Title :
Nurturing Social-Cultural Process of Creativity in the Higher Education within Social Network Sites (SNS)
Author :
Abdullah, Zaleha ; Said, Mohd Nihra Haruzuan Mohamad
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Educ. Sci., Math. & Creative Multimedia, Univ. Teknol. Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Abstract :
This paper examines the activity of an online community in developing design creativity. This involved postgraduate Malaysian university students and a tutor, and professional designers in an online community using Facebook to improve interface design (websites). Two research processes adapted from different communities -- one creative industries and one higher education were applied in the collaboration. Each community embraces distinctive methods, objectives, instruments, rules and roles in producing design. Contradictions and tensions raised form incorporating these two communities were analysed. In addition, the effect of social interactions on students´ performance, awareness, and perspectives were also investigated. A qualitative approach was utilised and data consisted of online semi-structured questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, field documentation on Facebook, and Facebook chat were analysed. The process of analysis is divided into two parts: initial analysis and substantive analysis of four case studies. Thematic approach and comprehensive data treatment were used to analyse the initial data. Activity systems analysis was employed in the substantive analysis to comprehend the contradictions revealed within the collaboration. Through the substantive analysis, research questions are intended to be answered. The result indicates that contradictions occurred from the new practice introduced by the community of practitioners -- the designers. The collision of new practice has positioned students in a disequilibrium stage but managed to also improve students´ design outcome, promote awareness on the importance to produce purposeful design and transformed students´ pessimistic perspective into positive. Nonetheless, this paper recommended for ample of cognitive and emotional support to be made available to students when implementing the new practice. This is because there involved complex process of dialogue and assessment approach that can triggered con- radictions and caused conflicts during the collaboration. Findings of this study contribute to researchers´ understanding that social-cultural process of creativity can be nurtured in the higher education within social network sites (SNS) such as Facebook. It concludes that more research emphasising on social interactions between a learning community and a community of practitioners through online is required. This is hoped to better understand the benefits and contradictions it has to offer for creativity development in the long run.
Keywords :
Web design; cognition; computer aided instruction; computer mediated communication; educational institutions; further education; social aspects of automation; social networking (online); Facebook chat; SNS; Web site interface design; activity system analysis; cognitive support; creative industries; creativity social-cultural process nurturing; design creativity; dialogue and assessment approach; emotional support; face-to-face interviews; higher education; online community; online semistructured questionnaires; postgraduate Malaysian university students; social interactions; social network sites; student awareness; student performance; student perspectives; substantive analysis; Collaboration; Communities; Documentation; Education; Facebook; Industries; Reflection; Activity Theory; community of practitioners; facebook; interface design;
Conference_Titel :
Learning and Teaching in Computing and Engineering (LaTiCE), 2015 International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Taipei
DOI :
10.1109/LaTiCE.2015.48