EXTENDING SOCIAL NETWORKING INTO THE SECONDARY EDUCATION SECTOR

摘要

SECONDARY SCHOOLS DO NOT HAVE THE SAME TECHNICAL RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES AS UNIVERSITIES. THEY USUALLY NEED TO RELY ON READY-TO-USE TOOLS TO FULFILL THEIR INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) STRUCTURE. SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE (SNS) HAS EMERGED AS A PRACTICAL SOLUTION TO THIS NEED. HOWEVER, FEW HAVE COLLECTED EMPIRICAL DATA ON THE APPLICATION OF SNS IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL SETTING. THIS PAPER PROBES INTO THE CURRENT CONDITION OF SNS USAGE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING A SAMPLE OF 851 STUDENTS IN MACAU, A SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION (SAR) OF CHINA. DATA IN TERMS OF ACCESS, PROFILE AND ACTIVITIES ARE COLLECTED. THE ACTIVITIES ON SNSS ARE ANALYZED BY REGRESSION TECHNIQUES TO PRODUCE A PREDICTION MODEL RELATING PERCEIVED ACADEMIC BENEFIT AND SNS ACTIVITIES. THE MODEL YIELDS A STRONG POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THAT BENEFIT AND ACTIVITIES SUCH AS RAISING QUESTIONS AND ENGAGING IN STUDY-RELATED DISCUSSIONS. THE MODEL ALSO YIELDS A WEAK DEPENDENCY ON ACTIVITIES SUCH AS SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION AND ENTERTAINMENT. THE PAPER ALSO EVALUATES THE ACTUAL ACADEMIC UTILIZATION OF A FACEBOOK GROUP FOR ONE CLASS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR. AT THE END OF THE YEAR, VARIOUS OPINION PARAMETERS ARE MEASURED, AND IMPROVEMENTS ARE OBSERVED IN MOST PARAMETERS.