SOLSTICE Conference th & 5 th June 2015 Creating Tweeter-bases: Supporting independent student learning Dr Dane Anderton, Edge @solsticecetl #solstice2015

Rationale Increasingly we are moving towards an age where we access most internet based content through our smartphones. Knight and Kaye (2014) have studied the uses of Twitter by students and academics concluding there may be some unknown potential in Twitter. The aim of this session is to present evidence from a Business School marketing module, to demonstrate the value of using Twitter to creating lasting databases or tweeter-bases with students. What's my 140 character impact

Social Media Revolution 2015 #Socialnomics

When and why Large group teaching ‘Large’ small group teaching Facilitating learning over distance Not every lecture A tool to be used in moderation blended with other techniques Twitter is a database with existing information stored and opinions expressed Questioning through twitter can overcome exclusion in large classes Allows questions to be asked without fear of having to speak out loud in class Enables students to discover – so we are facilitating not prescribing

Creating Tweeter-bases How you build them it is up to you, here are some suggestions: 1.During the session ask students to digest what they see and interpret as important. 2.For questions to be raised throughout the session that can then be answered at the end or after the session by you or other students 3.As the focus of the session. As a means for students to report findings from an independent study task set for the duration of the session

What you need 1.Twitter 2.Unique hashtag #???? 3.Students 4.Access  5.Clear direction →

SEO Search Engine Optimisation via Twitter!  Task released on Blackboard at 8.30am Friday 20 th February  Use your twitter account to document what you find out  Answering the questions, reading articles and open source PowerPoint  Use #ehbs1025 at the end of your posts  We will generate some ‘buzz’ around SEO  Use pictures and text  Documents this topic

What you should be doing Displaying Your twitter details on every slide Your hashtag on every slide during

What you should be doing (cont.) Encouraging engagement from students – Paraphrasing – Picture taking Responding to other tweets Retweets from industry users Evaluation Revisiting Don’t be afraid of what may come up

Summary Twitter can be used as a tool to re-engage students through distance learning to overcome classroom fatigue and dropping attendance (E.g. half term) There is increasing awareness of the power of social networking across disciplines, allowing multilateral engagements between students and industry, developing skills to succinctly demonstrate understanding in 140 characters and creating evidence in the public domain. Lastly, having a unique #hashtag means that the data that is generated by students is saved and can be referred to at any time during the course. Discover rather then prescription