TY - JOUR
T1 - Do Institutional Social Networks Work? Fostering a Sense of Community and Enhancing Learning
AU - Hatzipanagos, Stylianos
AU - John, Bernadette A.
PY - 2017/2/9
Y1 - 2017/2/9
N2 - In this paper we report on the evaluation of an institutional social network (KINSHIP) whose aims were to foster an improved sense of community, enhance communication and serve as a space to model digital professionalism for students at King’s College London, UK. Our evaluation focused on a pilot where students’ needs with regard to the provision of a cross-institution platform and perceptions were examined. Empirical findings in this study project an advantage of KINSHIP compared to commercial social networks, as it is exclusively accessible by students and staff from the institution and mainly being used for academic purposes. Ongoing development and evolution of functionality in step with commercial platforms, improved accessibility via redeveloping the platform as a mobile application and addressing privacy concerns raised by the students about potential monitoring by staff or the institution would also be essential if such an institutional platform were to be a success.
AB - In this paper we report on the evaluation of an institutional social network (KINSHIP) whose aims were to foster an improved sense of community, enhance communication and serve as a space to model digital professionalism for students at King’s College London, UK. Our evaluation focused on a pilot where students’ needs with regard to the provision of a cross-institution platform and perceptions were examined. Empirical findings in this study project an advantage of KINSHIP compared to commercial social networks, as it is exclusively accessible by students and staff from the institution and mainly being used for academic purposes. Ongoing development and evolution of functionality in step with commercial platforms, improved accessibility via redeveloping the platform as a mobile application and addressing privacy concerns raised by the students about potential monitoring by staff or the institution would also be essential if such an institutional platform were to be a success.
KW - Functionality
KW - Informal learning
KW - Institutional social network
KW - Online privacy
KW - Social media design
KW - Technology enhanced learning
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85011818971&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10758-017-9300-9
DO - 10.1007/s10758-017-9300-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85011818971
SN - 2211-1662
SP - 1
EP - 9
JO - Technology, Knowledge and Learning
JF - Technology, Knowledge and Learning
ER -