Social Networking in E-Learning Courses:
Building Sense of Community
Steve C. Yuen, Ph.D.
Professor
The University of Southern Mississippi
Steve.Yuen@usm.edu
and
Harrison Yang, Ph.D.
State University of New York at Oswego
hyang2@oswego.edu

What is a Social Network?
• A social network is an online service for
communities of people who share an interest
with one another to collaborate.
• A social network service focuses on building
online communities of people who share interests
and activities, or who are interested in exploring
the interests and activities of others. Most social
network services are web based and provide a
variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-
mail and instant messaging services (Wikipedia).
Barnett: Social Networking March 8, 2008

Key Emerging Technologies
• User-Created Content
• Social Networking
• Mobile Phones
• Virtual Words
• The New Scholarship and
Emerging Forum of publication
• Massively Multiplayer
Educational Gaming
The Horizon Report, 2007 Edition, http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/CSD4781.pdf

Popular Social Networks
•Facebook
•Friendster
•LinkedIn
•MySpace
•Ning

Social Networks in Education
• Provide a casual place of learning
• Encourage students to express their own
thoughts
• Provide effective collaboration and
communication
• Enhance students’ learning experiences
• Build an online learning community
• Offer immersion in a foreign language
environment

Sense of Community
• “A feeling that members have of belonging, a felling that
members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared
faith that members’ needs will be met through their
commitment to be together” (McMillan and Chavis, 1986, p.9)
• Research studies indicated that spirit, trust, sense of belonging,
interactivity, common goals, shared values and beliefs, and
common expectations were the most essential elements of
community
• Studies on online environments have indicated that the sense
of community could be created and supported through various
interactive electronic media
• Sense of community could be enhanced among students in e-
learning courses through pedagogical, social, managerial, and
technical functions (Yang and Liu, 2008)

A Case Study
• Designed and developed two class social
networking sites and then integrated them into
two hybrid courses focusing on building a sense of
community
• Purposes
– Obtain specific information about the process of the
social network instructional approach
– Investigate students’ perceptions on the use of social
networking on the sense of community in e-learning

Research Questions
• How could the researchers design and implement a
social networking site for teaching an online or hybrid
course?
• How did students feel regarding the use of a social
networking site in learning?
• What were the effects of using a social networking site
in a course on the sense of community among
learners?
• Were there differences in the use of a social
networking site and the sense of community among
different learners (age and gender)?

Participants
• 30 students enrolled in graduate classes from two
universities during the spring semester in 2008
• The courses were offered in a blended learning or hybrid
format
– Course A Seminar in IT offered in a regular 15-week semester at
a state university in southern region of the U.S.
– Course B IT Management in School offered in an intensive 4 weeks
format at a public university in Hong Kong
• The majority of participants in both courses were part-
time in-service teachers who were pursuing a master’s
degree in educational technology
• Both courses were taught by the same instructor

Design of Social Networking Sites
• Ning was chosen as an online platform to create a class
social networking site
• Allowed students to create their own profiles; upload
photos, audio, podcasts, and videos, create and join
discussion groups, send messages and publish blogs and
presentations
• Designed for private use
• Only class members in the course were invited to join
the class social network
• No guest or outsider was allowed to join and participate
in the social network.

Implementation
• Two social networking sites were designed and tested prior to the
beginning of class with each having a similar layout and identical
features and components
• Both courses were taught by the same instructor
• Introduced social networking concept and the social networking site
in the beginning of the course
• Provided hands-on demonstration on using the social networking site
• Invited students to join the social networking site
• Required students to create a personal profile
• Encouraged students to post personal media and personal blog,
podcasts, and videos related to the course content to the social
network
• Held bi-weekly class discussions in the forum
• Encouraged students to form groups for other personal or class
activities
• Completed a survey at the end of semester

Data Collection and Instrumentation
• A questionnaire was developed to evaluate the
use of social networking in teaching and learning
and assess its effectiveness on the sense of
community among learners
• The questionnaire consisted of 3 parts:
– Part A Background Information (8 items)
– Part B Students’ feedback regarding the use of social
networking site in teaching and learning (19 items)
– Part C Classroom Community Scale (CSS) developed
by Rovai (20 items)

Results
• Demographic profile of the participants
– 77% of participants were between ages of 25 to 39
– 60% of them were female
– 94% of them access the Internet with high speed
connections
– 90% of them had over 7 years of computing
experience
– 57% of them had a Facebook account while only
33% used MySpace and 23% had a Xang or Ning
account

Students’ Perceptions of the Use of a
Social Network
Course A Course B
# Item
(n=13) (n=17)
M SD M SD
I feel comfortable using the class social networking site.
1 3.08 0.76 3.05 0.25
My class social networking site allows me to interact and build a
2 3.46 0.51 3.12 0.33
learning community.
My class social networking site allows me to personalize pages to
3 3.62 0.51 3.06 0.24
express individuality and creativity.
My class social networking site allows me to pose questions to
4 3.54 0.52 3.12 0.32
the community.
My class social networking site allows me to share photos,
5 3.62 0.51 3.11 0.70
music, and videos.
My class social networking site allows me to hold forums to
6 3.62 0.51 3.24 0.44
discuss topics of interest.
My class social networking site allows me to find and share
7 3.62 0.51 3.12 0.33
educational resources.
Strongly Agree = 4; Agree = 3; Neutral = 2; Disagree = 1; Strongly disagree = 0

Students’ Perceptions of the Use of a
Social Network
Course A Course B
# Item
(n=13) (n=17)
M SD M SD
My class social networking site allows me to create study groups.
8 3.62 0.51 3.12 0.33
My class social networking site allows me to communicate with
9 3.62 0.51 3.00 0.61
classmates about course-related topics.
My class social networking site encourages learner-centered
10 3.46 0.52 3.11 0.33
activities.
My class social networking site provides collaborative learning
11 3.38 0.51 3.00 0.61
opportunities.
12 My class social networking site gives me a sense of belonging. 3.08 0.76 3.06 0.24
13 My class social networking site promotes knowledge sharing. 3.38 0.51 3.11 0.33
Strongly Agree = 4; Agree = 3; Neutral = 2; Disagree = 1; Strongly disagree = 0

Students’ Perceptions of the Use of a
Social Network
Course A Course B
# Item
(n=13) (n=17)
M SD M SD
14 My class social networking site is user-friendly. 3.54 0.52 3.24 0.44
Social networking is a great tool for class communications.
15 3.69 0.48 3.23 0.44
Social networking can be used for professional development.
16 3.62 0.51 3.06 0.66
I will become more actively involved in courses that use social
17 3.77 0.44 3.11 0.33
networking.
I would like to see more social networking class sites used in
18 3.65 0.51 3.11 0.81
other classes.
My overall experience using the class social networking site is
19 3.77 0.44 3.00 0.00
positive.
Strongly Agree = 4; Agree = 3; Neutral = 2; Disagree = 1; Strongly disagree = 0

Connectedness Subscale of CSS
Course A Course B Combined
# Item
(n=13) (n=17) (n=30)
M SD M SD M SD
I feel that students in this course care about
1 3.38 0.50 2.82 0.64 3.07 0.64
each other.
3 I feel connected to others in this course. 3.23 0.60 3.06 0.66 3.13 0.63
5 I do not feel a spirit of community. 3.23 1.01 2.53 0.94 2.83 1.02
7 I feel that this course is like a family. 3.23 0.83 2.77 0.75 2.97 0.81
9 I feel isolated in this course. 3.15 0.90 2.83 0.88 2.97 0.89
11 I trust others in this course. 3.31 0.86 2.88 0.60 3.07 0.74
Strongly Agree = 4; Agree = 3; Neutral = 2; Disagree = 1; Strongly disagree = 0

Connectedness Subscale of CSS
Course A Course B Combined
# Item
(n=13) (n=17) (n=30)
M SD M SD M SD
13 I feel that I can rely on others in this course. 3.23 0.93 2.59 0.71 2.87 0.86
I feel that members of this course depend on
15 2.23 1.01 1.71 0.84 1.93 0.94
me.
17 I feel uncertain about others in this course. 3.00 0.71 2.24 0.75 2.57 0.82
19 I feel confident that others will support me. 3.31 0.63 2.59 0.71 2.90 0.76
Overall 3.13 0.65 2.60 0.29 2.83 0.54
Strongly Agree = 4; Agree = 3; Neutral = 2; Disagree = 1; Strongly disagree = 0

Learning Subscale of CSS
Course A Course B Combined
# Item
(n=13) (n=17) (n=30)
M SD M SD M SD
2 I feel I am encouraged to ask questions. 3.31 0.48 2.88 0.78 3.07 0.69
I feel that it is hard to get help when I have a
4 3.46 0.66 2.41 1.18 2.87 1.10
question.
6 I feel that I receive timely feedback. 3.15 0.90 2.65 0.70 2.87 0.82
I feel uneasy exposing gaps in my
8 2.92 0.95 2.00 0.94 2.40 1.04
understanding.
10 I feel reluctant to speak openly. 3.08 0.95 2.18 0.95 2.57 1.04
I feel that this course results in only modest
12 3.15 0.99 1.59 0.87 2.27 1.20
learning.
Strongly Agree = 4; Agree = 3; Neutral = 2; Disagree = 1; Strongly disagree = 0

Learning Subscale of CSS
Course A Course B Combined
# Item
(n=13) (n=17) (n=30)
M SD M SD M SD
14 I feel that other students do not help me learn. 3.08 0.86 2.53 1.00 2.77 0.97
I feel that I am given ample opportunities to
16 3.38 0.65 2.42 0.71 2.83 0.84
learn.
I feel that my educational needs are not being
18 3.23 1.17 2.53 0.87 2.93 1.05
met.
I feel that this course does not promote a
20 3.61 0.51 2.53 0.80 3.00 0.87
desire to learn.
Overall 3.23 0.54 2.37 0.44 2.75 0.65
Strongly Agree = 4; Agree = 3; Neutral = 2; Disagree = 1; Strongly disagree = 0

Age and Gender Differences
• One-factor analysis of variance was used to
investigate the differences in students’ age and
gender on their social networking experiences as
well as their sense of community
• The results showed that no significant differences
were found in students’ age and gender on their
social networking experiences as well as their
sense of community in terms of connectedness
and learning.

Conclusion
• The approach of designing and integrating a class social
networking site into two courses were fun, worthwhile,
and positive
• Students had positive experiences using a social
networking site in learning
• Students found the class social networking site was user-
friendly and gave them a sense of belonging
• Students felt more actively involved in the courses that
use social networking
• The class social networking site can encourage learner-
center activities, provide collaborative learning
opportunities, and promote knowledge sharing

Conclusion
• Using a social networking site in a class could
build a sense of community among learners
• Participants in Course A had a stronger sense of
community in both connectedness and learning
than participants in Course B
– The length of time using a social networking site in a
class could be a factor
– Culture could play a role in a social networking since
Course A was taught in US while Course B was taught
in Hong Kong
– Recommended for further investigation

The End
Questions or Comments?