OnlineCollege.Org: Suggestions for Implementing Twitter in Live Chat Discussions
OnlineCollege.org blogger Melissa Venable, PhD, recently published an extensive white paper on the use of Twitter for conducting both synchronous and a-synchronous course discussions. The pdf is available to download for free at the site's Online College Research section: http://www.onlinecollege.org/online-college-research/
The twenty-three page document gives useful suggestions for using Twitter as either a supplemental communication tool or a primary mode of course discussion. Starting from the premise that online discussions can be improved, Venable makes a valid case for some of the weaknesses of traditional a-synchronous online learning utilizing a threaded discussion format. These weaknesses are as follows: many student responses refer directly to the instructor's question and overlap with other student responses creating a "disjointed" and somewhat unnatural conversation (Venable, 2012, p. 2); instructor questions quite often do not yield a meaningful discussion because students respond with the intention to fulfill a requirement, giving what they believe is the "right" answer, thus losing some of the nuance that a deep and spontaneous classroom discussion can achieve; in order to maintain a consistent schedule, threaded discussions often impose "unnatural requirements" on students requiring them to post a response by one specific date and a follow-up question to a student several days later, thus forcing students to ask questions instead of allowing the discussion to happen on its own accord (Venable, 2012, p. 2).
As an alternative Venable suggests some possible advantages for using Twitter as a tool for live chat discussions and also gives some great examples of how to run a Twitter chat. Two very good reasons for considering Twitter for course discussions are 1.) Twitter exists outside any Learning Management System (LMS) and therefore does not force students to log-in and participate on a desktop computer as many of the more restrictive LMS environments require. This becomes a creative potential when one imagines a course conversation revolving around a live event that exists at a time and place when many students might not be able to participate on any device other than their smart phone or tablet. Another advantage is that instructors who participate in social media can become behavioral role models for their students, teaching by example the most appropriate and skillful ways to communicate to their peers.
In order to conduct a live chat using Twitter, Venable suggests instructors do the following: create a short and easy to remember hashtag for the discussion; decide on a topic and set specific goals for the discussion; and finally develop open-ended questions that will inspire student discussion.
Venable also suggests numerous supplemental software tools that work in tandem with Twitter to enhance and increase the social media tool's potential for online learning. Additionally, she gives suggestions for the types of discussions one might conduct using Twitter and ways that the social media tool can enhance a course. Among these were a discussion of an article or perhaps chapters of a text; an outside-of-class discussion on a particular topic relevant but perhaps not central to the course; and using Twitter for quick updates and important announcements about class activities and assignments.
References
Venable, M. (2012). Social media in online education: Implementing live Twitter chat discussion sessions. Accessed from http://www.onlinecollege.org/online-college-research/