Social media (SM) use by technology education students on field placement

Abstract

This study explored the intuitions and usage of social media (SM) for communication and instructional support by information technology (ICT) education students on field placement. A random sampling procedure was used to select 37 pre-service teachers (female = 65%; mean age = 24, SD = 2 years). Students responded to a questionnaire on SMs about enhancing communication and instructional support during field placement. Descriptive statistics were used to profile the student’s use of SM on field placement. The results suggest students use SM for peer mentoring, instructional support by lecturers, social support and creative learning experiments. Results also indicate that SM augment communication and instructional support for ICT students while on field placement.

Keywords:

• teaching practice
• instructional support
• informal learning
• social media