Exploring the effects of students' social networking experience on social presence and perceptions of using SNSs for educational purposes

As online learning has increased a number of researchers have focused on the need to integrate techniques to strengthen students' social presence ties in online learning. Social networking sites (SNSs) have been suggested as an effective tool to increase social presence. To investigate the effects of students' social networking experience on social presence and their perceptions of using SNSs for educational purpose, students (n = 82) at a large public university were surveyed. Results show that students use SNSs frequently and actively for various reasons in their daily life and they showed a positive perceptions of using SNSs for educational purposes. Results also revealed the intensity of using social networking experience does not have significant correlation to students' perceived social presence but does have a positive influence on students' perceptions of using SNSs for educational purposes. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.