Using Technology Acceptance Model To Measure The Use Of Social Media For Collaborative Learning In Ghana

Thousands of teenagers at universities are using social media(SM)in this digital age;it has become a way of life.Recently,social media use has received numerous debates about its impact on academics,with its advent,communities have become linked to each other,but the lecture room remains quite isolated from other teachers,students,and a host of others who could potentially improve learning,because of their ability to undertake many things simultaneously,current students are considered digital natives.With the recent acceleration of the growing speed of social media(SM),there is a growing concern about the possibility of engagement young students in positive behavior.The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of social media use on students'academic performance through collaborative learning among Ghana university students.The study was based on the conceptual frameworks from Technology Acceptance Model(TANM)and constructivism.The research used the Mixed Method Research(MMR),which is the best method for solving research questions.The study design consists of two phases,the qualitative aspect in the first phase consisting of 10 semi-structured questions and the quantitative aspect of the second phase using an online kwik survey(N=322).The online survey questionnaire was distributed to students at three public universities in Ghana.No package was given to students to avoid bias in the questionnaire administration.After the data was obtained,an incomplete data was cleaned and removed by statistical tool.In this study,24 questions were adapted from other studies.However,some changes were made in the aspect of the design of the question to be in line with the study area.Path analysis with Smart-PLS 2.0 was used to calculate the path coefficients in the model.The path coefficients from the attitude toward adopting SM for academic performance were perceived ease of use,perceived usefulness,interactive with peers and collaborative learning are all statistically significant in the expected directions.It was revealed in this study that perceived enjoyment,technology accessibility,self-efficacy,perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use really have significant impact on the attitude of using technology for academic performance.In this study,TAM did not take into account the economic factors that may affect a person's intent to conduct such a behavior.The study recommends clear methodologies,rules and policies to integrate social media activities of students into their final grades.