This paper reports the partial findings of a survey that was carried out in the analysis phase of an ongoing research for the development of a prototype of a Social Networking Site (SNS) to support teaching and learning in secondary schools. For the initial phase of the study, a quantitative research method was used based on a survey involving 383 respondents drawn from two rural and two urban schools in Selangor, Malaysia. The main objectives of the survey were to investigate factors related students’ use of SNSs namely the frequency of use, the types of SNSs used, reasons for using SNSs and the types of relationships established in the social networking. Data were analysed in the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Findings of the research show that majority of the students were frequent users, spending quite substantially in the virtual sessions mostly for leisure rather than for educational purposes. In addition, the SNSs were used almost exclusively for peer interactions where interactions with their teachers were very minimal. These findings underscore the design and development of a dedicated, content-specific SNS to promote a focused use of SNSs for academic purposes involving both pupils and teacher.
">This paper reports the partial findings of a survey that was carried out in the analysis phase of an ongoing research for the development of a prototype of a Social Networking Site (SNS) to support teaching and learning in secondary schools. For the initial phase of the study, a quantitative research method was used based on a survey involving 383 respondents drawn from two rural and two urban schools in Selangor, Malaysia. The main objectives of the survey were to investigate factors related students’ use of SNSs namely the frequency of use, the types of SNSs used, reasons for using SNSs and the types of relationships established in the social networking. Data were analysed in the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Findings of the research show that majority of the students were frequent users, spending quite substantially in the virtual sessions mostly for leisure rather than for educational purposes. In addition, the SNSs were used almost exclusively for peer interactions where interactions with their teachers were very minimal. These findings underscore the design and development of a dedicated, content-specific SNS to promote a focused use of SNSs for academic purposes involving both pupils and teacher.