Abstract
Social media does not seem to easily fit in the higher education system. The Web 3.0 students use social networks on a daily basis, however, 1.0 higher education institutions are not taking advantage of these tools. There are some institutional constraints, pedagogical issues, and cultural resistance for its adoption. A survey directed to Portuguese Higher Education students was held, aiming to identify social networks' use either in a personal and academic context. Results show that social networks are under-exploited in the teaching-learning process, both by students and also their teachers. They are both aware of the platforms and applications but are rarely used for an academic purpose. The study raises important issues and gives practical examples for effective use of social media in education. In order to address these challenges and opportunities wisely, it is necessary an effective engagement in social media by students, professors, and all the academic staff.
TopThe impact of the world wide web and other ICTs on tourism started to reveal itself in the mid-90s, and completely transformed our daily life, contributing to a growing research effort in the field (Buhalis & Law, 2008; Hjalager, 2013). The role of social media in tourism and hospitality has been a hot topic for research (Leung, Law, van Hoof, & Buhalis, 2013; Xiang & Gretzel, 2010; Zeng & Gerritsen, 2014). Social media, as well as other technologies, enable a more interactive tourism experiences, as well as the co-creation of value by travelers throughout all stages of the process. Nowadays, the social web is “the right spot” to obtain and share information, experiences and preferences among consumers. The online reviews are becoming important and credible information sources for increasingly demanding tourists (Lopes, Abrantes, & Kastenholz, 2013). In terms of tourism destination promotion, the Destination Management Organizations (DMO) are giving a relevant role to social media in their communication activities, putting vital information on these platforms, in order to influence consumer behavior (Roque & Raposo, 2016). Smart tourism is also emerging as a new hot topic for research, given the impact of most recent ICTs over destinations, tourists and business (Koo, Park, & Lee, 2017).
As a matter of fact, ICTs have already provoked a tremendous transformation on tourism, boosted by the advent of smartphones, artificial intelligence, cloud computing or the Internet of Things (Xiang & Fesenmaier, 2017). Nonetheless, according to Buhalis (2019), in the future tourism will be driven by disruptive technologies, that will transform structures, processes and practices, with significant impacts on innovation, strategy, management, and competitiveness of the entire sector. The emergence and impact of those disruptive technologies in all sectors and dimensions of our everyday life, require higher education institutions to look for a different way of teaching (Peres, Moreira, & Mesquita, 2018).
Key Terms in this Chapter
CiteULike: A web service that allows users to save and share scientific references amongst researchers (service already disabled).
RefWorks: A web-based bibliography and database manager that allows users to create their own personal database by importing references from various sources.
iCloud: A cloud storage and cloud computing service similar to Dropbox and Google Drive, that enables users to store data (documents, photos, and music) on remote servers, or even to share and send data to other users.
SIGARRA: An integrated information system that facilitates the access to institution relevant information like pedagogical, scientific, technical or administrative information.
Google Drive: A cloud-based storage service that enables users to store and access files online.
Mendeley: A free reference manager and an academic social network for managing and sharing research papers, discovering research data and collaborating online.
Google Docs: An application that allows users to create and edit files online while collaborating with other users in real-time.
Prezi: A software tool for creating presentations, similar to PowerPoint.
EndNote: A software tool for publishing and managing bibliographies, citations and references.