Development of Social Media Applications as a Website-Based Discussion Place to Increase Student Learning Interest at the Vocational Level

Abstract

Social media is a digital technology platform in the form of applications and websites that provide an interactive environment for users. While it serves as a space for creating and discussing topics, current social media platforms are often unsuitable for educational purposes due to unfiltered content, which can distract students during learning discussions. This study aims to examine the increase in students' interest in learning through the development of a dedicated social media platform for academic discussions. The research evaluates key usability aspects, including learnability, efficiency, memorability, error reduction, and security, to determine their impact on learning engagement. The study employs a Research and Development (R&D) approach using the waterfall model, which includes analysis, design, coding, and testing phases. The findings indicate that the introduction of a specialized social media platform for educational discussions significantly enhances students' interest in learning, with an N-Gain score of 0.82. According to the N-Gain classification, a score above 0.7 signifies a high level of improvement, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed platform in fostering academic engagement.