About the Technology Tool/s

Using Twitter helps to:

• Enhance classroom dynamics because students build closer relationships with instructors and peers
• Improves contact between students and faculty/instructor
• Enhances the learning experience by offering prompt forms of feedback from the instructor and peers
• Encourages participation because the format makes participating in class discussions less intimidating and allowed even quiet students to have their voice heard.
• Enhance the depth of learning and discussion because links to videos, academic resources and photographs can be easily shared
• Provide access to high caliber and current resources and experts
• Increase participation and accommodates adult learners because of the flexibility and accommodates the needs of the learners. The flexibility of Twitter make is possible for learners to participate more frequently and easily. Because Twitter is so accessible, working professionals who may not be able to log into Moodle at their workplace or while waiting for their children at a sports events, can participate in discussion more easily
• Proficient communication Because Twitter is a the micro-blogging site that limits posts (known as “tweets”) to just 140 characters, students must learn to be succinct with their communication
• Enhances the learning experience because Twitter encouraged cooperative learning among students
• Gage the extent to which learners understand and are engaged in the course content when backchannel discussions are taking place
• Provide formative feedback to learners

Suggestion for How to Facilitating On-Campus Classroom Discussions

• break students into small groups to discuss a topic/ reading/ case study
• designate one person in each group tweet the most relevant comments from the group
• project comments on a screen for the rest of the class to see what others groups were discussing
• toward the end of the class, bring all the students together to re-emphasize some of the key points brought forth by the different groups
• you can run Twitter concurrently to the class and assign it a portion of participation. This generates discussion online that provides iteration of in class content
• Additionally you can have whole discussions on Twitter with students that do not speak much in class