sent to each student via a listserv to which all the graduate students subscribe. Participation in the study is completely voluntary and anonymous.

This study will provide a new perspective to examine distance education, furthering the understanding of how new technologies can be used to enhance learning experiences for graduate students in LIS programs. Social networking Websites have been proven to be effective in supporting both professional networking and casual mingling (Cachia, Compano, & Da Costa, 2007), and this study will find out how they can be tailored to serve the needs of distance education students. Thus, results from this study will help distance education programs in the field of LIS and beyond obtain a clear idea of students’ needs for peer interactions and community building as well as how their needs can be addressed by the use of social networking Websites. Hence, distance education programs can devise strategies to appropriately incorporate Social networking Websites in the curriculum and create a more engaging, interactive, and community-driven learning environment for graduate students.

References

Nicholson, S. (2005). A framework for technology selection in a Web-based distance education environment: Supporting community-building through richer interaction opportunities. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 46(3), 217-233.

Cachia, R., & Compañó, R., & Da Costa, O. (2007). Grasping the potential of online social networks for foresight. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 74(8), 1179-1203.