Title: Adopting social networks in higher education: a study on Facebook as e-learning tool

Authors: Muneer Abbad

Addresses: Business Administration Department, Community College of Qatar, Doha, P.O. Box 7344, Qatar

Abstract: In higher education, an increasing number of learning institutions are utilising social networks as e-learning tools. Developing countries in particular are experimenting with the use of such networks. It is imperative to review and extend the technology acceptance model (TAM) to enhance the application of social networks in e-learning. The main objective of this study was to determine the factors that affect students' intentions to use social networks, such as Facebook, as e-learning tools. An online survey was administered to collect data from undergraduate students at the Hashemite University in Jordan. Structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the data and test the hypotheses. The results indicated that students' intentions to use social networks as e-learning tools were directly and indirectly influenced by perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and perceived enjoyment. The proposed model explained 74.6% of the variance and achieved an acceptable fit. The implications of the results, limitations of the study, and future research were then considered.

Keywords: social networks; e-learning; TAM model; higher education; Facebook; Jordan; developing countries.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIS.2025.144858

International Journal of Business Information Systems, 2025 Vol.48 No.3, pp.353 - 376

Received: 12 Feb 2021
Accepted: 03 Jul 2021
Published online: 06 Mar 2025 *

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