How Twitter in the Classroom is Boosting Student Engagement
1. Enabling discussion outside of class: University of Texas emerging media professor David Parry also talked Twitter with Mashable, lauding the ubiquitous microblog as an excellent way for his students to continue class discussions after they’ve already ended. And they frequently do! |
As the article says, microblogs like twitter can help students' participation in or out of the classroom. First, in a big classroom with 100or 150 students, there will be a limited chance to speak up while class is running; however, through these microblogs, students might feel free to give their opinions which gives benefits to both the teacher and students. Next, students may not have enough opportunities having discussions in class; students can use microblogs as a discussion board. On the top of that, microblogs will be a helpful tool them to connect knowledge between in and out of the classroom. This also can double their acquisition in learning.
2. Taking notes: Similar to the example about facilitating extracurricular discussion, Twitter also provides a quick way for students and teachers alike to take notes. Keeping everyone organized in a list makes it easier than ever to supplement (not replace) reviews for tests, quizzes and assignments.
For my teaching, I would use twitter as a guide not only enabling discussion outside of classroom but also boosting students' spontaneous study. They will need to make a community to share information like note-taking, mid or final exam tips, reveiw and preveiw, pop-quiz, asking and answering questions and so on. With easy instant chatting, students will feel free to share their needs.To view the article, please click the red title.
