Using Twitter in the Virtual
ClassroomBill Knapp, Dean
Learning TechnologiesLakeland Community College
CC-BY-NC-SA, by svartling
What is Twitter?
“Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest information about what you find interesting. Simply find the public streams you find most compelling and follow the conversations.”
http://twitter.com/about
Twitter for Teaching and Learning
Case Study:
The Twitter Experiment: UT Dallas
http://youtu.be/6WPVWDkF7U8
http://www.utdallas.edu/~mrankin/usweb/twitterconclusions.htm
Research:
Junco, R., Heiberger, G. and Loken, E. (2011), The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 27: 119–132.
Table 1. Engagement Score & GPA
Learning Activities
Asking/posting questions
Identifying key points: lectures/readings
Gathering feedback
Following current topics in news/blogs
Group/class discussion
Following experts/personalities
Sharing resources
Muddiest point/meta-cognitive trails
Adoption Assessment Tool
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/a-framework-for-teaching-with-twitter/26223
Assessing Twitter Activities
Share a news article, webpage, re-tweet posts relevant to our discussion
Frequency of messages (every day)
Total number of messages ( e.g. 10 per week)
Replying to others who “mentioned” you
Mentioning others in tweets (having to do with something they tweeted)
Asking pertinent questions for the class to respond to
Evaluate / comment on resources: articles, tweets by experts
Create #hashtags and/or lists for others to follow
Getting Started
https://twitter.com/
Getting acquainted – what’s here?
Setting up an account
email address for each account
Privacy Settings
Email Address
Phone Number
Location
Show Media
Protect Tweets (Private Account)
HTTPS - secure pages
Blocking followers who spam
Searching and Subscribing
Searching Keywords
Creating (or following) #Hashtags
Following People
Finding/Creating Lists
Receiving Notifications
Direct Messaging
Mentioning @People
Embedding Twitter feeds in Blackboard
Resources
Widgets
My Website
Lists (or search)
Settings
Test settings
Finish and grab