The enhancement of student success and engagement through collaborative student/staff online networking

Abstract

This preliminary student-led research was carried out, over a few months in 2012, to find out if students on an undergraduate English degree, at Sheffield Hallam University, would find a social networking site shared with staff useful for building a sense of course identity. The project also explored the feasibility of students jointly administering the site with staff, to enable staff student dialogue to enhance the student experience. The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) used on the course was examined in terms of its effectiveness for building course coherency. The research was informed by one to one interviews with both staff and students, plus focus groups with students.