Enhancing Classroom Effectiveness Through Social Networking Tools

Abstract

To determine the usefulness of social networking Web sites such as Ning.com as a communication tool in marketing courses, a study was designed with special concern for social network use in comparison to Blackboard. Students from multiple marketing courses were surveyed. Assessments of Ning.com and Blackboard were performed both to understand how they were perceived individually as useful tools and how they compare to each other. Results indicated that students who used Ning.com were more effective as a group than those who used Blackboard. In addition, students found the practical features of Ning.com to be the more important reason to recommend it for future class use. Entertainment features of Ning.com, though valued, were not as influential.