Title: The role of social media technologies in teaching at the State University of Zanzibar

Authors: Ben Kei Daniel; Maryam Ismail; Umayra El-Nabahany; Said Yunus; Maryam Mwinyi; Abdulla Mohammed

Addresses: Educational Technology, Higher Education Development Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand ' The State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), P.O. Box 146, Zanzibar, Tanzania ' The State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), P.O. Box 146, Zanzibar, Tanzania ' The State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), P.O. Box 146, Zanzibar, Tanzania ' The State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), P.O. Box 146, Zanzibar, Tanzania ' The State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), P.O. Box 146, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Abstract: Institutions of higher education are currently investigating the role of social media technologies (SMTs) as a stronger educational tool in creating engaged learning environments for students. This research explored the faculty's awareness of the value of social media in teaching and identifies possible challenges of integrating these technologies into their teaching at the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA). Results indicated that university teachers hold a positive outlook on the role of these technologies in improving students learning. Further, the research identified five factors that are likely to influence adoption of these technologies in future class room; subjective norms, peer and supervisory influence, perceived usefulness and faculty's positive attitude towards value of these technologies in improving learning outcomes. In addition, effective institutional integration of social media at the SUZA is more likely to be dependent on how the institution addresses unique challenges of adoption such as acceptability and relevance, and the provisions of various forms of support and resources to teachers.

Keywords: social media; teaching; technology integration; educational technology; Zanzibar; Tanzania; higher education; subjective norms; peer influence; supervisory influence; perceived usefulness; positive attitudes; learning outcomes; acceptability; relevance; teacher support; educational resources.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMILE.2016.077597

International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, 2016 Vol.4 No.2, pp.187 - 209

Received: 29 Dec 2015
Accepted: 28 Mar 2016
Published online: 06 Jul 2016 *

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