From Social Media to Education: Developing a Specialised Social Networking System for Collaborative Learning

Social networking sites (SNSs) are widely adopted due to their diverse functionalities, such as communication, collaboration, content sharing, and news dissemination. Despite their popularity, general-purpose SNS platforms often present challenges in educational contexts, including distraction and addictive usage patterns that may hinder student performance. To address these issues, this study proposes the development of a customised Social Networking System facilitating collaborative learning in higher education. The system enables students and lecturers to communicate effectively, share learning materials, and spread academic updates in a cohesive institutional setting. Usability testing was conducted to evaluate students’ intention to use the system and their satisfaction with its functionality. Results reveal that the system successfully meets user requirements in terms of ease of use, perceived usefulness, interface adequacy, and overall functionality. This specialised SNS offers a practical solution for promoting collaborative learning and has the potential to improve student involvement and academic performance.