Social media usage in higher education in online business programs

Abstract

The impact of social media usage on students' performance continues to evolve, and it is important to explore the best practices to gain the most benefits. This chapter covers the benefits of social media use in higher education by providing an overview of the emergence of Web 2.0, its main tools and processes, how each of these tools can be used in higher education, and an academic snapshot of social media and students. Also, the chapter provides an evaluation of a current approach through reporting the findings of a study conducted to explore the impact of social media usage on students' engagement and performance. Quantitative research was conducted through the application of an online survey to collect primary data from 96 students studying at six higher education institutions, namely, Central American Technological University (UNITEC), Honduras; University of the Valley of Mexico (UVM), Mexico; Latin American University of Costa Rica (ULATINA), Costa Rica; Inter-American University of Panama (UIP), Panama; CIBERTEC, Peru; and University of the Americas (UDLA), Chile, who were enrolled in an international business program in one of four online business courses [entrepreneurship, marketing, social corporate responsibility, and consumer behavior]. The study revealed that the use of social media tools can help online students become more engaged and interact more effectively with peers and instructors.