This study examines how Twitter is used to build connection among incoming freshman college students to their campus and community. The use of Twitter is examined in light of the theory of Bandura’s social learning theory, Tinto’s three stages, and Astin’s Involvement Theory. This pilot study examines a group of 36 incoming freshmen students who have never used Twitter or have a Twitter account but do not regularly tweet. The study seeks to examine how social media can be used to increase students’ connection to the campus community and leveraged as a medium of peer learning.

1. Twitter, Tweeting, and
Togetherness:
The Impact of Social Media on
Freshman And
Their Connection to Campus
Community Life
Dr. Rebecca Hong
rebecca.hong@biola.edu
Biola University, School of Education
SITE 2013

2. Study Overview
• Research Impetus
• Theoretical Framework
• Methodology
• Pilot Study Findings

3. Research Impetus

4. Why Twitter?
• 140 Characters
• Educational tool to engage students and mobilize faculty into
a more active and participatory role
• Twitter more amenable to an ongoing, public dialogue than
FB because it is a microblogging platform (Ebner, et al. 2010)
• Top 3 types of tweets: personal life, work life and sharing
news (Smith & Rainie, 2010)

5. Why Freshmen?
• 94% of first year college students use social
network websites (Higher Education
Research Institute)
• Pew Internet reports U.S. Twitter users as
younger, with greater popularity among
minorities and urban dwellers (Smith &
Rainie, 2010; Smith, 2011)

6. Research Impetus:
Why Freshmen?

8. Theoretical
Framework

9. Social Learning Theory
(Bandura, 1977)
Observation
Retention
Reproduction
Motivation

10. 1.Separation
!
2. Transition
!
3. Incorporation
!

11. Astin’s Involvement Theory
http://www.geekosystem.com/author/erin-podolak/page/3/

12. Methodology

13. Methods
Heard of Twitter
Never Heard of Twitter
• Sample
• First Year Seminar: Elementary
Education
• 37 Freshmen Students
• Two Sections
• 12 Weeks
• Survey
• 36 Questions
• 30 Likert Scale
• 6 Open-ended

14. Twitter Account Holders and Usage
Non-User User
0-1 2-4
5-7 8+
Out of those who had a
Twitter account
!
•Only 30% of the
students tweeted more
than 5x a week
!
•50% of student tweeted
less than 1x a week
Twitter Users

15. Tweeting Parameters
• Set up individual
Twitter account
• Following and Followers
• At least 5 tweets per
week
• Tweeting categories
• Hashtags
• Instagram
• Weekly Top 10 tweets

16. Pilot Study
Preliminary Findings

17. !
Let’s Do
the 2257
numbers
Total Tweets
0
75
150
225
300
Tweets
Campus Events
Dorm-Life
Class
Friends
Questions
Home & Family
Other
Concerns
what are we
tweeting?
breakdown of
tweets by type hashtags
#667
general
#7
class
seventy-one tweets
per class section

18. Tweeting
Habits
0 10 20 30 40
Several Times/Day 1x/Day
1x/Every Other Day 1-2x/Day
1x/Week
38%
14%
30%
14%
6%

19. Tweeting
Tool
41%
59%

20. Professor - Student Connection
0
10
20
30
40
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither
Agree Strongly Agree
24%
35%
19%
16%
5%

21. Twitter To Communicate
0
12.5
25
37.5
50
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither
Agree Strongly Agree
5% 3%
27%
24%
41%

22. Learning Through Tweets
0
10
20
30
40
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree Strongly Agree
Learning About Classmates’ Freshman Experience
Aware of Activities Through Classmates’ Tweets
76%
54%

23. The “I” In Twitter
Loved sharing about
their freshman year
experience through
Tweeting
59%
0
7.5
15
22.5
30
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither Agree
Strongly Agree
Openly Share
Outlet
Activities
&
Events
54%

24. Sense of Community
22%
35%
27%
14%
3%
Classmates College Community
16%
27%
27%
24%
5%
StronglyDisagree Disagree
Neither Agree
Strongly Agree

25. Had Fun Tweeting
0
12.5
25
37.5
50
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither
Agree Strongly Agree
41%
22%24%
8%5%

26. 0
10
20
30
40
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neither
Agree Strongly Agree
30%
11%
24%
35%
!
I’m Here and I Matter
benefits of learning about my freshman experience

27. twitter experience
awesome
rushed but fun
helpful when i had questions
new but fun
great way to learn about
others in my class and
community
cool to get to know others
and find common interests
i already do enough
social networking
inconvenient
assignment
enjoying seeing other people’s tweets and to
see similarities and differences during our
freshman year
I felt like I was getting to the know the people
outside of class, and almost talking to everyone
indirectly
it allowed me to have the knowledge of when I should
reach out and encourage one of my classmates
great way to know what
was going on in the Biola
community and branch
out to different events

28. what to tweet
my mood
what was interesting and exciting in my life
what i found important or
memorable during the
week
what i was currently doing
whenever i thought, “i need to tweet this!”
what i thought others
would want to hear about
something that could benefit other students
food at the cafe
being sick
something that was meaningful to me
something on my mind that
i can’t share on facebook

29. influence your experience as a new freshman on campus
It helped to see how other freshmen were
doing at a new environment and so I didn't
feel like an alien.
made me not doubt
myself as much
helped me see that i wasn't the
only one sinking under all the
stuff we had to do
I knew more about my professor in this class
than I did in others
constant communication throughout the
week with this class
helped me see more of the
activities on campus along with
what everyone else was doing
good reminder to myself that I am not
the only one going through these things
as a freshmen and that others are
stressing and having fun along with me
enjoyed the sense of community this
experience brought
learned that we all do stupid things because we are
freshman!
helped me make new friends this first
freshman semester

30. thank you