How can I use twitter to enhance student learning?
Since today's students are already exposed to mobile media and technology tools, it seems logical to use these in the classroom as a way to engage students and enhance their educational experience. As an instructor, I need to find ways to provide active learning to allow students a way to participate as they become involved in "learning to learn." So what is the theory behind engaging students in learning? Alexander Astin developed a theory, engagement theory, and describes it as ‘the amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic experience’ (Astin 1984). So how do I encourage students to engage in my course and create the environment that can help stimulate a better academic experience? If Twitter has been proven to provide student interest, then would it not make sense to use this as a learning tool?
A semester-long study experimental study was performed by professors at Lock Haven University, South Dakota University, and The Pennsylvania State University on the effect of Twitter on college student engagement. As stated in the April 2011 article on this study published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, "Analyses of Twitter communications showed that students and faculty were both highly engaged in the learning process in ways that transcended traditional classroom activities. This study provides experimental evidence that Twitter can be used as an educational tool to help engage students and to mobilize faculty into a more active and participatory role" (R. Junco, 2011). Of interest to me with this study was how it also analyzed how students were communicating with each other through Twitter. The questions used to analyze this use of Twitter were 1) what effect does encouraging the use of Twitter for educationally relevant purposes have on student engagement, and 2) what effect does encouraging the use of Twitter for educationally relevant purposes have on semester grades (R. Junco, 2011). Some of the results indicate that with Twitter, the students asked more questions and also various types of questions than would normally have taken place in a face-to-face classroom environment on the same subject matter. This study also revealed that students seemed more comfortable to "open up" and contribute to tweeted conversations with fellow students. I have to say that it seems plausible that students feel less intimidated in an online setting, and that does promote more engaged conversations, so Twitter seems a logical communication tool.
So how can I as an instructor can provide students with ways to engage in my subject matter by tweeting? I have begun a list on a few ways to incorporate tweets that stand out from my own thoughts and through research and by the study by R. Junco. Also of interest is how the study results can be linked to Chickering and Gamson's 1987 seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. The study results on Twitter use linked to the seven principles showed that the professors involved were able to:
Another positive that came about from using Twitter for this study pointed out how faculty also became more engaged in interacting with the students, which helped form a "connection" between faculty members and students. That is, after all, what should be considered a learning outcome as well! I have found that as I become more engaged in discourse with students, I am also becoming more enriched by the experience. As I reflect on my desires to be a teacher that is one of the compelling reasons to teach!
This study provides support for me to consider ways to use Twitter in a course. As an instructor that wants to enhance learning, the study shows that overall, Twitter communications are effective for achieving this goal.
If the ideas behind active learning are to be explored, then the use of tweets must be considered as part of ways to increase student involvement. Reflections and analyzing of course subjects would be enhanced by students using tweets and finding tweets that are relevant to the subject matter.
As I consider the ways to incorporate using tweets in higher education, I am drawn to how twitter has been used by other professors, as well as my own thoughts.
Thoughts on ways to include twitter in my classroom environment...
- to post messages to ask questions about the class session
- to post comments on the class session
- to summarize the class session in 140 words or less
- to network with peer professionals
- to create communities of learning and sharing
- to promote a community of "outside the classroom" class talks
- to track a word related to the course to see varied phrases and ways it is used
- to provide breakout sessions for small groups
- brainstorming for projects
- to use and learn about hashtags (#) to promote a connection with subject matter published topics
- to form study groups
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Bibliography
K. Walsh. (2010, February 7). 100 Ways to Teach with Twitter. Retrieved July 09, 2012, from Emerging Ed Tech: http://www.emergingedtech.com/2010/02/100-ways-to-teach-with-twitter/
Miners, Z. (2010, August 16). Twitter Goes to College: Students and profs use "tweets" to communicate inside and out of the class. Retrieved July 10, 2012, from US News Education: http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/08/16/twitter-goes-to-college-
Parry, D. (2008, January 23). Twitter for Academia. Retrieved July 09, 2012, from AcademHack: http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/
R. Junco, G. H. (2011). The effect of Twitter on college student engagment and grades. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning , 119-132.
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Sharing some Resources on Twitter in Education...
Tweetizen is a simple web-based tool designed to help you filter the daily influx of tweets, and easily find the ones that are relevant to you. http://www.tweetizen.com/index.php
25 Interesting Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom:
http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_118cfb8msf8
University of Texas at Dallas History Professor, Monica Rankin, has found an interesting way to do it using Twitter in the classroom.
Teaching with Twitter @skipvia UAF School of Education
- and at the end other similar videos
Since today's students are already exposed to mobile media and technology tools, it seems logical to use these in the classroom as a way to engage students and enhance their educational experience. As an instructor, I need to find ways to provide active learning to allow students a way to participate as they become involved in "learning to learn." So what is the theory behind engaging students in learning? Alexander Astin developed a theory, engagement theory, and describes it as ‘the amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic experience’ (Astin 1984). So how do I encourage students to engage in my course and create the environment that can help stimulate a better academic experience? If Twitter has been proven to provide student interest, then would it not make sense to use this as a learning tool?
A semester-long study experimental study was performed by professors at Lock Haven University, South Dakota University, and The Pennsylvania State University on the effect of Twitter on college student engagement. As stated in the April 2011 article on this study published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, "Analyses of Twitter communications showed that students and faculty were both highly engaged in the learning process in ways that transcended traditional classroom activities. This study provides experimental evidence that Twitter can be used as an educational tool to help engage students and to mobilize faculty into a more active and participatory role" (R. Junco, 2011). Of interest to me with this study was how it also analyzed how students were communicating with each other through Twitter. The questions used to analyze this use of Twitter were 1) what effect does encouraging the use of Twitter for educationally relevant purposes have on student engagement, and 2) what effect does encouraging the use of Twitter for educationally relevant purposes have on semester grades (R. Junco, 2011). Some of the results indicate that with Twitter, the students asked more questions and also various types of questions than would normally have taken place in a face-to-face classroom environment on the same subject matter. This study also revealed that students seemed more comfortable to "open up" and contribute to tweeted conversations with fellow students. I have to say that it seems plausible that students feel less intimidated in an online setting, and that does promote more engaged conversations, so Twitter seems a logical communication tool.
So how can I as an instructor can provide students with ways to engage in my subject matter by tweeting? I have begun a list on a few ways to incorporate tweets that stand out from my own thoughts and through research and by the study by R. Junco. Also of interest is how the study results can be linked to Chickering and Gamson's 1987 seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. The study results on Twitter use linked to the seven principles showed that the professors involved were able to:
- improve contact between students and faculty (principle 1) by providing an avenue for contact congruent with their digital lifestyles.
- encourage cooperation among students (principle 2) – students used Twitter to ask each other questions, not only about the material in the first-year seminar course, but also about material in other courses. Students also collaborated on their service learning projects via the Twitter feed, provided emotional support to each other, and created and scheduled real-world study groups via Twitter.
- promote active learning (principle 3) by helping students relate the course material to their own experiences both inside and outside of the classroom.
- provide prompt feedback (principle 4) to students, not only for their assignments, but also for a wide variety of questions and issues they faced. For example, a few students tweeted about having trouble viewing an online video that was required for the course, and within 10 min we provided feedback as to how they could solve the problem.
- maximize time on task with our first-year experience courses (principle 5). The course only met for an hour each week; however, thanks to the Twitter stream, we were able to continue discussion and build a strong learning community among students.
- communicate high expectations (principle 6) in student's academic work, service learning projects, and out-of class activities.
- show a respect for diversity (principle 7) because, in addition to discussing diversity issues via the Twitter feed, we encouraged students who otherwise may not be active participants in class to participate online (R. Junco, 2011).
Another positive that came about from using Twitter for this study pointed out how faculty also became more engaged in interacting with the students, which helped form a "connection" between faculty members and students. That is, after all, what should be considered a learning outcome as well! I have found that as I become more engaged in discourse with students, I am also becoming more enriched by the experience. As I reflect on my desires to be a teacher that is one of the compelling reasons to teach!
This study provides support for me to consider ways to use Twitter in a course. As an instructor that wants to enhance learning, the study shows that overall, Twitter communications are effective for achieving this goal.
If the ideas behind active learning are to be explored, then the use of tweets must be considered as part of ways to increase student involvement. Reflections and analyzing of course subjects would be enhanced by students using tweets and finding tweets that are relevant to the subject matter.
As I consider the ways to incorporate using tweets in higher education, I am drawn to how twitter has been used by other professors, as well as my own thoughts.
Thoughts on ways to include twitter in my classroom environment...
- to post messages to ask questions about the class session
- to post comments on the class session
- to summarize the class session in 140 words or less
- to network with peer professionals
- to create communities of learning and sharing
- to promote a community of "outside the classroom" class talks
- to track a word related to the course to see varied phrases and ways it is used
- to provide breakout sessions for small groups
- brainstorming for projects
- to use and learn about hashtags (#) to promote a connection with subject matter published topics
- to form study groups
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography
Astin, A. (1984). Student Involvement: A Developmental
Theory for Higher Education. Journal of College Student Personnel , 297-308.
Bart, M. (2009, June 17). Using Twitter to Facilitate
Classroom Discussions. Retrieved July 8, 2012, from Faculty Focus:
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/using-twitter-to-facilitate-classroom-discussions/
Gamson, A. W. (March 1987). Seven Principles for Good
Practice in Undergraduate Education. AAHE Bulletin , 3-7.K. Walsh. (2010, February 7). 100 Ways to Teach with Twitter. Retrieved July 09, 2012, from Emerging Ed Tech: http://www.emergingedtech.com/2010/02/100-ways-to-teach-with-twitter/
Miners, Z. (2010, August 16). Twitter Goes to College: Students and profs use "tweets" to communicate inside and out of the class. Retrieved July 10, 2012, from US News Education: http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/08/16/twitter-goes-to-college-
Parry, D. (2008, January 23). Twitter for Academia. Retrieved July 09, 2012, from AcademHack: http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/
R. Junco, G. H. (2011). The effect of Twitter on college student engagment and grades. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning , 119-132.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sharing some Resources on Twitter in Education...
Tweetizen is a simple web-based tool designed to help you filter the daily influx of tweets, and easily find the ones that are relevant to you. http://www.tweetizen.com/index.php
25 Interesting Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom:
http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_118cfb8msf8
University of Texas at Dallas History Professor, Monica Rankin, has found an interesting way to do it using Twitter in the classroom.
Teaching with Twitter @skipvia UAF School of Education
- and at the end other similar videos