In this paper, the author proposes a conceptual model with reference to the usage of Twitter as a language tool to enhance the learning of ESL/EFL. Due to the advancements in the technology and social media applications, teaching and learning of ESL/EFL have gone beyond the physical boundaries. This paper discusses the importance of microblog…

This study examines the association between high school teachers' collegial networks and their own familiarity with, and practices related to, supporting students' admission to college. Using survey data collected at two time points from 163 teachers in four mid-Michigan high schools in 2011-2012, this study (a) employs cluster analysis to map…

This paper examines variations and shifts of emphasis in the 'internationalising education' discourse and practice, and attempts to identify patterns in these variations. By examining two sectors, compulsory education and universities, it identifies four main strands of discourse: (1) international (understanding) education ("kokusai rikai…

This article expands research on normative school transitions (NSTs) from elementary to middle school or middle to high school by examining the extent to which they disrupt structures of friendship networks. Social network analysis is used to quantify aspects of connectedness likely relevant to student experiences of social support. Data were…

To understand and delineate pathways for effective information transfer among professional audiences in manure nutrient management, we deployed a survey, taken by 964 professionals, addressing workforce demographics, tasks performed, and information source relevance. Findings indicate that education of industry and the public is a widespread…

Through analyzing original survey data from 1012 ninth graders at 9 middle schools collected in Beijing in 2015 and adopting the frameworks of social stratification and Effectively Maintained Inequality, this study examines the differential in the choice of and access to such educational resources as studying overseas among different social strata…

This article aims at characterizing the research community of Distance Education (DE) with respect to coauthorship, a special kind of collaboration among researchers, according to publications of 11 relevant DE journals. This article identified who the central researchers are, the topological properties of the coauthorship networks analyzed, the…

The purpose of this study is to enhance our understanding of how college students connect online prior to their first year. Before students ever set foot on a college campus, they are making friends, joining clubs, locating activities, finding roommates and discussing future student activities all through the social network site, Facebook.…

Social media are emerging technology which came into existence out of fun to connect with friends, but it has evolved to become a powerful tool for teaching and learning globally. However, despite its usefulness and relevance to learning the intention to use social media for learning by postgraduate gender in South-west Nigeria has not been…

The advent of the social web brought with it challenges and opportunities for research on learning and knowledge construction. Using the online-encyclopedia Wikipedia as an example, we discuss several methods that can be applied to analyze the dynamic nature of knowledge-related processes in mass collaboration environments. These methods can help…

This paper presents the findings of a study on a fully online Bachelor's level course in Health Sciences at a European University conducted to explore the influence of learning design on the formation and evolution of different types of communities of learning. The impetus for the study came from the well-established effectiveness of…

In the study, the alienation in the network society is investigated. Facebook, which is highly effective among network community applications, has been examined as an informal learning tool. In this context, the topic of learning is "political, social, religious, cultural contents that society is sensitive". The research was conducted…

Discussion forums provide a channel for students to engage with peers and course material outside of class, accessible even to commuter and nontraditional populations. Forums can build classroom community and aid learning, but students do not always take up these tools. We use network analysis to compare three semesters of forum logs from an…

Background: Women and under-represented minority (URM) students continue to be under-represented in STEM and earn the lowest proportion of undergraduate engineering degrees. We employed a mixed methods research approach grounded in social capital theory to investigate "when" they first consider pursuing engineering as a college degree…

Social networks have been investigated as an important factor to understand social and language innovations for decades. Most researchers focus on one-language-dominated societies when studying social networks' influence on language practice while studies on bilingual societies remain scarce. In this study, we examine how Chinese graduate students…