Let’s collaborate: Exploring Library and Information Science lecturers’ and students’ experience of social media as a collaboration tool through phenomenography

Abstract

This research aims to explore variations in the ways Library and Information Science (LIS) lecturers and students experience social media as a collaboration tool at one Indonesian university. The method for this research is phenomenography because this research aims to explore variations of experience. The social media platform that we investigated is a Facebook group. The research data was collected from interviews with seven participants who were either a lecturer or a student at the university and also the member of the Facebook group that was investigated. The findings of this research are presented in two sets: lecturers’ experience and students’ experience. In the lecturers’ experience of the Facebook group, six categories were revealed: Substituting learning management system; Sharing information; Staying connected; Streamlining lecturers’ teamwork; Lacking students’ participation; and Finding uninformed students. In the students’ experience of the Facebook group, six categories were revealed: Staying informed; Sharing information; Staying connected; Substituting learning management system; Feeling unsatisfied with the platform features; and Being passive members. The findings of this research provide insights into variations in the ways Indonesian LIS teaching staff and students experience the Facebook group as a collaboration tool. As the first empirical research explores this phenomenon, this research provides a research base of social media practice to support teaching and learning in LIS education setting in Indonesia. The research findings also have several important practical implications including informing other LIS schools in Indonesia on the social media practice as a collaboration tool in LIS education setting.