Is Twitter for the Birds? Using Twitter to Enhance Student Learning Bill Collier Des Laffey Ben Lowe

What is Twitter?  Twitter is a simple social networking tool designed to communicate “what am I doing now?” … micro blogging  Enables users to communicate messages (tweets) of up to 140 characters  Users have “followers” who receive their tweets and those they are “following” whose tweets they receive  Tweets can be augmented by URL shorteners  Increases robustness for educational users  Allows the user to direct followers to other resources  Twitter use is growing exponentially  Among top 10 websites globally  Used extensively by individuals and organisations  Most frequent users aged

The Poor Man's ?  Twitter and are not substitutes  Twitter can complement other forms of communication  Unique features include:  Conciseness quicker & less burdensome than  Robustness more powerful than SMS, can link to other material  Convenience can tweet whenever & wherever you want  Adaptive may utilise analytical tools to study users’ tweets  Non-intrusive does not link to other aspects of a user’s social life 3

The Broader E-environment EXTERNALINTERNAL 4

Pedagogical Benefits of Twitter  Adoption aligns with University E-learning strategy by evaluating a peripheral technology with the objective of enhancing creativity and innovation in teaching and learning  Provides educators with the ability to bring real-world examples into the learning process  Tweets supplemented by URL shorteners enables access to relevant and up-to-date news instantly  Enhances curriculum content – makes learning material relevant which can facilitate discussion  Encourages broader learning across student cohort  May promote interactivity among users  Some degree of resistance (staff & students) inevitable 5

Twitter Project in Social Sciences  Introduced on a large Stage 1 “core” undergraduate module in Economics  Also on large PG & UG marketing modules in KBS  Participation entirely voluntary  Students introduced to Twitter in lectures &  Provided with “Twitter briefing” outlining how Twitter would be used. Made available via Moodle  Twitter used regularly throughout term  approx. 3 to 5 tweets per week on average  Approx. 60%+ adoption across modules  Example of use: 6

Twitter Ease of Use  Key motivation of technology is ease of use  Once account set-up, can configure for smartphone and tablet also  Can use text messages too  Many 3 rd party sites including newspapers permit sharing of web resources using built in apps  Recent guide to Twitter published by LSE Public Policy Group provides guidance for academics  Guidance on setup and tweeting styles  Useful tool for research & teaching  Complements blogging activities  Adopted by many Schools and Research Centres 7

Usage and Perception  Adoption designed to enhance module outcomes  Disseminate information on contemporary issues  Disseminate examples of concepts and application  Raise issues based on concepts to generate introspection  Followers also major users of social media, in particular Facebook  Tweets regarded as useful and considered novel & “fresh”  But:  Students most interested in “what’s in it for me?” rather than it being new and cool…  Issues of Twitter etiquette (passive/responsive) 8

Main Findings  Key benefits:  Enhanced learning about the subject  A more enjoyable module  Concise and useful communication  Timeliness  Greater realism (application of theory to real-world examples)  Career skills in the use of new technology  Twitter not overly burdensome  But, Twitter seen as limited by some:  not important  not necessary  another thing to learn 9

Recommendations  Provide a one-page Twitter briefing  Use a Twitter app or route through a smartphone  Tweet around 3-5 times per week  Reinforce tweets during lectures &/or seminars  Use a hashtag (#) to allow searching on a topic  Use in modules where much learning occurs outside the classroom  Twitter should complement rather than replace other technologies  Rationale for using Twitter must be conveyed clearly 10

Conclusions  Overall experience (staff and students!) positive  Students appreciate “current” learning  A useful “add on” to learning  Many users utilising Twitter away from learning environment  We continue to use Twitter  Currently used on large modules  Possibility of greater interactivity on smaller modules  Could integrate directly into module organisation & delivery  Useful for workshops & forums – instantaneous feedback and responses on topics/questions  Students don’t need to be awarded marks to participate  Non-users need to be convinced of Twitter’s benefits 11