Tweet Tweet Tweet! Those are the sounds of human communication in this day and age when Twitter has become part of the everyday lexicon. While Twitter is on everyone’s minds, I often get the question “Why would I use it? I just don’t get why I’d want to tell people when I am going to the bathroom or checking my email.” Inevitably, I always have trouble explaining why the micro-blogging tool has become so addictive and widespread.
I can’t explain why everytime my cell phone buzzes with a new text message, I am all a twitter about what I might be reading in the next 2 seconds. 9 times out of 10 I roll my eyes at messages of friends putting their kids to bed or walking the dog. Every once in a while I am pointed to a new website link or idea that excites my own thinking. Why is this activity so addictive and novel? The video below may help explain… but keep reading afterwards because what I really want to talk about today is why micro-blogging (like Twitter) may in fact enhance learning in our classrooms.
More after the jump.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o]
There are numerous stories about the inaneness of Twitter or how the technology is cool, and I have no interest in adding to these debates. The question for me is “Why might Twitter be relevant for today’s student?” Let’s put to rest the tired mumbo-jumbo about technology literacy… by the time our students are in the workforce the Twitter-birds may have migrated to warmer weather. But what about now?
For me, the key statement in the above video was “Real life happens between blog posts and emails”. Actually real life happens between classes and lecture sessions too. And that simple fact alone may be reason enough for educators to use Twitter. Having students use Twitter to self-disclose their thoughts and actions in real-time may create a closeness and dialogue that often does not exist in the formal classroom. Additionally, students can have another outlet through which to help each other learn and share information; using a medium that may be more organic and integrated into their daily life, compared to traditional tools like Blackboard. If I had a question on the homework and could Twitter it, with the expectation that someone (maybe even my professor) would respond in 5 minutes or less… that would be pretty cool.
The unrealized potential is there. But of course, implementing it in your classroom is more complex and I’m running out of word space. Step 1 is embracing the inane. While I roll my eyes whenever I read that joonbug182 is eating kimchi in the office right now, I do not deny that it might somehow enhance my day. What other things might instructors have to think about to use Twitter in their classes?
- June Ahn
