Project Learning Methodology Through Social Media Platforms

Abstract

With the economic development of various countries, the popularity of wired networks and other infrastructure, the Internet is also widespread, and the price of smartphones is becoming cheaper and cheaper. Young people can get information and communicate with each other through various new media. Traditional teaching methods have changed from classroom blackboards to various platforms on the Internet. This learning method is not limited by time and space, and learning becomes fragmented from centralized—increasingly, young people like this way of learning. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, more groups use online learning channels. The wide application and popularity of social media in learning increase the channels for learners to obtain learning resources, improving the learning effect. The rapid development of social media provides new opportunities for online learning.

Project learning takes the situation or problem close to the real world as the learning background, crosses disciplinary boundaries, emphasizes the comprehensive application of knowledge, and conforms to the cognitive law of learners, which is a meaningful way to cultivate students' core literacy. In practice, there are some problems in project learning. These problems are insufficient learning support, students failing to adapt to the project, blind methods, teaching content that is not well-implemented, and project results that do not reflect the learning effect. These affect the implementation and promotion of project learning. Existing research shows that the Internet and information technology make teaching breakthroughs the limitation of time and space. The media, especially the combination of online social media and project learning, created a more abundant practical technology for learning and an interactive environment for learners to share, create, and apply knowledge. The creation of products provides an excellent condition to promote students' learning. Mobile social media applications have a broad user base, and their functions and features are compatible with project learning, which can meet the needs of online project learning and provide new ideas and methods for solving the above problems.

Based on this, this study takes social media online learning as the research scenario. After combing and analyzing the existing research and theories at home and abroad through the implementation of the questionnaire, this study explores the influence mechanism of the use of social media on the learning effect of project-based learners.

It is found that social media significantly positively impacts learners' interaction with other learners, faculty, and course content. The use of social media will enhance learners' engagement in the process of project-based learning and their satisfaction with the experience. Learners interacting with other learners and the staff will also significantly positively promote learners' participation. However, this does not affect the learners' cooperation and willingness to learn. Moreover, the interaction between learners and contents and its opposite dramatically affects the learners' active cooperation and willingness to learn but does not significantly influence learners' participation; Learners' willingness to actively cooperate in learning has a significant positive impact on learners' participation. Learners' participation has a significant positive impact on learners' satisfaction with the project-based learning experience and the final learning effect. Learners' satisfaction with their learning experience will also positively affect their learning outcomes. In addition, the test of mediating effect in the model found that the interaction between learners and learners and between learners and faculty partially mediated between social media use and learner engagement. Learners' engagement partially mediates the relationship between social media use and learners' satisfaction. Learners' satisfaction also partially mediates the relationship between participation and learning outcomes.