The Educational Affordances of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM)

Ushus - Journal of Business Management

The liberalising of Business Education in 1990 by the Indian Government has resulted in a large number of management schools offering management courses at graduate and post graduate levels. In the last five years, the number of B-school seats has grown three times. Excluding the few top B-schools like IIMs, most of the B-schools in the country are churning “unemployable” graduates. The paper uses convenience sampling to collect data from students and faculty members of different B-schools in order to find out their usage of digital technologies like Whatsapp for teaching and learning. It also explains the use of digital technology in curriculum designing. This further helps them in placing students in good profiles and better packages as they are able to share more practical real time insights with them.

This paper critically reviews literature on the role of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) applications, such as WhatsApp, in supporting learning and teaching practice. Using formal qualitative synthesis methodology, and dialectical theory as an analytical tool, the main objective was to identify tensions, affordances, constraints, and resolution strategies attendant to educational uses of MIM. In contrast to prior work, the analysis offers a nuanced and complex picture of the use of MIM in learning and teaching settings. Instead of facilitating the creation of educational outcomes in a straightforward manner, the realities of MIM use are socially constructed and the subject of conflicting negotiations. Concretely, the educational use of MIM requires users to navigate the interdependent dialectical tensions of immediacy vs delays (temporal dimension), intimacy vs detachment (relationship dimension) and task vs ludic orientation (intellectual dimension). The findings also reveal a number of behavioural and technical resolution strategies that users deploy to manage these tensions.

While the ubiquity and usage of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) applications such as WhatsApp has recorded unprecedented growth, their role for teaching and learning remains unclear. To address this gap, this paper systematically reviews empirical studies by examining the educational effects, designs, tools and settings of MIM. For this purpose the databases of PsycINFO, ERIC, Ovid MEDLINE, Web of Science and Google Scholar were systematically searched. Thematic analysis was adopted to analyze and synthesize qualitative data. Findings suggest that MIM is primarily used as group learning platform to enhance pre-existing education formats in a wide range of subjects. The use of MIM in education settings augments the transactional roles of students and requires learners and educators to balance the social and cognitive dimensions of interactional engagement.

The Professional Medical Journal, 2021

Objective: This study aimed to explore the use of the WhatsApp instant messaging as a source of learning for postgraduate students enrolled in Master of Health Profession Education. Study Design: Mixed Method Study. Setting: University of Lahore. Period: January 2017 to January 2018. Material & Methods: Eighteen students filled the questionnaire after giving informed consent. This was followed by eight individual interviews of students consenting for interview. Results: The findings of the research suggest that the use of WhatsApp instant messaging may assist students in learning as it fosters a social constructivist environment. This environment supported students in reinforcing various concepts by enhancing interaction within the groups, among teachers as well as assimilation of the content material shared. Conclusion: WhatsApp is perceived to be an acceptable supplementary application for educational purposes, if used appropriately.

EDULEARN16 Proceedings, 2016

WhatsApp Messenger is a smartphone messaging application that can be used on Android, Symbian, BlackBerry, iPhone and Windows phones. The application enables users to exchange instant messages with their contacts. This paper explores how WhatsApp can be used to enhance learning in a University course, and its adoptability by students. The Technological Acceptance Model (TAM), was used as the framework. Participants were drawn from second year students taking Information Systems course in a South African University. The study found that students were comfortable using WhatsApp technology and intent to use it for learning or training purposes. The results of the students improved enough to show that students understood basic concepts better with WhatsApp.

2016

Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) encompasses a range of internet-based facilities that enable exchange of real-time messages using mobile phones. The value of MIM has widely been recognized in recent times, instigating an upsurge in its use across the society. The upsurge underscores the potential of MIM in universities due to the strengths the technology presents such as real time messaging, versatility, portability, affordability among others. In spite of manifested value of MIM, institutions are yet to fully embrace the technology. In light of the aforementioned, this paper aimed to determine way forward in MIM use in universities. The study specifically sought to assess the current situation in the use of MIM, identify challenges in the context of existing success models and way forward. Mixed methods research design was used and survey and multiple case designs were used. Both quantitative and qualitative strategies were used. Simple probability sampling method was used to obtain...

Gamji, M.B, & Jinaidu, H. S., 2019

This research is about the role of WhatsApp in enhancing students' academic performers with the aim of establishing the acceptability and usage of WhatsApp as an important tool of learning using 300 and 400 level students of mass communication, ABU Zaria as an area of study. Specifically, the study explores the level of their WhatsApp use, correlation between WhatsApp use and academic performance as well as knowing if they share material via the application. The researcher made use of Connectivism and Uses and gratification theories as a justification for the research work. To address the issue of the research, survey method was employed by administering 200 copies of questionnaire to the participants who were selected via simple random sampling technique. Findings from the research reveal that students of Mass communication undergraduates use WhatsApp on a medium level. It also shows that they utilize the application to share material among themselves and finally it reveals that there is correlation between academic performance and the use of WhatsApp. However, the correlation was neither positive nor negative. The researchers recommend that students should try as much as possible to utilize the application to assist their academic and not to be an agent of distraction.

English teachers always seek new and interesting approaches to teach English which is relevant to today’s digital native students. WA has been suggested by many to be used in ESL classrooms. Therefore, this paper reports a study on the use of Whatsapp Application (WA) features (text, image and video) as an instructional tool beyond a regular classroom, students’ perception towards the use of WA in teaching and the benefits and drawbacks of using WA in promoting English language learning. A mix-method research design was utilized to obtain detailed information about the use of WA out of the confined classroom. The instruments include observations on WA exchanged messages, semi-structured interviews and survey questionnaire. The outcomes of the study suggest an instructional tool which can be used “in the real world” and help lecturers to understand the prospective benefits of WA to enhance the teaching and learning process. Keywords— WhatsApp; social network application; tertiary institution; instructional tool; English language learning

Exploring the “Ups and Downs” of using WhatsApp Messenger amongst postgraduate students, 2021

Material & Methods: Eighteen students filled the questionnaire after giving informed consent. This was followed by eight individual interviews of students consenting for interview. Results: The findings of the research suggest that the use of WhatsApp instant messaging may assist students in learning as it fosters a social constructivist environment. This environment supported students in reinforcing various concepts by enhancing interaction within the groups, among teachers as well as assimilation of the content material shared. Conclusion: WhatsApp is perceived to be an acceptable supplementary application for educational purposes, if used appropriately.

WhatsApp is a Smartphone application for instant messaging. Lately the application's popularity has risen. One of the unique features of the application is its ability to enhance communication within a group. Classroom communication between teaching faculty and high school students using WhatsApp has not yet, to our knowledge, been researched thoroughly. Therefore, we have chosen to conduct an exploratory research project employing a qualitative method. Twelve half-structured interviews were carried out with teachers who use the application in order to communicate with their pupils. It turns out that class WhatsApp groups are used for four main purposes: communicating with students; nurturing the social atmosphere; creating dialogue and encouraging sharing among students ; and as a learning platform. The participants mentioned the technical advantages of WhatsApp, such as simple operation, low cost, availability, and immediacy. They also referred to educational advantages, such as the creation of a pleasant environment and an in-depth acquaintance with fellow students, which had a positive influence upon the manner of conversation. The participants also indicated academic advantages such as the accessibility of learning materials, teacher availability, and the continuation of learning beyond class hours. Nevertheless, there are also challenges and problems. Firstly, there is the technical difficulty that not all high school students possess a Smartphone. Secondly, teachers are apt to be annoyed by the flood of irrelevant and nonsensical messages. Also, educational difficulties may arise, such as incompatibility of language between students and the students' assumptions that their teachers should be available on a 24/7 basis.