Investigating Students’ Perception towards the Use of Social Media for Computing Education in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the use of a social media platform – WhatsApp – by computer science students for learning computing education in the context of a Nigerian education institution. Nowadays, a large community of students in higher education institutions has embraced the WhatsApp platform for social interactions which makes it a useful tool in education. In this study, students formed three closed groups, and each group had a specific computing topic they discussed. Their discussions were in the form of posting questions, providing answers to questions, or expressing knowledge on the group topic. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants regarding their experiences. We conducted a descriptive analysis of the student’s learning outcomes. The results show that the use of social media contributes positively to students’ learning achievement, and they are motivated to acquire more knowledge about different computing topics.