Secondary School Teachers’ Uses of Communication Applications on Smartphones-A Field Study on the Communicator

Prepared by the researcher

• Dr. Noha Sabry Muhammad Al-Qatawneh – Ph.D. in Journalism and Media – the Institute of Journalism and News Sciences – Manouba University – Kingdom of Jordan
• Dr. George Wah Williams – Ph.D. in Education, Leadership and Policy – Richard Riley College of Education – Walden University, Minneapolis, MN, USA
• Dr. Marian Tadrous – Ph.D. in Strategic Media – School of Communication and the Arts – Liberty University – USA
• Dr. Mahmoud Mohamed Ahmed – Ph.D. in Educational Media – Faculty of Specific Education – Minya University – Egypt

Democratic Arabic Center

Journal of Afro-Asian Studies : Twentieth Issue – February 2024

A Periodical International Journal published by the “Democratic Arab Center” Germany – Berlin

:To download the pdf version of the research papers, please visit the following link

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   Abstract

The study aimed to identify secondary school teachers using smartphone communication applications in the “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “Minya National School – Arabic Languages.” The study uses the quantitative approach and the survey to collect data. The sample consisted of  (240) users of smartphone applications in secondary schools. The study sample included (135) males and (105) females. The results indicated a statistically significant difference between smartphone application use in the “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “Al-Minya Private School – Arabic – Languages” schools. The research also found that Al-Minya Private School – Arabic – Languages” school teachers are more aware of using these applications in the educational environment to keep pace with technological developments and contribute to improving the educational process’s efficiency.

Introduction

The communicator (teacher) in the educational environment is considered one of the basic pillars in the success of the educational process and achieving its goals. He has the ability and efficiency to communicate successfully through various smartphone applications.

The technical development of the information revolution has been reflected in the reality of educational institutions and the creation of educational content. With the emergence of new media, smartphone applications, and social media platforms, educational institutions that use the traditional learning style are facing a challenge in terms of the educational content they publish, which requires the use of modern communication technologies to improve the efficiency of the educational process, similar to technological development in the educational field. Teachers in educational institutions have moved towards digital content, relying on smartphone applications and creating websites, allowing them to provide educational information, images, and videos to meet students’ needs and achieve the educational process’s goals. In particular, the teachers at the “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “Minya National School – Arabic Languages” broadcast applications for educational courses via communication applications on smartphones.

Communication applications connected to the Internet are considered an effective means of communication between the teacher and his students in the educational environment due to the availability of the element of interactive participation towards the content of the media message in text, audio, and image,where the teacher and students exchange the roles of sender and receiver thanks to the cultural and cognitive influence that digital content carries in various disciplines and which is broadcast via technologies-multimedia on mobile phones.The teacher in the educational environment is the primary support in achieving the goals of the educational process. It has been implicitly considered that every person who owns a smartphone connected

The Internet can produce videos and digital photos and disseminate them at the lowest cost through communication applications on smartphones such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube” to achieve and serve the objectives of the educational process. Therefore, the study will examine, from a modern perspective, secondary school teachers’ use of communication applications on smartphones.

Literature Review

Researchers studied secondary school teachers’ use of smartphone communication applications in schoolwork. Muhammad (2022). aimed to identify the degree to which smartphone applications are used in managing the educational process in Jordanian schools. The results showed that the use of smartphone applications in managing the educational process was moderate, in addition to statistically significant differences attributed to the academic specialization variable.

Bin Salem (2021). investigated how smartphones are used in teaching Arabic. The results revealed the existence of a statistically significant correlation between learning with a smartphone and e-learning and the benefit of smart mobile phones in teaching the Arabic language. It also confirmed the importance of smartphone applications in education due to their ability to transfer information quickly, as they provide high-quality educational content and interact with the other party directly by conveying concepts to the learner.

Jabr (2020) examined the impact of smartphones on the achievement of school students in the first basic stage from the point of view of teachers in the Irbid and Jerash governorates, and the study concluded that there is a low positive impact of the use of smartphones on the achievement of school students in the first basic stage. Also, there are no statistically significant differences between the sample members’ opinions about the positive effects according to gender, education, and work experience.

Morais and Sampedro (2021) studied oral communication methods used in teaching English via mobile phones in primary school, and the results showed that communication between students and teachers via mobile phones was of a high degree, leading to improved technological competence in primary education. Mane (2020) recommended the importance of employing mobile phone applications in education to improve the quality of the educational process due to their ability to bring awareness to students by searching for information that arouses their interest in various educational activities.

Comment on Literature Review

• Arab and foreign research has agreed on the necessity of communicators employing communication applications for smartphones in the educational media environment due to their importance and effective role in disseminating educational curricula to meet the needs of students in educational institutions and achieve the goals of the educational process.
• Diversity of research: The literature review was diverse in its methodological procedures in terms of objectives, sample, population, and results, which benefited the researcher in formulating the problem, objectives, hypotheses, research questions and choosing the research method, research tools, variables, and theoretical framework, which helps in reaching the best results. The theoretical frameworks of the literature were also linked to the current study of secondary school teachers’ use of communication applications for smartphones in the educational environment. The research results formed the scientific basis on which the current study relied, with an attempt to build on it to provide a scientific addition and benefit from it, mainly in comparing its results with the results of the current study; it served as a guide for the researcher to see more literature can be used, which gave an objective dimension and an important research justification in studying the relationship between the teachers use of communication applications and publishing educational curricula which considered a new addition for those working in educational institutions due to the scarcity of using these applications in the field of school work as it is a new form of online learning that keeps pace with technological developments.

Research Problem

Due to the rapid developments in information and communication technology and the study’s review of media applications on smartphones and the effects of their use on the professional performance of secondary school teachers, the current study investigates the communicators’ (teachers) uses of smartphone applications in the “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “Al-Qawmia Private School in Minya – Arabic Languages” to disseminate educational curricula as one of the main pillars of their work in educational institutions, to direct the communication message in a way that meets the needs of students and serves the objectives of the educational process. Educational institutions still need to rely on broadcasting their news and school programs mainly on the traditional method, despite the acceleration of technological developments and the need to use these applications to meet students’ needs and achieve the educational process’s goals. 

Research Questions

The research problem seeks to answer the main question: What are the uses of secondary school teachers for communication applications on smartphones?

The following sub-questions emerge from the main question:

• RQ1: What are the differences between the uses of communication applications on smartphones by communicators (teachers) at the “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “Minya National School – Arabic Languages”?
• RQ2: Is there a relationship between the use of communication applications on smartphones by communicators (teachers) in schools and the dissemination of educational curricula?
• RQ3: What are the differences between the degrees of respondents’ interactions in the schools with educational courses via smartphone communication applications?

Hypotheses

• H1: There are statistically significant differences between the teachers’ use of different smartphone communication applications.
• H2: There is a statistically significant correlation between teachers’ use of communication applications on smartphones and the publication of educational curricula.
• H3: There are statistically significant differences in the degrees of respondents’ interactions with educational courses via smartphone communication applications.

 The Significance of the Study

• The practical significance is due to the focus on the importance of communication applications on smartphones and their role in disseminating educational curricula in secondary schools, as they are an important and effective means in online education to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of pre-university education institutions, in addition to keeping pace with the latest developments in the educational media environment.
• The study also derives its importance from the benefit of secondary school teachers from employing communication applications on smartphones in the educational media environment to develop students’ online learning skills, as well as developing different teaching methods through producing, editing, and broadcasting media content related to educational courses in various fields in audio and video. Smartphone communication applications are an important source for secondary school students to obtain information related to the courses since they are considered a new form of online learning that connects the school with teachers, students, and the external community

Purpose Statement

The current study seeks to identify the following objective: secondary school teachers’ use of smartphone communication applications. The following sub-objectives emerge from the main objective:

• Knowing the differences between the communication applications used by communicators (teachers) in the “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “Minya National School – Arabic – Languages” schools.
• Explaining the relationship between school communicators’ (teachers) use of smartphone communication applications and the dissemination of educational curricula.
• Identifying the differences between the degrees of teacher interaction in the school and educational courses via smartphone communication applications

The First Section: The Cognitive Framework:

    Secondary school teachers and publishing educational courses via communication applications for smartphones:

Muhammad (2018) defined secondary school teachers as “those who contribute to creating the media message within the institution, directly or indirectly” (p. 54) by “preparing, editing, directing, presenting, and broadcasting the content to the public” (Hamad, 2017, p.7). “Those who communicate are a group of specialized people; they are educationally qualified and carry out tasks and responsibilities with students in various fields to achieve the educational process’s goals” (Mahmoud, 2017, p.83), in addition to “disseminating information that affects the public through various means of communication that coincide with technological development; there is a direct relationship between the speed of message delivery and technological progress (Osama, 2019, p.34).

“Many educational courses are published through communication applications for smartphones” (Muhammad, 2016, p.72), including:

1- Biology.

2- Physics.

3- Arabic language.

4- History.

5- Chemistry.

6- Mathematics.

7- Educational media.

Communication applications for mobile phones also play an important role in producing and broadcasting educational courses, developing students’ online learning skills, and creating a personality through interactive participation to break the barrier of the traditional relationship between teacher and student. It can be said that communication applications on smartphones have helped teachers in educational institutions break the barriers between the teacher and the student by building an interactive environment based on interaction, dialogue, and participation between the teacher and his students regarding educational courses in various fields (Taqatqa, 2018), and that is through publishing digital content and making it available to users through these applications (Margam, 2017).

The smartphone is a device equipped with various types of imaging and sharing services and applications that “allow its users to produce and broadcast educational content to meet the needs of students” (Khalida, 2020, p.177), which “provides an opportunity for networked, social, interactive and participatory learning via dimension using mobile phone applications” (Saleh, 2017, p.44).

There are many communication applications on smartphones used to disseminate educational curricula in the “Military Secondary Schools for Boys” and “Al-Minya National School – Arabic – Languages,” including:

• Facebook: A social network that allows visual and audio communication between users to “exchange information and data in various fields via text, image, or video” (Al-Eid & Al-Eid, 2020, p.655).
• Twitter: An interactive website for virtual communication between individuals that provides a “microblogging service that allows its users to send tweets (280 characters per message) and receive responses and updates” (Al-Otaibi, 2018, p.231).
• YouTube: “A site that allows users to upload and download video clips and comment on them, communicate and exchange opinions about them to develop the skills of producing educational content” (Al-Ajrami, 2019, p.410). It is an important educational platform that encourages viewing the content and interaction between the teacher and his students in various activities (Adam & Mowers, 2018).
• WhatsApp: It is a communication application that allows users to create groups for instant communication and exchange photos and videos between users on various topics that interest them, whether in a school, university, or specific institution.
• Live broadcast: “A feature on Facebook Live launched by the site’s administration to develop its communication tools” (Al-Zahr, 2019, p.83). Live broadcasts also allow viewers to comment and add Emoji symbols during the broadcast, and the live broadcast video is also saved; then, a regular video can be watched anytime (Belenzo & Valmoria, 2017).

The use of these applications by communicators in media institutions has become inevitable since “social networking sites have acquired the ability to disseminate media content in text, audio, and images in various fields” (Haseeb, 2008, p.284). Smartphones are mobile digital devices linked to technological development that provide advanced applications to enhance communication and interaction between users worldwide and carry out multiple activities simultaneously (Taqatqa, 2018). In addition to taking advantage of it to “capture images and video clips and store them in the Global Positioning System “GPS” (Computer Hope, 2019, pp.4-12).

Interaction with educational curricula at “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “Minya National School – Arabic – Languages” via communication applications on smartphones:

Interaction is the extent to which visual news institutions and websites provide their users with “interactive digital windows that allow them to communicate through various forms of interaction, whether by commenting or sharing the media content with friends via social networking sites or participating in editing the content by adding a video clip and expressing it in different ways on the site” ( Ben Mazouz & Al-Bashir, 2019, p.263).

• The Second Section: Introduction to The Gatekeeper Theory

The researcher relies on the gatekeeper theory as a theoretical input. The gatekeeper theory states that the media content goes through many stages; during each stage, the gatekeeper passes information according to his needs. “The concept of what is known as the “gatekeeper” attributed to the Austrian psychologist and the American national in general is Kurt Lewin” in 1977″ (Al-Dalaeen Akhir, 2016, p.167). Lewin’s studies are also considered among the best methodological studies in the field of communication, as he believes that along the journey that the media content takes until it reaches the target audience, there are points “Gates” in which decisions are made about what comes in and what goes out.

These studies presented a functional analysis of methods of control in the newsroom and the contradictory perception of the role and position of workers in the media outlet, their sources of news, and the values that influence the selection and presentation of news and information (Najm, 2011), “as a form of communication and education” (Caffey, 2015, p.129).

Jabr (2020) also studied the impact of smartphones on the achievement of school students in the first basic stage from the teachers’ point of view. Abbas (2017) investigated the feasibility of adopting smartphones in education to develop learners’ proficiency in the English language and from the perspective of the media practices of the communicator.

Valenza (2018) examined the construction and implementation of a job description strategy for the “media” specialist using social networks in educational media activities to teach courses in media education, edit several electronic newspapers, and create a communications network within the educational institution to disseminate news. Concerning the organization’s members, the communication model focuses on the gatekeeper’s control over the passage of the media message and its content during the communication process between the sender and the receiver.

In light of the above, the researcher will test the relationship between the uses of communication applications for smartphones by communicators in the schools sampled for the study and the publication of educational curricula and demonstrate the differences between the degrees of interaction of the respondents with these curricula.

Methodology

Research Design

This study belongs to descriptive studies, which rely mainly on the sample survey method, as it is considered the ideal tool for obtaining quantitative and qualitative data for all sections of the questionnaire. The sample survey method contains the collection of respondents’ data as essential parts for learning teachers’ uses of communication applications on smartphones to disseminate school educational curricula in secondary schools in (El Minya Educational Administration), where the qualitative responses depended on the interpretation of the numerical results reached because the researchers in this type of study begin by monitoring and extracting the results through the data obtained. The research team has followed this approach because it responds to the study’s aims to know the uses of communication applications on smartphones by secondary school teachers by measuring the responses of the participants and, based on that, the extent to which “secondary school teachers” use applications on smartphones in educational courses is concluded.

Sample and Study Population

The study uses a sample of (240) individuals from secondary school teachers in Minya Governorate, “Minya Educational Administration,” who use smartphone media applications in the educational media environment; their ages range from (18-50). The reasons for the researcher’s selection of the study sample are due to:

• The researcher’s choice of secondary school teachers in Minya Governorate, “Minya Educational Administration,” was based on the nature of the subject, as they are a category and segment representing an active sector in the educational media environment. The researcher’s choice is due to the two schools, “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “Private National School for Minya – Arabic – Languages,” because the school “Military Secondary School for Boys” represents Lower Egypt, while the “National Private School in Minya – Arabic- Languages” represents Upper Egypt, due to its connection to the researcher’s place of study.
• There are communicators in secondary schools, “teachers” in various specializations who can use smartphone applications in the field of school work to keep pace with modern technological developments and publish educational curricula of a diverse professional nature (males, females), which provides the researcher with a sample that represents society. The population is correctly represented, and the following is a description of the sample:

Table (1) Description of the Study Sample According to Demographic Variables (n = 600)

         The data in the previous table indicates the following:

• Gender: Males came in first order (56.25%), while females came in second (43.75%). This may indicate a difference in the nature and type of the sample in the schools of the study sample, which indicates that males are more used to these applications, which is an important source for disseminating educational curricula.
• Age: The results showed that the age group (18:35) had a high percentage of (59.58%), followed by the age group (35:50) with a percentage of (40.42%). This can be interpreted as the younger the age, the greater the smartphone applications used.
• Professional level: The results revealed that a percentage of (52.08%) of the sample members specialize in scientific courses via smartphone applications, followed by specialists in literary courses with a percentage of (47.92%). This indicates that scientific specializations are more intensive than literary specializations, in addition to the importance of these applications for teachers in disseminating educational curricula for all specializations as a new educational style in the educational environment.
• Educational level: The results revealed that sample members (graduated) came in first order with a percentage of (62.09%), followed by those with a post graduated with a percentage of (37.91%), which indicates that those (graduated) are the group most likely to use smartphone communication applications to publish educational courses and interact with them between the teacher and his students.

The Limitation

• Human limits: The human limits are represented by a sample of secondary school teachers at the “Boys Military Secondary School” and “Minya National School – Arabic – Languages” who use smartphone communication applications.
• Objective limits: limited to the use of the communicator “secondary school teachers” in the “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “Minya National School – Arabic – Languages” communication applications on smartphones.
• Time limits: This is the period it took researchers to apply the research tool in 2023.

Study Tool

A questionnaire was applied to a purposeful sample of (240) individuals from the communicators in the “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “The National School of Minya – Arabic – Languages” and the school who used communication applications on smartphones in teaching during the period extending from 1/2/2023, until 3/30/2023.

Study Variables

• Independent variable: secondary school teachers’ uses.
• Dependent variable: communication applications for smartphones.

Validity and Reliability

The questionnaire was designed, and the apparent validity was verified in light of the objectives and hypotheses of the study. It was presented to a group of arbitrators in the media field. The questions were designed, and the form was modified according to their revisions. The reliability test was conducted for the questionnaire by applying the Cronbach alpha equation to ensure the reliability of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was applied from 1/2/2023 until 3/30/2023. The following table shows the calculation of the value of the reliability coefficient for the questionnaire:

Table (2) Reliability Coefficient for the Questionnaire

         The table data indicates the following:

• The value of Cronbach’s alpha (0.735), a moderate degree of reliability, gives confidence to the research results and indicates that the questionnaire is valid for application.

Statistical Analysis

After completing data collection, the data was coded and entered into the computer, then it was processed and analyzed, and statistical results were extracted using the “Statistical Package for the Social Sciences” program “SPSS,” by resorting to the following statistical coefficients and tests, which are statistical ratios and frequencies. The “Pearson correlation coefficient” was used to find the intensity and direction of the correlation between the use of smartphone communication applications and the publication of educational courses by teachers in the study sample. The “T-Test” was used to find differences between the teachers’ uses of different communication applications on smartphones and to measure the differences between the degrees of interaction of teachers with educational courses via smartphone communication applications.

​The Results

The study sample represented the age group (18-50) of the communicators (secondary school teachers), as it included (240 teachers) who used smartphone communication applications in the “Military Secondary Schools for Boys” and “Al-Qawmiya Private School in Minya-Arabic- Languages” communication applications on smartphones.

Table (3) Secondary School Teachers’ Uses of Smartphone Communication Applications to Disseminate Educational Courses (n=240)

 The data of the previous table indicates the following:

• The results indicated that (42.91%) of the sample use communication applications on smartphones to publish educational courses (always), followed by use (sometimes) (39.59%), and finally, rarely by (17.5%), which indicates they use these applications to publish educational courses to develop students’ online learning skills, to keep pace with rapid technological developments in the educational environment and the latest developments in the educational arena.

Table (4) Communicators’ Uses of Forms of Communication Applications for Smartphones in Disseminating Educational Lessons (n=240)

The data of the previous table indicates the following:

• The table indicated that (31.25%) of the sample confirmed that they prefer to use “Facebook” to publish educational courses, followed by “YouTube” (27.5%), then live broadcasting (19.16%), and “Twitter” (12.5%). Finally, “WhatsApp” (9.59%).
• Regarding the teachers’ use of “Al-Qawmiya Private School in Minya – Arabic – Languages” communication applications on smartphones to publish educational courses, the results showed that (29.16%) of the sample preferred to use “Facebook” and “YouTube” to publish educational courses, followed by live broadcasting (20.84%), then “Twitter” (12.5%), and finally “WhatsApp” (9.59%). This indicates that they prefer using these applications to improve the efficiency of the educational process and develop online learning skills among students. This agrees with the study of Muhammad and Al-Hawari (2019), which emphasized the importance of using “Facebook” to disseminate media content in various fields.
• Regarding the teachers of the Military Secondary School for Boys using communication applications on smartphones to publish educational courses: (3.33%) of the sample confirmed that they prefer to use “Facebook” to publish educational courses, followed by “YouTube” (25.83%), and then live broadcasting (17.5%), followed by “Twitter” with a percentage of (12.5%), and finally “WhatsApp” with a percentage of (10.84%), so it can be said: They use these applications in the educational environment as they are an advanced technology that contributes to teaching media courses, provide the possibility of communication between the teachers and the students, which is consistent with the study of Muhammad and Al-Hawari (2019), which emphasized the importance of using “YouTube” in disseminating media content in various fields.

Table (5) Educational courses that secondary school teachers prefer to publish via communication applications for smartphones (n=240)

 The data of the previous table indicates the following:

• the chemistry course via communication applications on smartphones, followed by biology (16.25%), media activities (14.58%), mathematics (12.92%), Arabic language, history (11.25%), and this result is consistent with the study of (Muhammad, 2016), which emphasized the need to pay attention to spreading cultural and media activities in the educational environment so that it can be said: They use these applications in the educational environment for teaching educational courses, keeping pace with rapid technological developments, and developing online learning skills inside and outside the educational field.

Table (6) Degrees of respondents’ interaction with educational curricula via communication applications for smartphones at the “Ministry Secondary School for Boys” and “National Private School in Minya – Arabic – Languages” (n = 240)

The data of the previous table indicates the following:

• (43.33%) of the respondents confirmed they are highly interactive with educational courses, followed by moderately interactive (34.58%) and less interactive (22.09%).
• Regarding the degree of interaction of the “Al-Qawmiya Private School in Minya – Arabic – Languages” teachers with the educational curricula, the results showed that (45%) of the sample highly interacted with the educational curricula, followed by moderately interacted (40%), and finally less interacted (15%).
• Regarding the degree of interaction of teachers at the Military Secondary School for Boys with educational curricula: (41.66%) of the sample confirmed that they highly interacted with educational curricula, followed by moderately interacted and rarely interacted by (29.17%), which indicates they interacted with the educational contents through these applications to achieve communication between the teachers and their students, in addition to asking questions about the difficulties they face in learning the educational courses on digital platforms. It is also clear that there is superiority in favor of “Al-Qawmia Private School in Minya – Arabic – Languages” teachers in terms of high interaction, and this indicates that they are more aware of the importance of communication application in teaching the courses.

Hypothesis results

• H1: There are statistically significant differences between the communicators’ use of different smartphone communication applications in the “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “the National School of Minya – Arabic – Languages.

Table (7) Significance of the differences between the uses of communicators in the “Military Secondary Schools for Boys” and “Minya Private Schools – Arabic – Languages” of forms of communication applications for smartphones (n = 240)

* Significant at the level of (0.01)                                              ** Significant at the level (0.05)

The data in the previous table indicates the following:

• Using the T-Test indicated statistically significant differences between the uses of forms of communication applications on smartphones by communicators at the “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “Al-Qawmia Private School for Boys – Arabic – Languages” and in the direction of the teachers of the “Al-Qawmia Private School – Arabic – Languages.” The value of (t) = (4.27**), and it is significant at the level of (0.01), which indicates that they are more aware of using these applications in the educational environment as it is a new educational style that keeps pace with technological developments and contributes to raising the efficiency of the educational process and improving its quality and linking the school to the external community and educational decision-makers, in addition to the availability of technological capabilities to maintain the quality of private education and attract the largest number of students and educational decision-makers.
• H2: There are statistically significant differences between the degrees of respondents’ interaction in the schools of the study sample with educational courses via smartphone communication applications.

Table (8) Significance of statistical differences between the degrees of interaction of respondents in the schools of the study sample with educational courses via communication applications for smartphones (n = 240

* Significant at the level of (0.01)                                              ** Significant at the level (0.05)

The data in the previous table indicates the following:

• Using the T-Test indicated statistically significant differences in the degrees of the respondents’ interaction in the schools’ sample of the study with educational courses via smartphone communication applications and in the direction of the teachers of the “Al-Qawmiya Private Arabic-Languages” School. The value of (T) = (4.93**) ), which is significant at the level of (0.01), and indicates the presence of trained and educationally qualified communicators who can use these applications and their tools to interact with professionalism, which facilitates the process of communication and interactive participation between the teacher and his students regarding educational courses, in addition to the private schools having the capabilities technology helped them to attract the largest number of students and educational decision-makers.
• H3: There is a statistically significant correlation between the use of communication applications on smartphones by communicators in schools (teachers) and the publication of educational curricula.

Table (9) The relationship between the uses of communication applications for smartphones by communicators in the schools’ sample of the study and the publication of educational courses (n = 240)

* Significant at the level of (0.01)                                           ** Significant at the level (0.05)                           

    The data in the table above indicates the following:

• Using the Person correlation coefficient indicated a statistically significant correlation between the uses of communication applications for smartphones by the communicators in the school’s sample of the study and the publication of educational courses. The value of the correlation coefficient reached (0.319**), which is significant at the level of (0.01), and this can be interpreted as the more teachers use smartphone applications, the more educational content will be disseminated in various disciplines.

The results in light of testing the validity of the hypotheses

     After conducting the field study, we reached a set of results, the most important of which are:

• The teachers in the study sample confirmed that they prefer to use “Facebook” to publish educational courses, followed by “YouTube, live broadcasting, Twitter,” and finally “Whats “
• The results revealed that there were statistically significant differences between the uses of the forms of communication applications on smartphones by teachers at the “Military Secondary School for Boys” and “Al-Qawmia Private School in Minya – Arabic – Languages,” and in the direction of the teachers of the “Al-Qawmia Private School – Arabic – Languages,” which indicates: They are more aware of using these applications in the educational environment as it is a new educational style that keeps pace with technological developments and contributes to raising the efficiency of the educational process, improving its quality, and linking the school to the external community and educational decision-makers.
• The results showed a statistically significant correlation between the use of smartphone communication applications by teachers in the study sample and the dissemination of educational curricula, which indicates that the more teachers use smartphone applications, the greater the dissemination of educational content in various specializations.

Research Suggestions

1- Secondary school teachers’ uses of social networking and the satisfaction achieved.

2-The role of social networking in achieving school activities.

Conclusion

Communication applications on smartphones greatly impact the field of schoolwork, especially for “educational media specialists” in producing and broadcasting news related to school activities. Therefore, it has become necessary for “educational media specialists” to use these applications to keep pace with technological developments and for communication and interaction between ” educational media specialists ” and their students about the contents of school activities that arouse their interest. The study reached a set of recommendations, the most important of which are:

• Emphasizing the necessity of training the teachers in educational institutions to use mobile phone technology in various fields to keep pace with technological developments, with an interest in creating a schedule for broadcasting courses for various specializations to communicate between teachers and students and to reach innovative perceptions in the relationship between the teacher and his students, paying attention to creating educational curricula that suit the different age levels on mobile phone applications.

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