RESUMEN
Introduction: The use of social networking sites (SNSs) is growing among higher education students, including healthcare students. Nonetheless, limited research has examined the perceived use behavior among healthcare students in developing countries such as India. Objective: This study attempts to assess the use behavior of SNSs by undergraduate students in the fields of nursing and pharmacy in India through the lens of Connectivism and New Social Learning theories. Method: The study used a Google form to collect data through an online questionnaire. A sample of 483 participants included 258 Bachelor of Science in Nursing students, 161 General Nursing and Midwifery students, and 64 Bachelor of Pharmacy students from various Indian nursing and pharmacy schools. Results: The majority of the respondents prefer to use SNSs for several purposes such as watching academic videos on YouTube, sharing their ideas, thoughts, and current development in their respective fields through WhatsApp, getting job-related information from different Facebook pages, etc. A substantial number of nursing students believed that these SNSs help them build relationships with professionals across the country. At the same time, many students also indicated that extensive use of SNSs might cause sleep difficulties, data privacy concerns, and a lack of focus while studying. Conclusion: To have an impact on how SNSs are used in healthcare education, more attention should be paid to build connectivism between educators and their students on social learning environment, which the findings of this study's suggestions could be put into practice.
RESUMEN
As a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, most educational institutions shifted to online education. Students and faculty members in many public institutions, particularly those in developing countries, are hampered by the absence of formal online learning management systems. Responding to COVID-19, many institutions in developing countries adopted social media sites to maintain e-learning and sustain education process. The distinction between online and real-world communities is becoming increasingly narrow, especially among the younger generations who have grown up with social media at their fingertips. This research explores perspectives of higher education students in India regarding the use of social media for e-learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, an online questionnaire was directed to a sample of higher education students in India via a personal network. The results showed that students were more satisfied with their use of social media because of their perceptions of its ease of use and usefulness. The majority of the students are active on social media for 1−2 h daily (p < 0.01). YouTube was the platform of choice among all the respondents (n = 154; 36%). The results confirmed that students feel that social media websites have a significant positive impact on their overall academic performance (p < 0.01). Novel methods of teaching and learning are constantly being sought out by educators. The present moment is an opportunity to examine and analyze the theoretical benefits of social media technologies and consider their relative advantages for education through the use of technology's ability to enhance student learning.
