The use of social network sites in university extension projects: the case of the Geotecnologias na rede extension project

• Published in: Social network analysis and mining Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 173
• Main Authors: Mota Dos Santos, Alex, da Silva, Carlos Fabricio Assunção, Couto, Maurício Farias, Andrés Giraldo Zuluaga, Robinson, Valadão, Marco Bruno Xavier, de Almeida, Joao Pedro Meireles, Cerqueira, Paloma Santana Marinho, Falcão, Viviane Adriano
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Springer Nature B.V 28-08-2024
• Subjects: Analysis; Averages; Communications technology; COVID-19; Data analysis; Data mining; Extension education; Globalization; Higher education; Inequality; Internet access; Knowledge; Learning; Pandemics; Pedagogy; Polls & surveys; Schools; Sentiment analysis; Social networks; Students; Teaching; Viewers; Viewing; Young adults; Youth; Brazil
• ISSN: 1869-5450; 1869-5469
• DOI: 10.1007/s13278-024-01342-6

The article aims to present the impacts of social networks on the teaching-learning process through university extension. The analyses employed for the data of the YouTube Platform comprise descriptive statistics, correlation, trail analysis, sentiment analysis, and Survey research applied to users and subscribers of the channel. The results showed that the Geotecnologias na rede Extension Project experienced significant growth during the COVID-19 pandemic period, of 28.32%, reflected in the increase in the number, time of views, and subscribers. Data analysis indicated that most viewers (49.7%) are young people between 25 and 34 years old, and men represent the majority, with 60.8% of total views. Notably, outside Brazil, the channel’s viewers are predominantly from Portuguese-speaking African countries, emphasizing Angola, Cape Verde, and Mozambique. However, Colombia and Indonesia are also present in the list of countries with people who follow the Geotecnologias na rede channel, with Indonesia presenting the highest average viewing time. In general terms, the comments resulted in an analysis of 70.31% of positive feelings, highlighting trust in the content. Finally, we highlight the significant correlation between the number of subscribers and viewing time in hours (0.81). This suggests an association between viewing time in hours and the number of subscribers, which does not necessarily imply a cause-and-effect relationship. In other words, a prolonged viewing time suggests that viewers enjoy the content, potentially increasing channel subscribers.