Sociological inquiry: Media richness of WhatsApp as a social media platform for teaching and learning at the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria

Abstract

The work investigates WhatsApp as a social media platform for teaching and learning at the University of Maiduguri. The objectives of the study' are to determine the extent to which WhatsApp is applied as a tool for teaching and learning; to determine the effectiveness of WhatsApp on students' academic performance, and to find ways to improve the application of
WhatsApp for teaching and learning at the University of Maiduguri. The study's population consists of students from University Maiduguri, where 394 students were selected as sample responders from various departments. The tools of data gathering were questionnaire. Activity and Media Richness theories guided the research as the framework of analysis since both theories suggested that WhatsApp might be an effective communication medium in teaching and learning, respectively. Findings revealed that, most respondents (students) use WhatsApp for exchange of educational material with peers. Similarly, most respondents acknowledged that utilising WhatsApp for educational purposes improves their academic performance. Further, as communication medium, sharing knowledge with course mates and asking lecturers or classmates questions through WhatsApp makes teaching and learning less cumbersome. In addition, the study found that the use of WhatsApp chat generally saves time
and effort by avoiding superfluous conversation while reading via WhatsApp chats. Finally, the research suggests that school officials should inform students at orientations about the consequences of irrelevant conversations with friends on WhatsApp on academic performance. Regular, in service training for lecturers should be conducted on the optimal use of WhatsApp chats between lecturers and students for successful teaching and learning outcomes.