THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN ENHANCING INSTRUCTIONAL PROCESS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES WITHIN UASIN GISHU COUNTY

Abstract

The evolution of the Internet has transformed nearly all aspects of human endeavor, from health to education. This study explored the role that social media tools play in the education sector to enhance the processes of teaching and learning in Public Universities within Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. The study outlined the level and influence of the current utilization of the technologies and explored the potential that lies in incorporating them into the teaching and learning processes. The objectives of the study were to: explore the utilization of social networks in enhancing teaching and learning in Public Universities in Kenya; examine the influence of social media in Public Universities in Kenya; determine suitable methodologies of utilizing the social media tools in learning environments in Public Universities in Kenya and determine the challenges of using social media tools in Public Universities in Kenya. The study developed on the principles of the improvement theory, social media acting as the variable that sought to improve instructional and learning processes. It utilized a mixed research design to enable the complementary application of both qualitative and quantitative methods. The target sample size was obtained from the Universities within Uasin Gishu County, Kenya and the population included both lecturers and students. The data was collected using sets of questionnaire for the instructors and learners in the sampled institutions and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings indicated that there are various benefits that the relevant participants can obtain from the utilization of social media platforms in their instructional and learning exercises. The ability for the networks to enable the sharing of information in diverse formats increased the flexibility of those parties to use them to disseminate it to one another. However, time consumption was a challenge when it came to the efficient use of social media technologies in the University context and they were likely to distract the learners from focusing on studies as they are a form of entertainment. All in all, the technologies were seen as feasible in terms of cost and skill requirements; hence it is important to utilize them into the instructional process of Universities. It was noted that the current investigation focused on the ways that the learners and tutors could use the technology for instructional process. However, it was important to find out the potential that existed in customizing the technology to suit the needs of specific institutions as a way of enhancing the experience. The usage of social media tools in Universities should be embraced since they enhance interaction between lecturers and students. Similarly, teachers across many schools will share information thus improving research and teaching. Further study should make it possible for technologies to be used for inter-institutional collaborations, especially, for students and instructors under similar courses of study.