SOCIAL MEDIA AND LEARNING IN BIOLOGY: STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to explore students’ perspective on the use of social media as a tool in enhancing learning of biology concepts. A descriptive survey strategy was used for this study. Two hundred Senior Secondary School II science students randomly selected from ten senior secondary schools in Shomolu Local Government Area of Lagos State were sampled in this study. A self-designed questionnaire (r = 0.75) was used for data collection. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The result of the study revealed that students have access to social networking sites such as YouTube on a regular basis. The findings also revealed that students use social media for both non-academic and academic activities such as online discussion which help in learning biology concepts better. However, it was revealed that teachers are not involved in the use of social media in teaching biology concepts. Also, students do not have personal phones to access social media facilities. Based on the findings, it is therefore recommended that biology teachers should include the utilization of social media in teaching biology concepts, and the school authority should also allow the use of phones which can access social media by biology students.