Twittering in the classroom

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read each others' updates, known as tweets. Tweets are short text-based posts displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to other users - known as followers - who have subscribed to them.

YouTube video - Twitter in Plain English

In March 2009, a Nielsen.com blog ranked Twitter as the fastest-growing site in the Member Communities category for February 2009. Twitter had a monthly growth of 1382%.

With the appeal of this service, perhaps twitter can find a place in the classroom and improve communication? David Parry at the University of Texas at Dallas discusses his experience using Twitter in the classroom in a January 2008 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

If you want to give it a try, check out this blog post I found at onlinecolleges.net that lists 50 Ways to Use Twitter in the College Classroom for helpful suggestions, such as:

• Direct Tweet. Professors and students can contact each other through direct Tweets without having to share cell phone numbers.
• Get to know your classmates. A class Twitter group will help facilitate professors and students getting to know each other, especially if the class is part of a more intimate setting such as a seminar.
• Collaborate on projects. When working together on projects, set up a group using an app like Tweetworks to facilitate communication between everyone working together.
• Make announcements. Professors can send out reminders about upcoming tests, project due dates, or any news that needs to be shared via Twitter.
• Brainstorm. The ability to share ideas as the occur any time and any where creates an excellent opportunity for brainstorming on class topics.
• Take a poll. Ask student their opinions or get feedback on future projects or topics by using an app like PollDaddy.
• Share interesting websites. Both professors and students can post interesting websites that are relevant to their class.
• Practice brevity. English professors can assign stories that must be Tweeted within the 140 character limit to practice writing with succinctness.
• twittories. Another great English class activity, participate in creating a story where each person can add 140 characters to contribute to the story as a whole.
• Keep up with politicians. Many politicians are on Twitter. A political science or current events class can get real-time updates from politicians.