This document discusses a study on using social networks in Saudi Arabian education. The study aims to assess how Saudi Arabian higher education students currently use social networks and their potential educational usage. A social education model is proposed to understand factors influencing student behavior. The study found students are highly engaged with social networks and most think they could improve learning if integrated into education. Recommendations include developing a dedicated educational social networking site and ways teachers could leverage existing sites. Further research is needed to understand what most distracts students and how a tailored site could best support Saudi education needs.

1. Social Networks in
Saudi Education
Gasim Alkhurmi, University of Brighton - UK
Supervisors: Lyn Pemberton and Mithileysh Sathiyanarayanan

2.  Whether social networks are viable for Saudi Arabian education
system and what are the solutions for implementing in the Saudi
Arabian higher education?
 How Social Networking is Revolutionizing Education system and
how it can have impact in Saudi Arabian higher education?
 How to carry out a critical evaluation of the current and the
potential use social networks by Saudi Arabian higher education
students?
 How to carry out a critical evaluation of particular barriers (such
as social, cultural, economic and technical) to the usage of social
networks in the Saudi Arabian higher education?
Research Questions

3.  The main aim of the study is to assess the current and
the potential use of social networks by the Saudi
Arabian higher education students.
Aim of the Study

4.  Investigate the reasons for Saudi Arabian students love for the
social networking sites.
 To discover how the students of Saudi Arabia are using the social
networking sites.
 To investigate the potential use of social networking sites in the
Saudi Arabian higher education.
 To determine how the social networking sites can be used as a
platform for educational learning in Saudi Arabia.
 To provide set of guidelines/suggestions for using social
networking sites for the students of Saudi Arabia.
 Develop a prototype social networking website.
Objectives of the Study

5. Model for the Study
Figure: Social Education Model: A theoretical model to understand students' behaviour
towards social networks

6.  H1: There is a relationship between Socio-environment factors and
Personal factors.
 H2: There is a relationship between Personal factors and Behavioural
factors.
 H3: There is a relationship between Socio-environmental factors and
Behavioural factors.
 H4: There is a relationship between Socio-environmental factors and
Usefullness factors.
 H5: There is a relationship between Personal factors and Usefullness.
 H6: There is a relationship between Personal factors and Usefullness.
 H7: There is a relationship between using social networking sites and
e-learning (not shown in the model).
Hypothesis to Test

7.  98% of the students were in the age of 17 to 25.
 62% male and 38% female took part in the study.
 100% students were pursuing their under graduation (UG).
 12% each of Arts, Business Management, Engineering, Faculty of Law and Political Science.26% each of Computer science and
Informatics and Science.
 100% students have heard of Social Networks.
 100% students use social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and others?
 72% students have been using social networks in their day to day life for more than 4 Years.
 Most of them feel, their idea of Social Networks is to -Communicate with friends and relatives ,Communicate with new people
Share updates and information.
 Only 28% students use Social Networks for their Educational purpose .
 47% students confirm there are rules from the University not to use mobile in the classes.
 53% students think social networks are distracting them in their studies.
 62% students are able to manage between their studies and using social networks.
 67% look at their social networks in class.
 58% teachers encourage not to use social networks while the class is on.
 81% students use the social networks at home and other places.
 64% students think social networks would improve learning ability.
 90% parents allow their children to use social networks at home or outside which is confirmed by the students.
 Most of the students use Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp.
 Most of the students think using social networks while teaching would help learn better.
 85% students think social network will be a part of the academic education in the future.

Results

8.  The results helped to establish the relationship we
developed in the ‘Social Education Model’.
Results – Hypothesis Tested

9.  Dedicated social networking sites for education
(academics) will help in understanding
assignments/courseworks without any distractions -
chat based website with the blogging page and
Forum.
 Social networking sites with the educational materials
would be really helpful.
 Dedicated pages where teachers can upload material
related to specific topics that students can read from
exam point of view.
Recommendations by Students

10. Website – Home Page

11. Secondary Education Webpage

12. Web Store Page

13. Blogs/Forum Page

14.  Good: students can use it to connect with each other
outside of the classroom.
 Good: students can create a Study Group online to
share knowledge or academic doubts.
 Bad: students may use it for killing their time and
distract other students.
Analysis from the Survey: Pros &
Cons

15.  Build an application: Computer science students can learn valuable skills for
the future by taking on a project to create an educational app that can be
used on other social media.
 Brainstorm: Ask students to collaborate and brainstorm on your classroom's
Facebook page.
 Archived videos: Important lectures, slides, and more can be shared and
saved on social educational networks.
 Flashcardlet: Using Flashcardlet, you can create your own flash cards that
students can study on social networks.
Ways to Use Social Networks

16.  Youtube – Educational videos are available (as presentations). Check
YouTube.com/Teachers
 TED – Many videos related to education and technology are available. Check
TED.com
 Khan Academy – A library of education materials. Check www.khanacademy.org
 LinkedIn – Helps in connecting with professional people working on various
projects.
 ResearchGate – Helps in connecting with researchers around the globe and you
share/ask questions related to your projects.
 Academia – Helps in finding some papers related to your projects and follow
researchers around the world.
 Delicious - A social bookmarking site, extends learning outside of the classroom
even after a course ends.
 SlideShare - the world's largest community for sharing educational presentations.
 Tumblr, Wordpress, or Blogger are helpful in improving your creativity and
writing.
 Ning – Educational website.
Ways to Use Social Networks

17.  Though the results prove beneficial to have a social
education website and it has a significant influence in the
academic performance of students, but how it distracts has
not been identified. An in-depth investigation is needed to
confirm what distracts students the most and why?.
 Saudi Ministry of Education should start thinking of coming
up with a real time social education website which can be
designed and tailored to the specific educational needs of
students related to their course.
 Overall, Social Networking Sites (SNS) can be an useful tool
in improving academic performance of students in Saudi
Arabia.
Future Works

18. Thank You very much for
giving me this opportunity to
study in Brighton University.