The abstract for my May 21 2015 talk at York University, Toronto's Teaching in Focus Conference: http://teachingcommons.yorku.ca/conferences/york-conferences/teaching-in-focus-2015-conference/ TITLE: Why and how Twitter improved student learning in my upper-year Biology courses ABSTRACT: Since its launch in 2006, many people have tried to figure out what this micro-blogging, social networking platform is good for. Techcrunch described Twitter as a truly disruptive technology. Academics are a growing segment of Tweeters. Additionally, there is a growing research literature examining the use of Twitter in higher education, that I will review. In 2014, after learning to use Twitter I incorporated it into two upper year Biology courses: BIOL 4090 (Plant Ecology) and BIOL 4095 (Applied Plant Ecology). Students earned up to 5% of their final grade from Twitter. I will describe my Twitter assignment, including its learning goals. In this session, participants will experience being part of an academically-oriented Tweetchat, an activity that I incorporated into BIOL 4090. After including Twitter in my teaching, I have concluded that: 1. Twitter helps us all to write more succinctly. 2. Twitter opens students up to the international world of science research and helps them to build a professional electronic footprint.

1. Twitter as a
Teaching
Tool?
Seriously
Dawn Bazely Biology 21 May 2015
#TIFYork2015 #TIF15
#CdnPSE #HigherEd #EdChat

2. Scientists use Twitter
• To follow conferences via the keyword hashtags eg #OnBioSummit
• To find out about what’s going on with scientists: http://www.msnbc.com/craig-melvin/watch/
a-twitter-hijack-of-manicuremonday-114901571927
• To discuss science teaching & research
• As a research & teaching tool eg Paige Jarreau (@FromTheLabBench)
• Benefits aren’t specific to #HigherEd #STEM teaching

5. Whither Twitter?
• https://soundcloud.com/
whatstech/what-is-twitter/
s-5t87C

6. General benefits for students
• My experience from my assignment, which is simply,
to get students to tweet about ecology, biology &
science on course hashtags #Biol4090 #Biol4095:
• Raised awareness about their virtual internet footprint
• Increased general knowledge
• Increased reading
• Improved writing (pardon?)

7. Scott Library:
LB 1044.87 S46 2013
‘Although there are
challenges to overcome, the
authors of this book see
social media as the next
logical step in education’s
evolution in order to “meet
the needs of diverse students
in today’s classrooms”’ (p.
188).
Annie Phillips Newton review
of Seo (2013) in The Journal
of Social Media in Society
1(1):59-62.

8. Research Literature
• Book: Seo, K. 2012. Using Social Media Effectively in
the Classroom. Routledge.
• Articles in Scopus: keyword search & search within the
results for Social Media
• Social Media: 85,217 (1901-2015)
• Twitter: 6,853 documents (2007-2015)
• Teaching: 542 documents (2009-2015)

9. Scopus search for “Social
Media”

10. Scopus: Social Media &
Twitter articles

11. Scopus: Social Media &
Twitter & Teaching articles

12. How many of you have
Twitter accounts?
• Time to make one for this session
• If you have an account, please log in.
• If you don’t, please pair up with someone & hit the create account
button…
• Which people to follow?
• The university, your academic society, journals, the Pope, me…

13. Tweetchat
• 1. Ask any question about Twitter #TIF15
• 2. Do you use Social Media in your teaching? #TIF15
• 3. What are you hoping to learn about at #YorkU
#TIF15 conference?
• (project tweets on the wall)

14. Resources: a bunch listed in:
http://dawnbazely.lab.yorku.ca/2014/11/why-im-using-twitter-as-a-teaching-tool/
http://dawnbazely.lab.yorku.ca/2013/11/figuring-out-the-link-between-social-media-and-what-i-do-as-a-biology-
prof/

16. Sooo, why is Dawn Bazely presenting at YorkU’s pedagogy conference?
I was:
Was nominated for the Faculty of Pure & Applied Science Teaching Award 1993
Won the Faculty of Science & Engineering Teaching Award 2004
Was nominated for the University-Wide Senior Teaching Award 2003 (>10 yrs of being a professor)
Won the President’s Senior Teaching Award 2013
Coolest thing: each of my award
nominations was student led. So, my
teaching awards truly are about and
from the people who are most affected
by my presence in the classroom:
students.
http://yfile.news.yorku.ca/2013/05/13/four-recipients-of-
presidents-university-wide-teaching-awards-embrace-
teaching/
Moving on from that, I believe that we
(me) should be identifying & celebrating
great teaching and learning everywhere.
Putting my 💲where my 👄 is, I have also
prepared 4 Teaching Award nomination
files for colleagues & graduate students:
2 have been successful.