Monday, June 3rd I am presenting a session for the faculty at the University of Utah on "Fostering a Learning Community Online." In preparation for the presentation I wanted to reflect on the benefits of using Twitter to foster communication among the students in my classes. The beauty of Twitter is the accessibility since most students can access Twitter from their SmartPhones, a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer.
Benefits of using Twitter in Education
- Twitter allows only brief responses (140 characters) so it allows quick and brief feedback. One student cannot monopolize the conversation.
- Students for whom English is a second language or who struggle with communication can participate using short phrases & typically worry less about their language skills. Even students who rarely raise their hand during class will often contribute using Twitter.
- Students can connect with other students and the instructor outside of class to ask questions, answer questions, and share current news & research sources.
- Mobile Twitter Applications allow students to connect using iPad, tablets, and Smartphones enabling communications during class and outside of the classroom.
- Twitter can be used to quickly connect with any web based resource including multimedia (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, or Vine).
- Twitter provides new opportunities to connect with a global learning community at no or little cost. This allows the involvement of different cultural perspectives, expertise is specific topic areas, and a variety of new educational perspectives.
Check out our Learning Activity which we will conduct using Twitter and the hashtag #UofUCTLE.
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