E-COMMUNICATION: UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MESSENGER

AS AN EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATION TOOL AMONG SENIOR HIGH

STUDENTS IN ACES TAGUM COLLEGE, INC.

A Research Presented to
the Research Committee, Senior High School Department
Aces Tagum College, Inc.
Tagum City

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Senior High School
Practical Research 1

JOBAYRAH A. MACASALONG
ADRIANA KATE B. YNOT
ALDREN T.PONTILLAS
ROMNEL JIE J. GARIN
RENALYN C. BALLOS
ANGELO B. ONGCAY
XIANYL Y. GENERAL
ANGEL M. YUSON
GEMAR T. MARTE
JANNA FLORES
REAH BASCON

JUNE 2023
 Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction

Messenger has a significant impact on both students’ and teachers’ lives. The

student can easily communicate for school purposes through Messenger. Students can

ask their teachers about their school lessons anytime through Messenger. Students can

form groups on Messenger and send questions to obtain feedback from peers. They

can share links or videos. Teachers can access the messenger group to send

reminders to their students about assignments, tests, and announcements. However,

sometimes Facebook Messenger easily distracts students because of its entertainment

and other features, not just when communicating with their teachers. While Messenger

for educational purposes has its benefits, the other features distract from the acquisition

of knowledge itself.

According to Tananuraksakul, N. (2018). Huachiew Chalermprakiet University,

University in Bang Chalong, Thailand. Facebook Messenger as the medium of

academic consultation and the message in a Thai context. In proceedings International

Conference on Communication & Media. The study reports on Thai undergraduate

students’ attitudes toward the use of Facebook Messenger for the purpose of academic

consultation. Qualitative outcomes through virtual interviews with eleven participants

unfold the investigation that as compared to face-to-face interactions during office

hours, they obtain positive attitudes toward using Facebook Messenger as the medium

of academic consultation and the message. It is an extension of their mind and body as
it offers them senses of convenience, confidence, lower power distance, travel time

saving and money saving. Since the participants are Millennial or Digital Natives who

tend to enjoy learning via technology, the research outcomes imply that Facebook

Messenger can also be used as the medium of blended academic learning.

According to the students in Cagayan State University most of them have

Messenger accounts. This implies that all of them are active users of social media

accounts. Most students use Messenger because, through these interactions they can

share ideas, acquire information, and also be exposed to many opportunities out there.

It gives them the opportunity to make new friends and socialize even from a far.

Additionally, Messenger makes it simple for them to communicate, and they can used it

for educational purposes (Chua and Luyun 2019).

Cano (2023) said that Messenger is more convenient for communicating with

students. Messenger has become a way for both teachers and students to

communicate, especially when it comes to school-related concerns. Messenger allows

students and teachers to communicate effectively even in distance. However,

Messenger is not necessarily appropriate for educational use and is better used to

communicate with students. The reason why Messenger is not necessarily

appropriate for educational use is because in Messenger student can send unnecessary

things and due to this, other students can’t easily see the important message,

announcement, link or PPT.

Research Question
General Question: How messenger as an educational tool help students in their

learning during pandemic period?

Sub questions:

1. What is your personal experience in using Messenger as a medium for

educational communication?

2. As a student, how can you keep up with the upgrading of educational

communication tools?

3. In your personal insights, what are the advantage and disadvantage of

being digital natives?

THEORETICAL LENS

Transactional Distance Theory

Moore (1997), in his Theory of Transactional learning scenarios, separation

between the teacher and students can lead to communication gaps, a psychological

space of potential misunderstandings between the behaviors of instructors and those of

the learners. The nature of the transaction develop between teachers and students in

distance learning needs to take into account three factors: dialogue, structure, and

learner autonomy. Dialogue refers to more than simply two-way communication but

takes into account all forms of interaction within the context of clearly defined

educational targets. Moore’s indicates that the important consideration in this respect

relates not to the frequency of dialogue but to its quality and the extent to which it is

effective in enabling the resolution of learning problems. The second factor Moore refers
to is the nature of the course structure, which is described as the level of the course’s

rigidity of flexibility. This factor includes aspects such as the extent to which course

goals and objectives are pre-prescribed, the pedagogical model used in teaching the

course, the nature of course assessment, and the ability of the course to accommodate

individual student needs. The third factor, learner autonomy, is contingent upon the

previous two in that it refers to the sense of both independence and interdependence

perceived by learners as they engage in the course.

In relation to Moore’s transactional theory to our study. Messenger can be used

for transactional distance learning. The student and the teacher can easily communicate

over the distance. However, there are flaws in distance learning, and sometimes it can

lead to misunderstandings. This misunderstanding would cause them to have a gap,

and they would have difficulties communicating. It will fragment the time and space

pertaining to the teacher and learner, and it will lead to insufficient understanding of

each other.

PURPOSE STUDY

This study entitled "E-COMMUNICATION: UNDERSTANDING THE

EFFECTIVENESS OF MESSENGER AS AN EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATION

AMONG THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ACES TAGUM COLLEGE,

INC". Intends to evaluate the effectiveness of using mobile messenger as an

educational supporting tool among students. To identify the benefits of messenger in

educational purposes in students and teachers. To inform us about the effectiveness,

use of messenger for educational purposes.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study can be used to the following people students, teachers and future

Researchers. They have the higher essential part of the study.

Students. This study would be beneficial to students. It will help them know the

effectiveness of Messenger as a tool for educational purposes which will allow them to

gain knowledge. Therefore, the students will know how to improve their communication

through Messenger.

Teachers. This study would assist teachers in enhancing their teaching strategies

through Messenger communication. They will also be able to identify the student’s

follow ups, updates, and concerns about messenger-related issues as well as provide

solutions. Furthermore, even if they are a long distance away, teachers can send school

lessons via messenger.

Future Researchers. Future researchers would benefits most from this as an

reference data when conducting new researcher or testing the validity of other related

findings. They may also be aware that Messenger work as an educational

communication tool. It gives them an overview of E- technology communications.

Definition of terms

Communication technology. Communication technology refers to all the tools

used to send, receive, and process information. In today’s fast climate, efficiency and

convenience are the keys to successful communication technology. Each

communication technology device has impacted the way information is circulated, and

they continue to improve the communication experience (Mary Clare Novak, 2019).
 Medium. A medium in communication is a system or channel through which a

speaker or writer addresses their audience. It's an outlet that a sender uses to express

meaning to their audience, and it can include written, verbal or nonverbal elements. A

communication medium can either be ritual or physical (By Indeed Editorial Team,

2021).

Digital native. A digital native is a person who grew up with the presence of

digital technology or in the information age. Having grown up in presence information

technology digital natives are comfortable with and fluent in technology. The term

contrasts with people who were born before the digital age, who may have more

difficulty and be hesitant around learning how to use new technology (Technical writer

and editor).

Messenger. A Messenger app is any app that enables a private messaging

function between two or more people. With more and more messenger apps popping up

every day, this type of technology is quickly becoming the most popular way to send

text-based messages, replacing SMS and MMS as the preference of most consumers.

Messenger apps are increasingly used in customer service to enable customers to

communicate with brands easily about service issues and product questions. Within

Facebook Messenger, live chat, or in-app messaging, customers can reach out to

brands for immediate response (Erik Ashby, 2022).

Educational Communication. Educational communication is an umbrella term that

encompasses all speaking, listening, relational constructs and concepts that relate to

learning. In the past, researchers have been interested in characteristics of teachers

that enhance or hinder learning; student characteristics that increase or inhibit learning;
teaching strategies that augment learning; how best to give criticism of student writing

and speeches; how best to evaluate student work; how public speaking is best taught;

and what should be taught in speech communication and media curricula (Staton-Spicer

& Wulff 1984). More recent work has expanded to the effects of media on children, child

development processes, and the use of pedagogical methods and newer technologies

to facilitate classroom or distance education (Rebacca B. Rubin, 2011).

Limitations of the study

The objective of this study is to identify and understand the effectiveness of

Messenger as an educational communication tool among Senior High School students.

The scope of this study will take place in Aces Tagum College, Inc. This study is to

determine how Messenger works effectively in educational communication and to

identify the benefits of this study in teachers and students.

 Interview Guide

Good day! We are the student researchers from Aces Tagum College, Inc.

JOBAYRAH A. MACASALONG, ADRIANA KATE B. YNOT, ROMNEL JIE J. GARIN,

ALDREN T. PONTILLAS, RENALYN C. BALLOS, XIANYL Y. GENERAL, ANGELO

B. ONGCAY, GEMAR T. MARTE, JANNA FLORES, ANGEL M. YUSON and, REAH

BASCON. Our study is entitled "E-COMMUNICATION: UNDERSTANDING THE

EFFECTIVENESS OF MESSENGER AS AN EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATION

TOOL in Aces Tagum College, Inc."

We invited you here today to conduct an interview regarding the E-

Communication: Understanding the Effectiveness of using mobile messenger as an

educational supporting tool among senior high school students.

We prepared several questions for you. Feel free to answer each question. You

may skip question that you do not want to answer. We will assure the privacy of your

personal information and so with the authenticity of your response. This interview takes

approximately an hour.

General Question: How messenger as an educational tool help students in their

learning during pandemic period?

Sub questions:

1. What is your personal experience in using Messenger as a medium for

educational communication?

1.1 Do you have difficulties using Messenger?

 1.2. Did Messenger help you ease your responsibility when it comes to

educational purposes?

1.3 What advantages do you gain from resolving your

Messenger -related issues?

2. As a student, how can you keep up with the upgrading of educational

communication tools?

2.1 How do these differences affect your way of communicating?

2.2 With your experience as a student, would you prefer communicating

through Messenger or not?

2.3 In what way does communicating on Messenger help you cope with

studies?

3. In your personal insights, what are the advantage and disadvantage of

being digital natives?

3.1. Is Messenger effective as a way of communicating?

3.2 How did you apply messenger communication to improve your

academic performance?

3.3 In improving your academic performance, which is more effective,

messenger communication or face-to-face communication?