SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE CLASSROOM: WHATSAPP A NEW COMMUNICATION TOOL FOR ENHANCED CLASS INTERACTIONS
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Abstract
This study is grounded in the author's personal experience of using WhatsApp as a communication tool in a mathematics classroom. This platform was used to supplement the normal face-to-face communication between the lecturer and ICT students. WhatsApp was used during the first semester in 2015/2016at the College of Business Education Dar Es Salaam campus. The class groups consisting of a first-year diploma and bachelor degree students were created and then passed on to another three lecturers who utilized this platform for communication. WhatsApp is a Smartphone application for instant messaging. One of the unique features of this application is its ability to enhance communication within a group of people. Besides, classroom communication between lecturers and students in higher learning using WhatsApp has not yet, to the author’s knowledge, been researched particularly in Tanzania. Therefore, this study explores the use of WhatsApp as used by the four lecturers and ICT students in enhancing class communication. More specifically, the study investigates the ways WhatApp were used by the students and lecturers, the benefits and challenges of using WhatsApp for classroom purposes as perceived by the students.
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References
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