Using Social Media Technology as an Educational Tool

In an educational context, third level institutions utilise simulations to educate doctors and dentists but to date social gaming has not been widely applied as a learning aid for Business Graduates. Based on the premise of social network analysis, social business gaming will, through real world problem-solving, enhance the learners logical reasoning, numeric abilities and spatial thinking. Both the environment and problems are developed to adapt to suit any course from conducting research to proposing business solutions. This study was undertaken in order to create and facilitate social business gaming, which allowed students to measure their performances of understanding as part of their ongoing learning assessment. The online business game required students to apply what they have learned to problem situations and to further develop their understanding of a topic/s. The problems posed required that the learners had to prove that they understood the material being taught and could apply what they had learned in an online environment. Additionally, the ongoing assessment component of the gaming network was used not just as an assessment for grades but also as a learning tool. The online environment used in this study adhered to an ongoing assessment process, which clearly outlined the criteria of the game allowing students to both collaborate and compete against their peers in a series of challenges. This study focused on a group of final year undergraduate students. The online game was utilised as part of the continual assessment process to evaluate group interaction and learning in an Information Systems (IS) security assignment.