Twitter for Education Twitter is a micro-blogging service … …where short text messages of less than 200 characters can be published and viewed either by anyone or a restricted group chosen the user. Messages can be sent or received via a wide range of means including text messaging (sms), instant messaging, email, MP3 or the web. Twitter messages are known as tweets. You can also use Twitter to post images and short sound files
Why is Twitter being used in education? A growing number of educators are microblogging as part of their teaching. Micro-blogging has a lot to offer students, it can: ✴ Help distance students feel part of a class rather than a lone distance learner ✴ Give students the chance to work together on activities in real time ✴ Let students contribute to learning in places that suit them. ✴ Encourage discussion through short informal messages ✴ Overcome academic ‘culture shock’ for international students. ✴ Keep students up-to-date with course information ✴ Build a learning community.
How can Twitter be used in education?
✴ Keeping students up-to-date with course information ✴ Informing students about library information and resources ✴ Acculturating international students ✴ Introducing teachers to new technology ✴ Reminding students about deadlines ✴ Group-work and collaborative writing ✴ Recording events and a sense of ‘being there’ ✴ Integrating micro-blogging with vidcasts ✴ Creating a learning community ✴ Personalising learning environments
Why is the School of Modern Languages using Twitter? The School of Modern Languages is using Twitter as part of the M3 Project, our aims are: ✴ to link learning communities through a choice of technology ✴ to offer students a new learning experience ✴ to support teachers and students learning languages ✴ to support international students learning about academic life before coming to the UK.
Some of the ways that Twitter can been used for teaching: ✴ Writing collaborative stories ✴ Creating revision exercises A Jeffery 2008
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Twitter for Education Information about the M3 Project ✴ The M3 Project http://elanguages.ac.uk/secondlife ✴ Twitter cartoon on use with students http:// www.elanguages.ac.uk/secondlife/images/ m3twitter.png ✴ Using Moodle with Second Life cartoon http:// www.elanguages.ac.uk/secondlife/images/m3sl.png
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article/2825/more-on-academic-twittering-breakingdown-the-classroom-walls The Evolution of Personal Publishinghttp://digg.com/ tech_news/The_Evolution_of_Personal_Publishing Forget email: New service has students aTwitter http://chronicle.com/free/v54/ i25/25a01501.htm Blogs, Social Networks and Microblogs from a Brazilian educator’s blog:http://blog.joaomattar.com/ 2007/12/29/blogs-redes-sociais-e-microblogs/ Thttp://blog.joaomattar.com/2008/01/31/twitter-naeducacao/ http://blog.joaomattar.com/2008/03/14/twitter-denovo/
Become a Twitterer You can create a Twitter account for free through the Twitter website. .
http://www.twitter.com How Twitter works for the M3 Project
A few places to explore There is a wealth of information about Twitter,
Contact us at M3 Ann Jeffery - acj1@soton.ac.u Julie Watson jw17@soton.ac.uk
but here are few to get you started. ✴ Being there: Using social networking services for engaged library instruction http:// onlinesocialnetworks.blogspot.com/2008/03/socialnetworking-services-for-engaged.html ✴ How Twitter makes it real http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ technology/7287536.stm5 ways to have fun with Twitter when you're bored http:// www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ 5_ways_to_have_fun_with_twitter.php ✴ More on Academic Twittering: Breaking Down the Classroom Wallshttp://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/
A Jeffery 2008
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