The Influence of Social Media on Collaborative Learning in a Cohort Environment.

Introduction In the quest to understand the influence of media and its benefits on education, researchers have historically looked at media as one component of learning and achievement with mixed reactions. As the concept of media evolved to include the phenomenon known as social media, studies have focused on this one particular aspect of media. Faraj, Jarvenpaa, and Majchrzak (2011) assert that there is a shift from centralization to decentralization of social media. This shift has allowed the knowledge sharing process to move from users consciously populating pre-constructed repositories to emergent knowledge contributions while unplanned connections evolve as individuals use social media to share knowledge (p. 40). This research study began as a group project in the Disciplined Inquiry I & II courses of the Wilmington University, Doctorate of Education program. The evolving interest in examining the influence of social media on learning and the building of learning communities prompted four of the students at Wilmington University to develop the assignment into a research study. The study investigated the influence of social media on building collaborative learning communities. The research team conceptualized that the study would identify and reinforce the usage and purposes of social media (sharing documents, team building, sharing information, resources, and teaching others). The team also wanted to fulfill a component of the Organizational Leadership Professional Learning Community, established in their EDD 7000 course, Experiential Learning: Leadership Issues, by exporting cohort collegiate collaborative learning to new cohorts through a connection between social media and collaborative learning. The study addressed three research questions: 1. How does the use of social media affect collaborative learning in a doctoral cohort environment? 2. Are there significant differences between cohort groups regarding social media accessibility? 3. To what extent do doctoral students think social media has an impact on their grades? The research team defined social media as "Web based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system" (Boyd & Ellison, 2007, p. 211). The definition for "collaborative learning" was as an instructional method in which students at various performance levels work together in small groups toward a common goal. The students are, in part, responsible for facilitating each other's learning and their own. Thus, the success of one student helps other students to be successful (Gokhale, 1995). The research team defined cohort as, ". a small group of learners who complete an entire program of study as a single unit" (Lawrence, 2002, p. 83). At Wilmington University, the Ed.D program cohorts are defined by track (OL, EL, & HL) and geographic location (Dover, Georgetown and New Castle). Literature Review Although there is an increasing amount of literature about the use and effectiveness of social media in higher education, it is still an emerging area of study with much to explore. Selwyn (2011) suggests that educators have traditionally been in the role of playing catch up when it comes to technology. The study notes that educators must consider, not if, but how they plan to include social media platforms into their current systems. Studying the effects of the virtual learning environment (VLE) for engineering students at Riyadh College of Technology in Saudi Arabia, BenSalah, Benselama, and Hennache (2009) posit that there is an ease of access to information in virtual learning but ultimately conclude, "There is no doubt that nothing will replace synchronous learning through face to face interaction but it is not always feasible for students to attend conventional classes" (p. …