Social Media Tools in the Leadership Classroom: Students' Perceptions of Use

Social media is becoming more prevalent in the higher education classroom. As part of an ongoing study, the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications at Texas A&M University surveyed leadership students about their perceptions of their level of comfort and frequency of use of social media tools and the advantages and disadvantages that these students perceived when social media was used in the leadership classroom. A total of 79 students were surveyed in two upper level leadership courses. Facebook was the social media tool students were most comfortable with and used most frequently. Journal of Leadership Education Volume 12, Issue 1 – Winter 2013 35 Advantages included social media helping increase quality and efficiency of communication between students and the instructor, social media as a technological norm, access to class information, ease of collaboration, and stronger social connections between classmates. Disadvantages revolved around issues of use of and access to social media.