"The qualities that make Twitter seem inane and half-baked are what makes it so powerful" - Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard law professor and Internet expert
Twitter is the newest social media network to catch the public by storm. This social media is a microblogging platform what allows users to post updates, or tweets, with a maximum of 140 characters. Users are also able to "follow" other users they have interest in, whether it be a friend, a corporation, a celebrity, or an organization. Twitter allows connections with anyone at anytime, anywhere.
Which brings me to the use of Twitter in education. Many universities have integrated this networking tool into the classroom, allowing more informal learning to occur both in and out of the classroom. The basic functions of Twitter allow for direct messaging an individual on their tweet, re-tweeting someone else's tweet to bring the discussion into your personal network, and using #hashtags to group and track a discussion or topic posted by several individuals.
In the classroom, Twitter has been used as a facilitator of discussion, forum for collaboration by users across distances, basic announcement board, medium to share files such as links to articles or videos, and general comments to create a feeling of community among users. The quick-update method of Twitter among friends creates an atmosphere of informality which makes for more open discussions than often found in traditional classroom.
In addition to the basic features that Twitter offers its users, there are external applications and tools that allow for extended use. For instance, Tweetdeck works from your desktop to localize your tweets and those you follow. Bit.ly shortens website urls to only 19 characters which allows for easy sharing. Users can also link Twitter across their profiles including Facebook and blogging.
The following link will take you to Edudemic: Connecting Education & Technology.
http://edudemic.com/2011/09/twitter-in-education/
The article explores many ways that Twitter has already been used to foster learning in and out of the classroom. I've posted an instructional poster found within the website below for you to look over in case you don't make it that far which illustrates educational Twitter use.
If used correctly, Twitter could open an entire realm of self motivated learning. Because it is a platform many of us already use, our natural curiosity will take us to new articles. Think of how many hours we spend on Facebook and how much new information we absorb (Regardless if it is just the number of friends now engaged/married/pregnant) and imagine if we instead reached new areas of our studies. Just from our internet curiosity.
I am personally fascinated by the possibilities Twitter has to offer since, let's face it, social media is not going away. I'm really interested in hearing what you guys think about using it as a learning tool.
Because if you can't beat it, Tweet it!
I can relate to this article in many ways. This summer, I took one of my first graduate courses Educational Technology (EDUC 540). My professor, Dr. Slykhuis, is very updated and informed about all new types of technology and social media devices, especially Twitter. We actually each had to create our own Twitter accounts in his class, and we used Twitter in the classroom just like this article mentions. Dr. Slykhuis would lecture, play videos, etc. and we would be able to comment on what was going on simply by tweeting. He kept the projector screen up, and if we wanted to share something we would tweet it followed by #educ540, and it would automatically appear on the screen in front of us. I think this was such a great idea because we were all able to share our thoughts and comments without interrupting one another. We learned so many useful aspects of Twitter in his class, and since I created one for his class I've been hooked ever since! I use Twitter to keep up with my friends' lives, celebrities, and most important- news! Twitter is growing more and more everyday, and it amazes me with its capabilities in and out of the classroom!
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ReplyDeleteI love your topic Caitlin!. I really like this topic because I believe that social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter will continue to allow people all across the world to share there thoughts whether about work, school or just life in general. Its a place where we could share anything and it fascinates me also. Using twitter in the workplace or for in and out of class learning is exciting! I already use twitter every day and I feel like if it was used as a teaching tool in one of my classrooms I would really learn a lot from it because when you tweet things you remember them. Its how you feel or what you are thinking at that point in time and that seems to stick with you. I think it a great idea and a lot of classes will jump on the bandwagon and use this as a teaching tool in the future.
ReplyDeleteIt will even be cool for a training program...there may be some privacy issues you may need to work out but it would be cool to know what people think and feel when going through a training program and the HR person training the individuals could come up with a important part of the training they definitely want the trainees to take away with them and he or she could start a tweet about the specific program and allow the trainees to comment..Its just and Idea but that would be fun of course if designed properly...
Social networking and education are at such an interesting crossroads right now. There are many people, like Caitlin, who are studying if social networking would be beneficial for education. I think it is a very interesting topic that should definitely be explored more. College kids do not always care about learning and focus on grades so much that maybe having something outside the norm of academia, like social networking, would inspire more creative thinking and interest in class subjects. At the same time, I know if I was in a class that required I use twitter I would be annoyed because I do not have a twitter account and would have to create it solely for a class. I also would not want to use my facebook as part of a course because my school work and social time (including fb time) are separate in my life and I like it that way. I was also very interested in KeyNita's idea to use twitter (and like social networking sites?) in training. That would be very interesting to see how adults, especially less technologically inclined adults, would react and if only the millennial generation would accept training in this format.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think Twitter is a good tool to use in the classroom. The reason I have a Twitter account now is because it was required to have for one of my classes. The course was online over the summer and my professor encouraged us to "tweet" him instead of emailing him questions. This was good experience to get me used to this social media site. I again was required to have an account for another class. This time my professor would use it as a tool to post about outside news relating to our class as well as the place she posted extra credit assignments and reminders about projects/tests. This was the only place she would share about extra credit assignments and so on so it was vital for us to be checking it at least every couple of days. I'm still not completely "Twitter savvy" so I don't know about all of the features but I do think that it is a good tool to use to talk about topics and share interesting news (using the hash tags) about a topic being discussed in class. I also agree with Jordyn that sites like Twitter can inspire creative thinking outside the classroom. It'll be interesting to see how it will (or will not) be used in the classroom over the next couple of years!
ReplyDeleteI am also a big fan of social media being adapted into the mainstream of academia. I personally do not have a Twitter so I cannot attest to the advantages and disadvantages of the platform, but I do know that this generation's focus on social interaction must be addressed in the classroom. Using a platform that is already so integrated into the students' lives will only increase the chance of the students actually using it. In addition to the availability of Twitter to everyone, it can also be portable on a student's phone - taking the classroom with them. I have heard of several studies on the use of social media in the classroom, and I believe this will continue to be a hot topic in educational research. Awesome post!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of incorporating Twitter into the classroom! I do not yet have a Twitter account, like Amanda, so I will not pretend to have a solid knowledge of the program, because I do not. BUT, from what I read in one of the slideshows embedded in the webpage provided by Caitlin, teachers are discovering numerous ways to use Twitter to boost learning and engagement. Using Twitter as a forum to post class updates for parents to read from home/work is a great idea, especially if it would allow them to respond back and contribute to the discussion. For example, if the teacher discovers that he/she ran out of popsicle sticks for an in-class project, perhaps a tweet could be posted and a parent who has extra popsicle sticks could respond. In this way, I could envision a more rapid means of communicating with the entire group of parents, rather than sending a mass email. The problem, though, would be whether or not the parents are active on Twitter and familiar with the platform. If they aren’t, then a Twitter page would be pointless. Getting students involved in a Twitter discussion has potential for meaningful dialogue, assuming that they have decent typing skills. Because typing is required, I would assume that Twitter would not be an effective tool at the lower-elementary level. An easy way for a teacher to get students involved outside of class would be to post a topic, or guiding question that is directly related to in-class content. If the class is learning how to distinguish between food groups, the question, “what is your favorite vegetable?” might be posed by the teacher, to which students simply respond with their answers.
ReplyDeleteWhile Twitter does seem to have huge potential advantages in user-interface, convenience, and a more casual contribution tone from students, I find the use of this recreational social media in the classroom to be troubling.
ReplyDeleteTwitter has a predominantly recreational foundation and some students could find it difficult to use for classroom purposes. Keeping personal information separate from what is going on in the classroom may hinder student's inclination to contribute to discussion threads, and the 140 character post may end up limiting what students contribute via Twitter.
Having a separate account for class activities would be the ideal way to use Twitter in the classroom. I can say from personal experience with Twitter in the classroom that I ultimately resented teachers that required me to use the social media for educational purposes. Blackboard is an educational forum, why should I use my recreational Twitter for classes? Everyone is different and some student familiarity with Twitter may lend to their comfort in using it across both recreational and educational fields, but the fact that it is so new may make it a hit or miss component in the classroom.