Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The data analyzed in this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request: naeem@smail.nju.edu.cn.
Numerous studies have examined the role of social media as an open-learning (OL) tool in the field of education, but the empirical evidence necessary to validate such OL tools is scant, specifically in terms of student academic performance (AP). In today’s digital age, social media platforms are most popular among the student community, and they provide opportunities for OL where they can easily communicate, interact, and collaborate with each other. The authors of this study aimed to minimize the literature gap among student communities who adopt social media for OL, which has positive impacts on their AP in Chinese higher education. We adopted social constructivism theory (SCT) and the technology acceptance model (TAM) to formulate a conceptual framework. Primary data containing 233 questionnaires of international medical students in China were collected in January 2021 through the survey method. The gathered data were analyzed through structural equation modeling techniques with SmartPLS 3. The results revealed that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and interactions with peers have positive and significant influence on OL. In addition, OL was found to have positive and significant influence on students’ AP and engagement. Lastly, engagement showed a positive impact on students’ AP. Thus, this study shows that social media serves as a dynamic tool to expedite the development of OL settings by encouraging collaboration, group discussion, and the exchange of ideas between students that reinforce their learning behavior and performance.
Keywords: open learning, engagement, collaboration, communication, electronic-learningThe term social media (SM) is considered as a form of communication through electronic platforms, which intends to make online communities for users to share knowledge, information, opinions, messages, and other content [1]. In the 21st century, SM became an essential part of human life, while the use of SM has spread across the world. In 2020, almost 3.06 billion individuals from all walks of life used at least one SM platform, such as WeChat, Facebook, Twitter, Weibo, WhatsApp, and Instagram, in their daily life [2]. The use of SM has become an integral part of intellectual work, and students posting study-related material on SM platforms is considered a reliable source of information that is important to each community, such as those of students, customers, and employees [3]. The users of SM (computational technology that helps to develop and share ideas, perceptual knowledge, professional interests, information, and other expressions through social network platforms) may read or see their friends’ activities online without direct contact with them [4]. Furthermore, SM networking sites utilize features, such as comments, postings, digital photographs, video-sharing, and data about online interactions, that provide vitality for SM users [4]. People who use SM are called netizens. Netizens often access online platforms using the internet or other web technologies on their computers or laptops, or they download programs to the mobile devices (such as smartphones or tablets) that expand the functionality of SM networks [4]. The use of SM platforms in educational activities is increasing day by day. Because of the engagement of SM users with such services, they usually develop highly interactive platforms wherein students may create or exchange ideas and discuss information or previously published online content in user-created groups. SM promotes interactions between teachers, subject specialists, students, communities, and major companies. This revolution is the focus of new and creative information technology (IT) areas [3].
SM has been used in medicine extensively, as almost one-third of the adults with internet access have viewed different social media sites concerning the medical experience of other people, while almost 6% of these people have participated through text messages, comments, replies, photos, recorded files, and personal assessments of health conditions by professionals [5]. SM has provided opportunity for individuals with specific illnesses to take part in online communities to share their personal experiences, contact other people to learn from their experiences, and contact medical specialists to glean comprehensive knowledge about their illnesses. Similarly, healthcare workers including doctors and nurses are also using SM significantly in their professional lives, where they exchange information regarding their professional problems as well as clinical experiences [6]. Likewise, current medical students are also using SM broadly as a tool of communication among their educational and professional lives. In medical education literature, communication, peer feedback, collaboration, material sharing, and social media ability are reflected as the major aspects essential for SM usage among medical students [7]. Since SM holds massive importance in educational settings, Davis, Ho, and Last suggested that medical schools revise their syllabi by integrating social media in their instruction in ways that are innovative, timely, and evidence-based to meet the demands of this dynamic learning landscape [8]. Thus, studies on the role of SM use in medical education would enhance and improve the teaching and learning environments for both medical students and medical practitioners [3].
In addition, SM (characterized by user-generated content (UGC)) enables students “to create, circulate, share, and exchange information in a variety of formats and with multiple communities” [9]. WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Linked In, Snap Chat, Twitter, Telegram, Baidu, Google+, SlideShare, Weibo, Tumblr, and related websites are the most popular platforms among SM users [1]. Google+, which provides a single destination to students to easily and quickly communicate and discuss their problems, is widely used all around the world. WeChat is widely used by people in China for social networking [1]. Thus, social media has now become a popular platform for knowledge sharing between medical students and teachers [7]. SM platforms have enabled students to work together, interact with colleagues and classmates, and acquire the latest knowledge, which has positive impacts on their AP [10]. One constructive effect of using SM platforms is the introduction of the public to consumer data, ideas, and programming, which has promoted further technical advances and increased knowledge in educational institutions [9].
OL is a terminology that indicates that “an inner feeling conveyed in this technique through external actions involving students in existing, continuous learning groups or teams” [11]. Rapid expansions of information communication technology (ICT) have led to pragmatic practices. Many terms such as online learning, blended learning, web-based learning, m-learning, and computer-mediated learning have been used in the literature to show the importance of technology in academic learning. All these terms have distinct features, but they are linked to each other through the ability to use a computer that is connected to a network, which provides the opportunity to study from any place at any time [6,11]. OL can be characterized as an instrument that has made knowledge-learning practices more innovative, student-centered, and flexible [4]. OL is a procedure of reciprocity, communication, and collaboration within student communities in which students share their difficulties with other group members and receive solutions, guidance, and advice; it also improves their learning processes, enhances abilities such as collaboration and social abidance, and creates productive interplay as a potential tool for learning [11]. Additionally, OL makes it easier to elaborate and develop critical thinking, materials interchange, and proficient knowledge on online platforms [12]. SM has become the essential tool for OL in student communities and others [3], and SM use is widely used as the main communication platform for student learning [11] because some of its associated tools are not too costly to enable their utilization and growth in acceptable and satisfactory settings for OL. SM has led to the wide distribution of several group exercises, such as sharing knowledge and information, communications, and interactions, in education, thus enhancing students’ learning potential.
Several scholars have examined the link between SM and AP, and they have highlighted many mixed results when using such platforms. For example, according to Ktoridou and Eteokleous [13], SM platforms allow students to interact with group members to find help in solving learning problems. Moreover, using SM platforms may enhance learning achievement in OL environments [11]; however, some studies have shown that students’ use of SM platforms for study (assignment) does not improve learning outcomes [14]. Hence, students must monitor and analyze the patterns of collaboration that emerge throughout OL on SM, where motivating cognitive skills, reflection, and metacognition is crucial for learning [11]. Nevertheless, earlier research revealed that students have negative attitudes regarding social media, as they believe that most SM platforms do not help them achieve AP [15,16]. According to Anderson and Jiang, the use and availability of SM platforms have led to a decline in AP [17]. However, other studies have found that there is no link between SM use and AP [18].
Alenazy, Mugahed Al-Rahmi, and Khan explained that students are suspicious of the idea that using SM platforms can aid them in measuring education sustainability [19]. Other scholars have claimed that while students prefer face-to-face contact with peers and lecturers, they have a favorable attitude toward learning activities integrated with SM platforms [20]. Therefore, more research is required in the field of attitude regarding SM platform use for OL and AP [11]. Cyberstalking and cyberbullying via SM platforms have been linked to psychological and emotional issues such as discomfort, anxiety, and insecurity [21,22]. However, the better integration of SM in academic courses has provided positive effects on students’ AP, such as improving motivation in learning and encouraging students to communicate with their teachers [20].
Despite having reached many countries, there remains a scarcity of studies on the use of SM platforms in higher education, especially in China. Thus, the authors of the current study sought to fill in this literature gap by investigating the use of SM platforms to achieve the goal of OL, positively affecting AP, and positively affecting student engagement (ENG). Following the literature gap, our study’s main objectives were:
To explore the factors that influence the use of SM platforms among international medical students throughout their studies.
To explore the effect of SM-based OL that promotes student AP. To explore how medical students use SM to maintain their ENG with peers and their performance.This research aimed to provide new opportunities to include SM platforms in progressive education in medicine, and to take advantage of the exciting benefits of OL tools in medical training. The present research model was based on two theories: SCT by Vygotsky [23] and the TAM by Davis [24]. The TAM is known as one of the most widely used models for analyzing attitudes about the use of SM platform technology, and SCT addresses interactions and their effect on the OL and ENG of students. These two theories were utilized to assess students’ AP, which is still seriously unexplored. Furthermore, there is a lack of research models for OL, AP, and ENG, including the use of SM platforms in the context of higher education in China. Hence, the goal of this research was to fill in the gaps in the literature by examining SM platforms’ characteristics utilized for OL and ENG that affect students’ AP.
Through the alteration of our social standards, values, and culture, SM has progressively become an important part of human society [25]. Information and content dissemination are becoming significant for people. The learning processes at education institutions have transformed the lives of individuals, including university students and (especially) women, by changing method of communication and engagement in learning [26]. These new media platforms play essential roles in the exchange of material between university students and society. Students now have the opportunity to share their routine life through photographs, comments, and the dissemination of ideas in social and academic discussions [27,28], and SM affects the everyday life of young people and especially university students [29]. Digital and social networking have revolutionized daily ways of communication by developing content, exchanging information, and consuming information [30].
SM platforms allow for social interaction and communication between users by exchanging knowledge and transforming monologues into dialogues between consumers [31]. SM, based on a specific philosophical worldview and technological underpinnings and functionalities, encompasses numerous internet-based tools and apps [32] that have enabled its users to distribute material across digital media and internet spaces [33]. It has provided chances for the inexpensive and viable online advertising of goods and services, it offers new ways of dealing with and coordinating interactions amongst users [34], and many SM users consistently disseminate and share their articles, images, videos, and records on different SM apps [35].
SM offers venues for students and the public to exchange ideas and information by discussing information with each other, as well as to build up relationships through social networking [13,36]. In today’s society, SM platforms and education are inextricably linked [37] because they work as central spaces for debate, discussion, and feedback among students and teachers [38]. SM platforms can be a valuable tool to enhance learning behavior [39] by allowing people to organize content; share information, movies, photos, communication, and coordination; and build social links with others based on collaborative efforts [13,40]. SM platforms include websites, wireless internet connections, and video or photo-sharing sites. At the moment, it is not just advantageous to participate in digital media sharing and social networking—it also enables social contact and communication through the development of brands and professional possibilities [41,42]. According to Wodzicki, Schwämmlein, and Moskaliuk, social networking offers a variety of resources that may be used for instant access to learning and information [43]. For instance, students of higher academic levels extensively use SM platforms for educational purposes [13]. In addition, these platforms have several other uses, such as entertainment and interactions with others [44].
Joachim, Geert, and Soetaert stated that the trustworthiness of these webpages is typically based on demonstrated taste and expertise, rather than on the institution’s association and recognition [45]. According to academics, SM platforms comprise a technology that is used to facilitate social relationships, facilitate collaborations, and enable negotiations among large populations [46]. SM platforms have allowed for the promotion of personalized learning environments as an educational strategy for enhancing self-regulated learning [47]. According to educational experts, SM platforms provide the majority of the characteristics of an excellent educational technology in terms of peer reaction, scholar mentoring, and matching the social circumstances of electronic learning (e-learning) [29].
In the current research, we incorporated two core theories (TAM and SCT) to develop a conceptual model to attain the research objectives. Firstly, Davis conceived a TAM to regulate the causal relationships between the internal views, perspectives, and intentions of users to adopt computer technology [24]. Scholars have extensively used the TAM to study information systems (ISs) and computer technologies (CTs). For instance, Chandra applied the TAM to investigate the adoption of online auctions by users [48].
The SCT defines knowledge as constructed in a collaborative way within a social context. It considers learning as a condition wherein individuals construct their personal meaning from the content and materials presented to them, rather than simply memorizing the information [23]. In addition, SCT is based on the idea that learning can be enhanced and made to be more constructive within the orbit of social process in cognition groups. Moreover, knowledge is an ongoing process that needs improvements with time, and learning is best accomplished when it follows social perspective in effective and constructive process [49,50,51,52,53]. According to Bhattacharjee [54], the emergence of constructivism research in the recent era has enhanced the tools and focus of media technologies for the fast transfer of information and knowledge to the next generation. Similarly, as suggested by Ershler and Stabile, learning is a process that results in the transmission of culture, which may attract constructivists to reconsider the influence of social media on culture [55]. The recent emergence of social media has massively affected attitudes towards education by changing the landscape of information availability.
In SCT, teaching and learning ought to focus on consuming content to develop means of understanding, and these contents have become abundant and easily reachable through social media. The effects of social media for SCT involves significant changes to the ways students often communicate, and how they acquire basic understandings. Thus, as social media permits the alteration, integration, and distribution of information, it has massive influence on the learning of individuals. The strengths of SM platforms follow the principles espoused by constructivists [56]. For instance, Churcher showed that SM platforms lead to online communities of learning practice [57]. Other studies have shown that SM platforms facilitate participation, communication, social interactions, the use of modern technologies, the use of online applications, collaboration, and the construction of personal meaning that satisfies the learning condition of constructivism [58,59]. Likewise, SCT suggests that information on OL activities, personal activities, and social interactions can be gathered through the use of modern tools of technology [60]. Figure 1 illustrates the conceptual model of this research.