Publication Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Xie, Ying

Degree Name

Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)

Legacy Department

Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment (ETRA)

Abstract

Today’s learners commonly belong to a generation that grew up surrounded by using technological devices in classrooms, such as smartphones, laptops, iPads, or other tools – making them digital natives. To meet the nature of digital natives’ learning needs, the focus of educational institutions has been on adapting their instructional practices to align with the new realities. In Saudi Arabia, higher education institutions were encouraged to include more instructional technology to align with the nature of digital natives and improve students’ academic performance and engagement. The use of Twitter as a learning tool in higher education is a new educational tool, grounded in the constructivist theory of learning, and serves as a promising opportunity to support the Vision 2030 initiative by improving Saudi female higher education students’ access to knowledge and participation in more expansive learning environments. It is a relatively new educational tool in Saudi higher education institutions, and empirical research that examines the effectiveness of using Twitter in the educational context is sparse. The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to explore the effect of using Twitter as a learning tool on undergraduate Saudi female students’ academic achievement and attitudes in a traditional academic face-to-face higher education course with a convenience sample (N=166) of two groups. One was a treatment group (n=83, Twitter as a learning tool was used), and the other was a control group (n=83, Twitter as a learning tool was not used). Quantitative data were collected using a quasi-experimental design. Qualitative data were collected via semi-structured interviews (n=8). The quantitative data were analyzed using the independent samples t test, the paired-samples t test, and mixed design (ANOVA) repeated measures with a between subject factors were employed to determine if there was a significant difference in academic achievement (dependent variable) between the treatment and control groups. The qualitative data explored Saudi female students’ attitudes toward using Twitter as a learning tool and were analyzed using NVivo software. The findings revealed that students who used Twitter as a learning tool had a higher academic achievement level than students who did not use Twitter as a learning tool. Moreover, students agreed that using Twitter as a learning tool provided them with opportunities to develop their interpersonal, academic, and self-confidence skills which resulted in their increased understanding and knowledge of the Digital Culture course. They also indicated that using Twitter as an educational tool allowed them to reinforce current knowledge, expand their views on the topic of discussion, encourage them to look for evidence to support their own views, and respond to peers’ Tweets pertaining to their course content and field of study. In addition, students perceived that Twitter as a learning tool increased their participation and engagement in the Digital Culture course. However, most students also discussed the challenges they perceived when using Twitter for educational purposes.

Extent

301 pages

Language

en

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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