Twitter’s Educational Uses

Twitter (twitter.com) is one among many social networking tools.  Twitter users “tweet,” that is, post a message in 140 characters or less.  Tweeting has also been referred to as microblogging since 140 character message can be a concise essay on any subject. Twitter has become a quick method of steering Twitter followers to good information, especially on the web.  A Smith College student said that she was delighted to follow a group of web designers on Twitter because the web content that she was led to was invaluable.  Twitter posts can be read on a computer screen or an internet-enabled mobile device.

Educators are debating Twitter’s potential in “extending the classroom.”  One common question is whether there is a benefit to using Twitter compared to emailing one’s students.  And the larger issue is whether there is value in going where students congregate, e.g. social networking sites, to communicate with them.

Suggestions for educational uses of Twitter include a fast, reliable method of informing students of additional materials for a project or notification of a performance or theatrical event.  Twitter with its 140 character messages may be teaching students to communicate concisely.  Conferencees are using Twitter’s short posts to network during and after a conference.  Students or professors can pose a question via Twitter.  Many Twitter users have found great success in posting a question to hundreds, even thousands, of followers and receiving creditable, useful replies quickly.

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Example Tweet from the Whitehouse:  whitehouse Full video of the President’s eulogy for Senator Kennedy, now up: http://bit.ly/AZ6NV #Kennedy

Example Tweet:  omarepps There is no passion to be found in playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living Nelson Mandela

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Twitter – fad or useful social networking tool? Philosopher Dr Carrie Jenkins explains how the medium is being successfully used by philosophers around the world.  To tweet or not tweet podcast (Mon 17 Aug 2009, mp3, 9.55MB, 10:26mins): http://communications.nottingham.ac.uk/podcasts.html .

14 Tweets to Demonstrate the Professional Value of Twitter, Julie Reynolds, July 13, 2009, http://cit.duke.edu/blog/2009/07/13/14-tweets/ .

Results on a survey of professors about Twitter use, http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/08/26/most-faculty-dont-use-twitter-study-reveals.aspx .