DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM FOR STUDENTS INTERACTION

Socialization in the society without doubt aids in boosting the effectiveness of communication. It has indeed strengthened ties between persons. This fact has led to the idea of social network, which has been used to strengthen relationships between members of social systems. It is observed in some higher institutions that dissemination of information between students is usually restricted to the use of mobile communication devices and emails. There may be need to improve the information dissemination strategies in the department which will in turn enhance the flow of communication using additional platforms. This study presents a web-based social networking system for universities, which would support the effectiveness of communication between students within academic department. In developing the system, PHP, HTML and JAVA Script were used to create the web pages dynamically. MySQL database was used as the backend. The web server used was Apache. The system was evaluated using cognitive walkthrough strategy. This system delivers a platform for students to interact, share ideas, transmit important departmental announcements and develop ties and relationships. Activities to boost these include status update, mailing, photo uploads, instant messaging and voice chat. The full deployment of the application in the department would yield desired communication feedback and could even be adapted in different departments of the institution in the nearest future.