The document discusses using Twitter as a teaching practice to enhance active and informal learning in higher education. It summarizes a study that compared using Twitter versus more traditional methods for learning about sustainability. 15 students in a class on sustainable cities were split into two groups - one used Twitter to discuss the topic outside of class, while the other kept diaries and had one group discussion. The Twitter group was found to have more engagement with the material and retained more knowledge as shown on a quiz. The study suggests Twitter may be an effective tool for informal, outside of class learning compared to traditional methods.
EFL Students’ Perceptions and Attitudes towards Facebook as anEducational Lea...inventionjournals
The purpose of this study was to examine EFL students’ perceptions and attitudes towards Facebook as an educational learning tool.Participants were twenty eight undergraduate female students who experienced teaching and learning through Facebook and some classroom and face-to-face sessions. The researcher, to collect data, prepared and used two instruments; The first was face-to-face interview, while the second was Facebook Perception and Attitudes Questionnaire. Having conducted interviews, and administered the Facebook Perception and Attitudes Questionnaire, data were analyzed quantatively and qualitatively. The findings revealed that students had high and positiveperceptions of Facebook and its activities as a learning environment. Also, students had good and favourable attitudes towards using Facebook on teaching and learning.
The document provides background information on the rise of Web 2.0 and how it has changed communication and knowledge sharing through user-generated content and social networking sites. The researcher aims to study how Facebook can be used to enhance student engagement in collaborative learning. Specifically, the research question asks what Facebook features influence student engagement in collaborative learning and what reasons drive student engagement in conducting collaborative learning on Facebook. The objective is to identify how Facebook can foster collaborative learning experiences among students.
Student-initiated Use of Facebook for Academic Learning: A Case StudyCITE
SONG, Yang (Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong)
http://citers2013.cite.hku.hk/en/paper_607.htm
---------------------------
Author(s) bear(s) the responsibility in case of any infringement of the Intellectual Property Rights of third parties.
---------------------------
CITE was notified by the author(s) that if the presentation slides contain any personal particulars, records and personal data (as defined in the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance) such as names, email addresses, photos of students, etc, the author(s) have/has obtained the corresponding person's consent.
The%20 use%20of%20social%20networking%20in%20education%20challenges%20and%20o...Shivang A. Kalambekar
This document discusses the use of social networking in education and identifies some associated challenges and opportunities. It begins by defining social networking and its growing popularity and influence. The author then examines how social networking can be used as an educational tool, noting it can help generate revolution in the field of education if properly controlled. Both opportunities and challenges of using social networking for education are identified, including privacy issues, the potential to distract from studies by taking up too much time, and risks of miscommunication. Case studies are referenced that explore using platforms like Facebook to enhance learning and foster engaging learning environments.
This document discusses using technology to educate today's students, known as "digital natives" or the "iGeneration". It emphasizes that teachers must adapt to students' technology-immersed world by becoming familiar with digital tools and content, using engaging materials, and tailoring learning to individual students. Technology allows for creativity, collaboration, and authentic learning experiences when students are empowered and engaged with it.
The document provides an overview and definitions for key concepts including computer supportive collaborative work (CSCW), Facebook, learning communities, and student development theories. It discusses the theoretical framework of constructive teaching and learning theory and the ADDI instructional design model. The background of study reviews literature on Facebook use among students. The significance of the study is to investigate how Facebook can improve education quality without social ills. A pilot study was conducted with two students to understand how Facebook contributes to their understanding of Islam and how they manage challenges of Facebook use.
EFL Students’ Perceptions and Attitudes towards Facebook as anEducational Lea...inventionjournals
The purpose of this study was to examine EFL students’ perceptions and attitudes towards Facebook as an educational learning tool.Participants were twenty eight undergraduate female students who experienced teaching and learning through Facebook and some classroom and face-to-face sessions. The researcher, to collect data, prepared and used two instruments; The first was face-to-face interview, while the second was Facebook Perception and Attitudes Questionnaire. Having conducted interviews, and administered the Facebook Perception and Attitudes Questionnaire, data were analyzed quantatively and qualitatively. The findings revealed that students had high and positiveperceptions of Facebook and its activities as a learning environment. Also, students had good and favourable attitudes towards using Facebook on teaching and learning.
The document provides background information on the rise of Web 2.0 and how it has changed communication and knowledge sharing through user-generated content and social networking sites. The researcher aims to study how Facebook can be used to enhance student engagement in collaborative learning. Specifically, the research question asks what Facebook features influence student engagement in collaborative learning and what reasons drive student engagement in conducting collaborative learning on Facebook. The objective is to identify how Facebook can foster collaborative learning experiences among students.
Student-initiated Use of Facebook for Academic Learning: A Case StudyCITE
SONG, Yang (Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong)
http://citers2013.cite.hku.hk/en/paper_607.htm
---------------------------
Author(s) bear(s) the responsibility in case of any infringement of the Intellectual Property Rights of third parties.
---------------------------
CITE was notified by the author(s) that if the presentation slides contain any personal particulars, records and personal data (as defined in the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance) such as names, email addresses, photos of students, etc, the author(s) have/has obtained the corresponding person's consent.
The%20 use%20of%20social%20networking%20in%20education%20challenges%20and%20o...Shivang A. Kalambekar
This document discusses the use of social networking in education and identifies some associated challenges and opportunities. It begins by defining social networking and its growing popularity and influence. The author then examines how social networking can be used as an educational tool, noting it can help generate revolution in the field of education if properly controlled. Both opportunities and challenges of using social networking for education are identified, including privacy issues, the potential to distract from studies by taking up too much time, and risks of miscommunication. Case studies are referenced that explore using platforms like Facebook to enhance learning and foster engaging learning environments.
This document discusses using technology to educate today's students, known as "digital natives" or the "iGeneration". It emphasizes that teachers must adapt to students' technology-immersed world by becoming familiar with digital tools and content, using engaging materials, and tailoring learning to individual students. Technology allows for creativity, collaboration, and authentic learning experiences when students are empowered and engaged with it.
The document provides an overview and definitions for key concepts including computer supportive collaborative work (CSCW), Facebook, learning communities, and student development theories. It discusses the theoretical framework of constructive teaching and learning theory and the ADDI instructional design model. The background of study reviews literature on Facebook use among students. The significance of the study is to investigate how Facebook can improve education quality without social ills. A pilot study was conducted with two students to understand how Facebook contributes to their understanding of Islam and how they manage challenges of Facebook use.
This document discusses considerations for educators regarding the use of social media in higher education. It covers key topics such as ownership and intellectual property when academic content is shared publicly online. Privacy and student data protection according to FERPA laws is another important issue explored. The stability and longevity of social media platforms hosted by private companies is also a concern discussed in the document. Overall, the white paper aims to provide guidance to educators on important legal and practical implications of incorporating social media tools into their teaching.
This document discusses using social networking platforms as new technology tools for e-learning. It begins by introducing how social networks have made connecting people globally easier and cheaper. It then discusses how e-learning through web-based learning systems provides advantages for both teachers and students by allowing flexibility. The popularity of using social networks as an educational tool is increasing as educators incorporate platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn into learning. A study examined students' usage of learning management systems versus social networks for educational purposes. It found that social networks were used more regularly and seen as more useful and effective for spreading information among students. The conclusion is that while some students still prefer learning management systems, social networks can provide a richer environment for sharing knowledge between educators and peers
Kayla Napier followed several educators on Twitter throughout a class assignment to learn effective 21st century teaching strategies. She found Harold Blanco posted many useful links about incorporating tools like social media and virtual worlds into student-centered, technology-based learning. George Couros emphasized global connectivity and collaboration through social media. Aviva Dunsiger encouraged feedback, inquiry learning, and technology use. The Daring Librarian suggested tools like comics, raps, and infographics. Stephany Madlinger stressed character education and digital citizenship, and encouraged media literacy and organization tools for teachers. Overall, Napier learned strategies to engage students and enhance learning with technology.
The seven principles of online learning: Feedback from faculty and alumni on ...eraser Juan José Calderón
The seven principles of online learning: Feedback from faculty and alumni on its importance for teaching and learning. Cynthia Janet Tanis,
ABSTRACT
Effective online teaching and learning requires a carefully designed classroom that promotes student engagement with faculty, peers and course content. This research included an investigation of the importance of faculty–student communication and collaboration; student–student communication and collaboration; active learning techniques; prompt feedback; appropriate time for tasks; high performance expectations; and respect for diverse learning styles (preferences) (Chickering and Ehrmann 1996) to faculty in their online teaching and to alumni in their online learning.
This document provides an overview of Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach's keynote presentation on connected learning. Some of the main ideas discussed include: embracing collective intelligence over individual knowledge; defining terms like connected learning; examining how the world, students, and schools have changed with technology; discussing trends like the shift to mobile and social learning; and introducing models for connected professional development like personal learning networks and communities of practice. The presentation emphasizes building relationships and community to support learning and addresses how to shift from teaching to learning focus.
The document discusses social media and e-learning in Pakistan. It defines social media and provides examples of popular social media platforms. It then discusses the growth of e-learning through massive open online courses (MOOCs) provided by organizations like Coursera, edX, and Khan Academy. The document notes that over 20,000 Pakistanis have participated in MOOCs. It outlines some e-learning initiatives in Pakistan like the Virtual University, Beaconhouse ELE, and eLearn Punjab. Finally, it discusses opportunities for expanding e-learning in Pakistan through improved connectivity, teacher training, and transitioning to mobile learning.
The Social Media Use and the Study Habits of MillennialsAJHSSR Journal
Social media use and social networking poured internationally in the present that no academic
institutions could stop its impact on education. Researches were conducted on the impact of these technologies
and its effectivity to certain school conditions. Hence, this study aimed at describing the extent of the usage of
social media as a vehicle to the improvement of study habits of the Carolinians especially to the stratified
proportionate and randomly chosen 50 Grade Ten students of the University of San Carlos, Basic Education
Department – South Campus in Cebu City, Philippines. Descriptive survey research using simple percentage,
mean and standard deviation was done using an adapted survey questionnaire which was tested for face and
content validity. To obtain reliability, the tool was pilot tested and was proven to be reliable (α = 0.891) using
Cronbach‘s Alpha. Based on the gathered data, students spent most of their time in social networking sites
whether on a typical day (28%) or weekend (46%) and they usually do this inside their bedroom (46%) or in an
internet café (54%) outside. They usually use their mobile phones (76%) to visit social sites and the majority
(34%) received less parental support. In terms of the students‘ level of study habit, it was rated average ( x =
3.32, SD = 0.33). This means that the use of social media does not give a negative influence on the study habits
of the students in this study. Even if most of them utilized whatever available technology they have such as their
mobile phones and they spend most of their time on internet cafés, it was recommended that parental
involvement and teachers‘ wise use of technology, pedagogy, and content should be strengthened for these
partners still play a significant role in achieving success both in instruction and education.
This document discusses using Facebook in college classes to engage students. It argues that Facebook can be an effective learning tool because students are already using it for communication and collaboration. Instructors can post course materials, engage in discussions, and provide feedback to students through Facebook groups. While time-consuming for instructors, integrating Facebook allows for blended learning, customization, and a more social and interactive experience that appeals to today's digital native students.
The document summarizes a presentation about educators' perceptions and behaviors regarding participation in informal online professional development networks. Key findings include that educators are motivated to participate in these networks to advance their learning, connect with others, and reduce isolation. Twitter was the most popular social media platform used. Differences emerged based on position, years of experience, and age. Recommendations include examining successful support programs, exploring correlations with improved practice and student learning, and allowing educators input and credit for informal learning.
Mechanism to strengthen student's grievance network during covid 19Deepikakohli10
This document outlines mechanisms for strengthening student grievance networks during COVID-19. It discusses challenges students face with online classes due to lack of internet access or devices. It proposes an online student grievance redressal portal and appointing complaint managers and officers to efficiently handle issues. Suggested issues that may be complained about include accommodation, food, classes, exams, fees and health. The document also provides guidelines for an effective complaint handling process and notes resources created by UGC and AICTE to address student issues.
This document provides a literature review on the emerging use of communication technologies (CTs) in higher education. It summarizes that CTs, especially Web 2.0 tools, are increasingly being adopted in higher education to support teaching and learning. Popular tools include social networking sites, wikis, media sharing, virtual worlds, and personal learning environments. While CTs are disrupting traditional teaching methods, their integration into higher education is still a work in progress, with gaps in infrastructure and teacher training remaining barriers to adoption. The review aims to understand which CTs are used and how to inform the ongoing TRACER project analyzing CT adoption in Portuguese universities.
Using New Media for Educational Support in Higher Education: A Comparative An...Kru Suthin
This document summarizes a study comparing the use of new media and web 2.0 tools for educational support by Thai and American professors in higher education. The study found that American professors more actively use popular social media technologies to encourage active learning, while Thai professors face more constraints from technological limitations and student readiness. The document reviews literature on using tools like blogs, wikis and social networking to enhance constructivist learning in higher education, noting benefits but also challenges in preparing teachers to effectively integrate these tools.
Social Media and Facebook for learning: methodological aspects and main resul...Stefania Manca
The document summarizes two research studies conducted by Stefania Manca on the use of social media and Facebook for learning. The first study was a literature review that found Facebook has been used mainly as a learning management system rather than fully utilizing its affordances to blend information sources. Barriers included institutional policies and traditional pedagogies. The second study surveyed Italian academics and found they use social media more for personal and professional purposes rather than teaching. Use varied by discipline, and barriers included cultural, pedagogical, and institutional factors. Overall, the studies show potential but also limitations in social media integration in education due to various obstacles.
The document discusses the development of a personalized teaching system based on Web 2.0 technologies. It begins by introducing personalized teaching systems and how Web 2.0 can facilitate personalized learning. It then proposes a framework for a personalized teaching system based on Web 2.0, including exchange between learners, shared resources, learning systems, and the learning process. Key modules are analyzed, including syndication and sharing of resources using RSS, learner participation and interaction using social software, and the scalability of the platform. The goal is to combine Web 2.0 technologies with teaching system design to better support teaching and learning.
The document provides the results of a survey of over 1,200 K-12 educators on their use of social networking and content sharing tools. Some key findings include:
- 61% of educators surveyed have joined a social networking site, most commonly Facebook. Educators use these sites primarily to connect with friends and family but many also use them to connect with colleagues.
- Educators who have joined social networks are generally more positive about their educational value than those who have not. However, educators want to keep their personal and professional lives separate online.
- Educators see value in social networking for education but have concerns about privacy, time, and access blocked by schools. Many want more training
Innovate future learning landscapes transforming pedagogy through social so...University of Miami
This document discusses the potential of social software tools and Web 2.0 technologies to transform pedagogy and create more student-centered learning landscapes. It defines "Pedagogy 2.0" as an approach that integrates social software tools to support knowledge sharing, networking, and global collaboration. Some key challenges to implementing Pedagogy 2.0 mentioned are ensuring the quality of student-generated content, addressing generational divides between students and educators, and developing students' skills in effectively navigating and evaluating online information.
This document discusses the use of social media in education. It defines social media technology as web and mobile applications that allow users to create and share content. The document outlines various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogs that can be used in educational settings. It provides perspectives on how social media enhances learning through increased interaction and collaboration among students and teachers. However, it also notes challenges like privacy, reliability and distraction. The future of education is seen as increasingly incorporating social media and technology in the classroom.
Implication of behaviorism learning theoryzulhanafi88
The document discusses different types of learning environments based on classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves associating learning experiences with pleasure or discomfort, while operant conditioning uses reinforcement and punishment according to B.F. Skinner. Applied behavior analysis applies operant conditioning principles to change learner behavior by increasing desirable behaviors and decreasing undesirable ones. Specific strategies are outlined for reinforcing positive behaviors and reducing negative ones.
Journal of librarianship and information science 2009-aharony-227-42zulhanafi88
This document summarizes a journal article that examines how personality characteristics and learning facilitators influence Library and Information Science (LIS) students' perceptions of Web 2.0 technologies. It provides background on key Web 2.0 applications like blogs, wikis, tagging, and their relevance to libraries. The study explored whether factors like learning strategies, resistance to change, and motivation affected how LIS students view tools like blogs, wikis and tagging. It distributed questionnaires to 160 Israeli LIS students and found their personality traits and motivations did influence their perspectives on Web 2.0 use.
1) Questioning is an important part of the teaching and learning process as it drives critical thinking. Questions define tasks, express problems, and help thinking continue.
2) "Essential questions" that are central to our lives and contestable are most important. They touch our heart and soul and probe the deepest issues.
3) Strategies like Philosophy 4 Children that use questioning techniques help build thinking and reasoning skills in students. Communities of inquiry that discuss essential questions are important.
This document discusses visual-intensive teaching and learning, including using visual elements like images, videos, and formatting in addition to or instead of only text. It provides tips for incorporating visual elements into course instruction, assignments, and assessments, such as including at least one graded visual analysis or project, instruction on discipline-specific visual conventions, and using rubrics to provide feedback on visual work. The document also discusses how to effectively design visual elements to clearly communicate messages and considers factors like contrast, color, and positioning.
This document discusses considerations for educators regarding the use of social media in higher education. It covers key topics such as ownership and intellectual property when academic content is shared publicly online. Privacy and student data protection according to FERPA laws is another important issue explored. The stability and longevity of social media platforms hosted by private companies is also a concern discussed in the document. Overall, the white paper aims to provide guidance to educators on important legal and practical implications of incorporating social media tools into their teaching.
This document discusses using social networking platforms as new technology tools for e-learning. It begins by introducing how social networks have made connecting people globally easier and cheaper. It then discusses how e-learning through web-based learning systems provides advantages for both teachers and students by allowing flexibility. The popularity of using social networks as an educational tool is increasing as educators incorporate platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn into learning. A study examined students' usage of learning management systems versus social networks for educational purposes. It found that social networks were used more regularly and seen as more useful and effective for spreading information among students. The conclusion is that while some students still prefer learning management systems, social networks can provide a richer environment for sharing knowledge between educators and peers
Kayla Napier followed several educators on Twitter throughout a class assignment to learn effective 21st century teaching strategies. She found Harold Blanco posted many useful links about incorporating tools like social media and virtual worlds into student-centered, technology-based learning. George Couros emphasized global connectivity and collaboration through social media. Aviva Dunsiger encouraged feedback, inquiry learning, and technology use. The Daring Librarian suggested tools like comics, raps, and infographics. Stephany Madlinger stressed character education and digital citizenship, and encouraged media literacy and organization tools for teachers. Overall, Napier learned strategies to engage students and enhance learning with technology.
The seven principles of online learning: Feedback from faculty and alumni on ...eraser Juan José Calderón
The seven principles of online learning: Feedback from faculty and alumni on its importance for teaching and learning. Cynthia Janet Tanis,
ABSTRACT
Effective online teaching and learning requires a carefully designed classroom that promotes student engagement with faculty, peers and course content. This research included an investigation of the importance of faculty–student communication and collaboration; student–student communication and collaboration; active learning techniques; prompt feedback; appropriate time for tasks; high performance expectations; and respect for diverse learning styles (preferences) (Chickering and Ehrmann 1996) to faculty in their online teaching and to alumni in their online learning.
This document provides an overview of Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach's keynote presentation on connected learning. Some of the main ideas discussed include: embracing collective intelligence over individual knowledge; defining terms like connected learning; examining how the world, students, and schools have changed with technology; discussing trends like the shift to mobile and social learning; and introducing models for connected professional development like personal learning networks and communities of practice. The presentation emphasizes building relationships and community to support learning and addresses how to shift from teaching to learning focus.
The document discusses social media and e-learning in Pakistan. It defines social media and provides examples of popular social media platforms. It then discusses the growth of e-learning through massive open online courses (MOOCs) provided by organizations like Coursera, edX, and Khan Academy. The document notes that over 20,000 Pakistanis have participated in MOOCs. It outlines some e-learning initiatives in Pakistan like the Virtual University, Beaconhouse ELE, and eLearn Punjab. Finally, it discusses opportunities for expanding e-learning in Pakistan through improved connectivity, teacher training, and transitioning to mobile learning.
The Social Media Use and the Study Habits of MillennialsAJHSSR Journal
Social media use and social networking poured internationally in the present that no academic
institutions could stop its impact on education. Researches were conducted on the impact of these technologies
and its effectivity to certain school conditions. Hence, this study aimed at describing the extent of the usage of
social media as a vehicle to the improvement of study habits of the Carolinians especially to the stratified
proportionate and randomly chosen 50 Grade Ten students of the University of San Carlos, Basic Education
Department – South Campus in Cebu City, Philippines. Descriptive survey research using simple percentage,
mean and standard deviation was done using an adapted survey questionnaire which was tested for face and
content validity. To obtain reliability, the tool was pilot tested and was proven to be reliable (α = 0.891) using
Cronbach‘s Alpha. Based on the gathered data, students spent most of their time in social networking sites
whether on a typical day (28%) or weekend (46%) and they usually do this inside their bedroom (46%) or in an
internet café (54%) outside. They usually use their mobile phones (76%) to visit social sites and the majority
(34%) received less parental support. In terms of the students‘ level of study habit, it was rated average ( x =
3.32, SD = 0.33). This means that the use of social media does not give a negative influence on the study habits
of the students in this study. Even if most of them utilized whatever available technology they have such as their
mobile phones and they spend most of their time on internet cafés, it was recommended that parental
involvement and teachers‘ wise use of technology, pedagogy, and content should be strengthened for these
partners still play a significant role in achieving success both in instruction and education.
This document discusses using Facebook in college classes to engage students. It argues that Facebook can be an effective learning tool because students are already using it for communication and collaboration. Instructors can post course materials, engage in discussions, and provide feedback to students through Facebook groups. While time-consuming for instructors, integrating Facebook allows for blended learning, customization, and a more social and interactive experience that appeals to today's digital native students.
The document summarizes a presentation about educators' perceptions and behaviors regarding participation in informal online professional development networks. Key findings include that educators are motivated to participate in these networks to advance their learning, connect with others, and reduce isolation. Twitter was the most popular social media platform used. Differences emerged based on position, years of experience, and age. Recommendations include examining successful support programs, exploring correlations with improved practice and student learning, and allowing educators input and credit for informal learning.
Mechanism to strengthen student's grievance network during covid 19Deepikakohli10
This document outlines mechanisms for strengthening student grievance networks during COVID-19. It discusses challenges students face with online classes due to lack of internet access or devices. It proposes an online student grievance redressal portal and appointing complaint managers and officers to efficiently handle issues. Suggested issues that may be complained about include accommodation, food, classes, exams, fees and health. The document also provides guidelines for an effective complaint handling process and notes resources created by UGC and AICTE to address student issues.
This document provides a literature review on the emerging use of communication technologies (CTs) in higher education. It summarizes that CTs, especially Web 2.0 tools, are increasingly being adopted in higher education to support teaching and learning. Popular tools include social networking sites, wikis, media sharing, virtual worlds, and personal learning environments. While CTs are disrupting traditional teaching methods, their integration into higher education is still a work in progress, with gaps in infrastructure and teacher training remaining barriers to adoption. The review aims to understand which CTs are used and how to inform the ongoing TRACER project analyzing CT adoption in Portuguese universities.
Using New Media for Educational Support in Higher Education: A Comparative An...Kru Suthin
This document summarizes a study comparing the use of new media and web 2.0 tools for educational support by Thai and American professors in higher education. The study found that American professors more actively use popular social media technologies to encourage active learning, while Thai professors face more constraints from technological limitations and student readiness. The document reviews literature on using tools like blogs, wikis and social networking to enhance constructivist learning in higher education, noting benefits but also challenges in preparing teachers to effectively integrate these tools.
Social Media and Facebook for learning: methodological aspects and main resul...Stefania Manca
The document summarizes two research studies conducted by Stefania Manca on the use of social media and Facebook for learning. The first study was a literature review that found Facebook has been used mainly as a learning management system rather than fully utilizing its affordances to blend information sources. Barriers included institutional policies and traditional pedagogies. The second study surveyed Italian academics and found they use social media more for personal and professional purposes rather than teaching. Use varied by discipline, and barriers included cultural, pedagogical, and institutional factors. Overall, the studies show potential but also limitations in social media integration in education due to various obstacles.
The document discusses the development of a personalized teaching system based on Web 2.0 technologies. It begins by introducing personalized teaching systems and how Web 2.0 can facilitate personalized learning. It then proposes a framework for a personalized teaching system based on Web 2.0, including exchange between learners, shared resources, learning systems, and the learning process. Key modules are analyzed, including syndication and sharing of resources using RSS, learner participation and interaction using social software, and the scalability of the platform. The goal is to combine Web 2.0 technologies with teaching system design to better support teaching and learning.
The document provides the results of a survey of over 1,200 K-12 educators on their use of social networking and content sharing tools. Some key findings include:
- 61% of educators surveyed have joined a social networking site, most commonly Facebook. Educators use these sites primarily to connect with friends and family but many also use them to connect with colleagues.
- Educators who have joined social networks are generally more positive about their educational value than those who have not. However, educators want to keep their personal and professional lives separate online.
- Educators see value in social networking for education but have concerns about privacy, time, and access blocked by schools. Many want more training
Innovate future learning landscapes transforming pedagogy through social so...University of Miami
This document discusses the potential of social software tools and Web 2.0 technologies to transform pedagogy and create more student-centered learning landscapes. It defines "Pedagogy 2.0" as an approach that integrates social software tools to support knowledge sharing, networking, and global collaboration. Some key challenges to implementing Pedagogy 2.0 mentioned are ensuring the quality of student-generated content, addressing generational divides between students and educators, and developing students' skills in effectively navigating and evaluating online information.
This document discusses the use of social media in education. It defines social media technology as web and mobile applications that allow users to create and share content. The document outlines various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogs that can be used in educational settings. It provides perspectives on how social media enhances learning through increased interaction and collaboration among students and teachers. However, it also notes challenges like privacy, reliability and distraction. The future of education is seen as increasingly incorporating social media and technology in the classroom.
Implication of behaviorism learning theoryzulhanafi88
The document discusses different types of learning environments based on classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves associating learning experiences with pleasure or discomfort, while operant conditioning uses reinforcement and punishment according to B.F. Skinner. Applied behavior analysis applies operant conditioning principles to change learner behavior by increasing desirable behaviors and decreasing undesirable ones. Specific strategies are outlined for reinforcing positive behaviors and reducing negative ones.
Journal of librarianship and information science 2009-aharony-227-42zulhanafi88
This document summarizes a journal article that examines how personality characteristics and learning facilitators influence Library and Information Science (LIS) students' perceptions of Web 2.0 technologies. It provides background on key Web 2.0 applications like blogs, wikis, tagging, and their relevance to libraries. The study explored whether factors like learning strategies, resistance to change, and motivation affected how LIS students view tools like blogs, wikis and tagging. It distributed questionnaires to 160 Israeli LIS students and found their personality traits and motivations did influence their perspectives on Web 2.0 use.
1) Questioning is an important part of the teaching and learning process as it drives critical thinking. Questions define tasks, express problems, and help thinking continue.
2) "Essential questions" that are central to our lives and contestable are most important. They touch our heart and soul and probe the deepest issues.
3) Strategies like Philosophy 4 Children that use questioning techniques help build thinking and reasoning skills in students. Communities of inquiry that discuss essential questions are important.
This document discusses visual-intensive teaching and learning, including using visual elements like images, videos, and formatting in addition to or instead of only text. It provides tips for incorporating visual elements into course instruction, assignments, and assessments, such as including at least one graded visual analysis or project, instruction on discipline-specific visual conventions, and using rubrics to provide feedback on visual work. The document also discusses how to effectively design visual elements to clearly communicate messages and considers factors like contrast, color, and positioning.
Using Teacher and Learner FQ--Faith Quotient--to Effect Teaching Style and Fa...Mark Eutsler
The document discusses using a teacher's and learner's "FQ", or "fruitfulness quotient", to help align teaching style with student needs and facilitate reconciliation through education. It defines FQ as assessing the degree to which spiritual fruits from Galatians 5:22 are manifested in one's experiences, interests, and passions. Understanding FQ can help teachers calibrate their approach and help students relate course material to their spiritual development and reconciliation with society.
Nicole Rege-Colet - Innovative teaching and learning practices: stepping beyo...gaihe
This document discusses innovation in higher education teaching and learning. It outlines the speaker's goals of building teaching and learning capacities, reinventing 21st century higher education, and facilitating paradigm shifts. The speaker explains their framework and actions taken. They discuss shifting from a single course/program paradigm to an educational system approach. The document also covers concepts like experimenting, reflecting on experiences, and supporting generative conversations to foster innovative practices. It emphasizes empowering people as creators and innovators through professional development.
This document discusses strategies for effective questioning in the classroom. It begins by outlining different questioning approaches a teacher may take, such as cold calling students or providing positive reinforcement. The rest of the document explores potential interactions between teachers and students using a question and answer format, showing what each party may be thinking. It aims to illustrate how questioning can positively or negatively impact student engagement and learning. Overall, the document promotes using questioning to actively involve all students and create a supportive learning environment.
The document discusses a vision for innovative teaching and learning focused on collaboration, creativity, and lifelong learning. It emphasizes the importance of turning novice learners into expert learners who know how to learn strategically. It also discusses the need to teach students to respect the past but live in the future, and that educators must train themselves for the 21st century. Emerging technologies like cloud computing, mobile devices, and game-based learning are transforming education. Digital literacy now involves skills like design, sharing, analyzing information, and digital citizenship. Connected learning through networks allows individuals and educators to get smarter by learning from each other.
This document discusses the use of visual tools in teaching and learning. It notes that visual tools can help students clarify thoughts, reinforce understanding through connections, and integrate new knowledge with prior learning. The document outlines several benefits of visual learning techniques, including helping students reach higher-order thinking skills. It provides examples of visual tools like physical models, pictures, maps, and organizers. The presentation was given by Dr. B. Victor to discuss incorporating new approaches and tools into teaching.
how questioning skill can be used effectively by a teacherjksofy
Questioning is a critical teaching skill that can be used effectively across subjects and grades. Teachers should use questioning to stimulate thinking at different cognitive levels, assess student understanding, and achieve learning objectives. Well-structured questions that are clear, concise, and relevant to the lesson help students display their knowledge, analyze problems, and apply their understanding to new situations. Varying the order and type of questions posed, from lower to higher order thinking, further enhances learning.
Learner-based teaching focuses on using students' own knowledge and experiences in class activities. The teacher acts as a participant, helper and monitor. Key advantages include tapping into students' diverse ideas and expertise, tailoring lessons to students' current needs, allowing discussion of timely topics, and encouraging peer teaching and collaboration. Potential problems include some students preferring traditional teaching, external constraints on curriculum, and increased demands on teachers' preparation time.
Learner centered teaching and active learning strategiesNoura Al-Budeiwi
Active learning is best demonstrated in a learner-centered approach. This short article explores few active learning strategies and the use of technology in class. Feel free to comment in the comments section.
Questioning Strategies for Interactive LearningIkhfi Imaniah
Questioning strategies are important for teachers to create an interactive language classroom where students produce language comfortably through teacher initiation and guidance. Appropriate teacher questions give students opportunities to interact with each other, allow teachers to gauge student comprehension, and help students articulate their own understanding by verbalizing their thoughts. Using these questioning techniques can foster interactive language learning in the classroom.
Social Teaching Strategies for Engaging Today's Active LearnerJason Rhode
The prevalence and widespread use of social media tools make possible a seemingly endless array of ways to share ideas and build new knowledge. During this keynote presentation on March 29, 2013 at Western Illinois University Symposium on Teaching, Research, and Creative Activities by Jason Rhode, we considered how students today are using social media in their daily lives and explore together how social media can be used to actively engage students in the learning process, both in and outside the classroom. A social teaching framework was shared as well as principles and best practices for leveraging social media in teaching and learning. Participants were encouraged to bring their own device to actively participate in the conversation!
Online and mobile versions of the handout accompanying the slides is available at http://j.mp/socialteaching
Session hashtag, for tweeting or other social media uses: #socialteaching
The document discusses innovative teaching methodologies presented by Mahnoor Mirza. It begins with an overview of the presentation topics, which include traditional teaching methods, learning pyramids, Bloom's Taxonomy, Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, and innovative teaching techniques. Some innovative techniques discussed are role playing, mind mapping, field trips, learning games, using humor, group discussions, and quizzes. The presentation emphasizes engaging students through active learning, variety, review, evaluation, and feedback to improve learning outcomes over traditional "chalk and talk" methods.
Innovative Teaching in Higher Education: Big Data EraMiftachul Huda
With massive amounts of data created every second across the internet, the concept of big data would give opportunities with the ability to explore data and understand in maximizing the potential of data collection in relation to innovative teaching in an online learning setting. This is to support teachers’ pedagogical skills, mainly in the big data era from multiple sources in maintaining a competitive advantage to give a feedback on innovative teaching performance. This article aims to critically investigate innovative teaching competencies of teachers in the light of big data approach. Critical review using content analysis from both the theoretical and the empirical base was conducted to explore the big data for supporting innovative teaching. This result shows innovative teaching performance with an insightful result to contribute these competencies towards the theories and models of educational innovation into the pedagogical element.
This document discusses the best teaching styles according to a retention rate rationale. It advocates for using a discussion-based approach where students teach each other. The key points are:
- Lectures have a 5% retention rate while discussions have a 50% retention rate and having students teach others a 90% retention rate.
- The recommended teaching style is to reduce lectures, include more discussion, demonstrations and practice-based learning where students teach each other.
The document recommends that educators allow students to use online tools to take charge of their own learning, as this better engages students and prepares them for the workforce. It suggests that schools currently block access to these tools out of fear of misuse, but should instead monitor student usage and teach them how to utilize social media constructively for education.
The document discusses the benefits and drawbacks of using internet and technology in education. It notes that while technology enhances learning through improved assessment, research capabilities, and access to information, it also limits direct teacher-student interaction and feedback. Online education increases costs savings and flexibility but can contribute to higher dropout rates if students cannot learn independently. Overall, the document concludes that technology transforms education by providing more opportunities, but should not replace traditional classrooms due to the importance of interaction.
As universities shifted to online education with the onset of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, both pedagogy and assessment patterns across disciplines underwent a change, with a shift towards collaborative digital assessments. In this context, using qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection from an assessment conducted for 55 students who worked in groups to create YouTube videos on pre-selected modules, our analysis reveals that this assessment tool had a significant impact on peer learning, motivation and group dynamics. Students were more motivated to learn and share their learning, and they could also successfully engage in recognising and addressing group dynamics, thereby cultivating more than just subject knowledge. This finding aligns with existing scholarship and the paper adds to research about pedagogy and assessment via digital education in the Indian context, which is still upcoming.
Students should take charge of their own learning, but in many classrooms they remain dependent on teachers and schools block access to tools that enable student-directed learning. Two signs of engaged, student-directed learning are when students add value to other students' learning and information flows from the classroom to the larger community. School leaders should give teachers access to communication tools like Skype and monitor rather than block students' appropriate use of online social tools to fully engage students in directing their own learning.
A Study On Role Of Social Media In E-LearningPedro Craggett
This document summarizes a study on the role of social media in e-learning. It finds that the majority of respondents in Chennai, India prefer WhatsApp for e-learning, followed by YouTube, with Twitter being the least preferred. Previous studies have found that social media can enhance learning by allowing knowledge sharing, interactions between students and teachers, and accessing course content flexibly. However, advertisements were found to be a distraction for many e-learners. The study aims to understand awareness and usage of social media and e-learning tools among students in Chennai.
Knowledge building- designing for learning using social and participatory mediaeLearning Papers
Author: Gail Casey
This report presents the results of a classroom action research that looked at how one teacher redesigned her curriculum while integrating social media, Web 2.0 and face-to-face teaching in an Australian public high school.
Findings on facebook in higher education a comparison of college faculty and...Arina Fauzi
This document compares college faculty and student uses and perceptions of the social networking site Facebook. A survey of 62 faculty members and 120 students at a mid-sized southern university found that students are much more likely than faculty to use Facebook. Students also are more open to using Facebook and similar technologies to support classroom work. In contrast, faculty are more likely to use email, a more traditional technology. The study aims to provide preliminary evidence on the adoption of social networking sites like Facebook in higher education and willingness to use them for instructional purposes.
This document provides an introduction to a study on the role of social networking in improving undergraduate students' academic learning. It discusses how technology and blended learning have become important aspects of education. The study aims to gauge students' perceptions of whether social networking helps improve academic learning, investigate the effects of social networking on learning, and illustrate how it may help learning. It defines key terms and outlines limitations of focusing only on students from two Malaysian universities with a small sample size. The significance is to determine if and how social networking can positively impact the learning process and academic performance of undergraduate students.
Manal Hasan Hasan Ebrahim Alkandari
Public Authority for Applied Education and Training
The Higher Institute for Administrative Services English Department
Abstract: In many learning places, online learning has become the new normal with the major aim of averting the
Covid-19 pandemic effects. Besides, the e-learning benefits can help mitigate the effects of conventionalism and
deferment in education institutions and foster the development of student's critical thinking skills as would be
anticipated in traditional residential practices if exploited effectively. Even though research myriads have proved
that it is a student-and-action-based model that has the potential to accomplish optimal education and learning
outcomes when applied successfully, online learning more often than not has been criticized for being unable to
engage learners amply. Understandably, in residential systems, teaching learners to develop critical thinking skills
has been challenging because it needs the physical presence of students and faculty to participate in the analyses
and syntheses of complex concepts for applications, clarity and better assimilations. To successfully apply the same
in an e-learning setting will need augmented knowledge in the subject matters as well as knowledge in the elearning dynamics, including applications of germane instructional strategies, contexts and influential theories.
Keywords: online learning, Covid-19 pandemic effects, e-learning benefits, education institutions.
Editorial: Using Technology Tools, Perceptions and Motivations to Use, and In...eraser Juan José Calderón
Editorial: Using Technology Tools, Perceptions and Motivations to Use, and Institutional Limitations in the Adoption of E-learning .Denise Gaspard-Richards.
The University of the West Indies, Open Campus, Trinidad and Tobago
This document discusses the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and constructivist methods in social science education. It outlines key aspects of constructivism, including active student involvement, democratic and interactive environments, and the teacher facilitating learning. The role of ICT is also examined, noting how tools like projectors, audiovisuals, and online resources can support project-based, experiential learning in social studies. The conclusion advocates for ICT-based and constructivist approaches as both being student-centered methods that encourage autonomy and responsibility.
This document summarizes a study that examined the effect of using web applications in college classrooms on teaching, learning, and academic performance among female students in Saudi Arabia. The study found that female students were more interested in learning and performed better when using web applications like Google Apps in the classroom during and after classes. These applications provided an effective way to manage educational activities inside and outside the classroom for both teachers and students. The study concluded that web applications can help promote the classroom learning environment.
Morpheus UNIMAS: Strengthening Student Engagement in Blended Learning Environ...Kee-Man Chuah
Chapter 7 of the book "Blended and Flipped Learning: Case Studies In Malaysian HEIs". This chapter focuses on the use of UNIMAS Learning Management System known as Morpheus to engage the students further.
Impact of lecture method on students learning in islamic study at secondary l...Zaffar Ali
This document provides an overview of a research synopsis on the impact of lecture methods on student learning in Islamic studies at the secondary level in Faiz Ganj, Pakistan. The 3-sentence summary is:
The study aims to analyze the current practices of using lecture methods and school environments to strengthen student learning in secondary schools in Faiz Ganj. It will examine perceptions of teachers, head teachers, and students on the purpose and processes of school environments and the challenges of implementing lecture methods. The justification for the research is the need to improve education quality and equip students with 21st century skills through effective use of lecture methods and technological school environments.
A Study of the Effect of Online Learning Apps on School Pupils in the Chennai...PugalendhiR
1. The document discusses a study on the effect of online learning apps on school pupils in Chennai, India during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. A survey was conducted among 146 students to understand their usage of online learning apps, video meeting apps, and social networking sites.
3. The results showed that BYJU's was the most used online learning app by 27% of students. Zoom was the most used video meeting app by 25% of students. Twiducate was the most used social networking site.
The purposes of this study were: i) Developing strategic management of
education and training online tutorial; ii) Testing the feasibility of strategic
management of education and training online tutorial; iii) Finding out the
obstacles in strategic management of education and training online tutorial
development process; and iv) Finding the solutions in overcoming obstacles
in developing strategic management of education and training online tutorial.
This developmental research used the analysis, design, development,
implementation, and evaluation (ADDIE) model and involved second year
students of the faculty of teacher training and education in the Kupang
Region, Indonesia. The instruments used in this study were: i) Validation
guidelines for online tutorial material and supporting instruments; ii)
Students’ self-directed learning questionnaire; and iii) Online tutorial
formative test questions. Data analysis used descriptive and inferential
statistical test. The results show that the online tutorial: i) Fulfilled the aspect
of validity in the excellent category; ii) Fulfilled the effectiveness aspect in
the good category; iii) Limitations of the source, difficulties in compacting
the content of material and developing discussion questions are the obstacles
in developing the online tutorial; and iv) The solutions are (utilize
Universitas Terbuka (UT)'s open educational resources (OER), make
concept maps, and keep practicing to make question samples and consult the
questions made to the experts).
WEB-CONFERENCING AND STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN SCIENCE(title defense).pptxsharon veloso
1. The study examines the effect of integrating web-conferencing on students' engagement in science and academic performance during distance learning due to the pandemic.
2. A survey will be conducted on students before and after using web-conferencing to determine differences in engagement levels. Engagement levels will also be analyzed based on student sex and device used.
3. The study aims to provide guidance to teachers on promoting student engagement through technology and improve student outcomes in science.
1. Educational technology plays an important role in 21st century education by making learning student-centered, collaborative, and context-based. Technology allows students to research using the internet and develop valuable skills, while teachers must cultivate student interest and curiosity through real-world applications of knowledge.
2. Cooperative learning in small groups allows students to share strengths, develop weaker skills, and improve subject understanding through numerous engaging activities. Creating a safe and challenging environment where all can contribute to clearly defined tasks supports collaborative learning.
3. Context-based assessments replicate real-world experiences and help align learning goals and standards to curriculum. They bring relevance to learning and help students relate to the world, while formative feedback aids educators
This study proposes to present a sample design of a flipped learning instructional model for teaching Islamic Studies course at an Indonesian higher education institution. A bottom-up flipped learning model was developed in this study, based on Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. A Learning Management System (LMS), Schoology, was employed as a platform to share pre-class video lectures for student learning activities outside-of-class. Three main activities proposed by the researchers outside of the class activities, namely, Watching, Summarizing, and Notetaking (WSN), whereas give and take conversation is the main class activity. This study implies that the bottom-up flipped learning model could potentially be implemented for teaching Islamic studies course in Indonesian higher education institutions, with the aim of fostering students' highest level of cognitive domains and independent learning skills. This study has implications for the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education and the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia or policymakers to consider the flipped classroom as a contemporary teaching model for teaching Islamic studies course and other subjects at any in Indonesian higher education institutions.
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Active learning in higher education 2012-kassens-noor-9-21
1. Active Learning in Higher Education
http://alh.sagepub.com/
Twitter as a teaching practice to enhance active and informal learning in higher
education: The case of sustainable tweets
Eva Kassens-Noor
Active Learning in Higher Education 2012 13: 9
DOI: 10.1177/1469787411429190
The online version of this article can be found at:
http://alh.sagepub.com/content/13/1/9
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3. 10 Active Learning in Higher Education 13(1)
apply knowledge through engagement (Bonwell and Eison, 1991; McKinney and Heyl, 2008;
Meyers and Jones, 1993). While students actively participate in multiple learning contexts, their
learning evolves within formal and informal settings (Greenhow et al., 2009). Informal learning is
a course-related activity outside the classroom that centers around students’ self-directed and inde-
pendent learning activities including peer-to-peer interactions (Aspden and Thorpe, 2009;
Jamieson, 2009). In particular, networking is considered an informal learning strategy (Marsick
and Watkins, 1990). Based on empirical evidence from MBA students, Yang and Lu (2001) suggest
that informal learning ought to be an essential component in education, because it enhances aca-
demic performance. As ‘non-classroom, disciplinary-based facilities’ (Jamieson, 2009: 20) for
informal student learning activities continue to decrease, Jamieson (2009) highlights the need to
create outside-of-class options for students to interact.
With the advent of Web 2.0 applications, cyberspace has offered new communication spaces for
informal and active learning activities and also altered how information is transmitted among stu-
dents. Hicks and Graber (2010: 627) hypothesize that Web 2.0 might have created a different
‘learning and information reality’ compared with the traditional reflective and collaborative dis-
course. Therefore, they encourage research into these technologies in order to inform higher educa-
tion teaching practices about how instructors can design and use these new web tools.
A brief introduction to Twitter, microblogs and Web 2.0
Web 2.0 refers to a variety of web-enabled applications built on open source and driven by user-
generated and user-manipulated content. The most frequently used Web 2.0 applications include
wikis (Wikipedia.org), podcasts (youtube.com), blogs (blogspot.com), and social networking sites
(facebook.com, Twitter.com). Especially in recent years, social networking sites have seen an
explosive growth as a way of communication (Fox et al., 2009). At the end of 2009, about 19% of
Internet users logged into social networking sites to bring their friends up to date or to keep
informed about their friends’ lives. Also in 2009, the number of users on social networking sites
tripled (Fox et al., 2009). This explosive growth trend continued throughout 2010 (Borasky, 2010).
As a free Web 2.0 application, Twitter has become a popular microblogging tool and social
networking website among younger generations (Java et al., 2007; McFedries, 2007). Since
Twitter’s inauguration in 2006, this online community has seen a steep rise in users, especially
those under 34 years old (Fox et al., 2009). Through Twitter, people communicate by exchanging
quick, frequent, and short messages of up to 140 characters in length. These are called tweets and
belong to the group of microblogs (Stevens, 2008). Twitter community members can post their
tweets directly on their own Twitter website via mobile phone, email, and instant messaging. At the
end of 2009, 65 million people used Twitter around the globe, a 14-fold increase since early in
2008 (ComScore, 2010). Most tweeters reside in North America, Europe, and Asia (Java et al.,
2007). Usually, tweeters provide updates on their current status, as Twitter was designed to briefly
answer the question: ‘What are you doing?’ (Twitter, 2010). Users can also post links to pictures,
more expansive blogs, and other websites (Java et al., 2007).
Twitter in higher education
Hannay and Fretwell (2011) predict that Web 2.0 applications will soon be taken up by universi-
ties and suggest these technologies will have implications for the academic workplace; students
will demand that faculty members communicate digitally, via instant messaging, Twitter and
other technologies. Similarly, companies will expect their recruits, our graduates, to be versed in
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4. Kassens-Noor 11
social media technologies (Wankel, 2009). It is unsurprising, then, that we, as educators, are being
encouraged to use Twitter to enable interactivity, excite learners, and foster greater student
participation.
Responding to this challenge, educators in higher education have started to experiment with
Twitter in the hope students seize the opportunity to interact more frequently, engage more thought-
fully, and foster learning inside and beyond the classroom (Grosseck and Holotescu, 2008; Junco
et al., 2011; Perez, 2009; Schroeder et al., 2010). Establishing five social media literacies, namely
attention, participation, collaboration, network awareness, and critical consumption, Rheingold
(2010) emphasizes the need for Twitter to be a valuable communication tool, in contrast to Twitter’s
potential pitfall of being a mere distraction (Wankel, 2009). Ultimately, Twitter can be a powerful
collaboration tool (Corbeil and Corbeil, 2011; Rheingold, 2010). Summarizing, Reuben (2008)
emphasizes the tremendous potential Twitter could play in education, but acknowledges that no
one has found the right niche just yet.
Twitter as an instant feedback tool during class
Microblogging as a way to enhance student learning has a substantial impact within class settings
(Ebner, 2009; Ebner et al., 2010); accordingly faculty have primarily experimented with Twitter in
classrooms (Young, 2009). Most of these experiments have focused on Twitter as an in-class instant
feedback tool between teachers and students. For example, Dunlap and Lowenthal (2009) analyzed
the use of Twitter in online courses; DeCosta et al. (2010) looked at Twitter as a tool for student–
teacher communication; Parry (2008) identified 13 ways in which Twitter can be used during class;
and Croxall (2010) found that Twitter enables frequent class discussions. This ‘live-tweeting’
encourages careful listening, paying close attention, gathering information, and multi-tasking
(Wankel, 2009).
Another form of using Twitter is for student–student communication outside the classroom yet
within a formal class-setting. Twibes, entire classes that form Twitter groups, spread information
in real time; one example is field trips, during which participants tweeted classmates who remained
at the university (Richardson, 2009; Rogers-Estable, 2009). Within classroom settings, Twitter has
been primarily used as an instant feedback tool for student–teacher communication and is in the
early stages of exploration for student–student interaction.
Twitter as a learning tool
The e-learning community increasingly has looked to social networks as tools for creating and
sharing knowledge (Grosseck and Holotescu, 2008; Huberman et al., 2008). In particular, micro-
blogging is a new form of communication that can support informal learning beyond classrooms
(Ebner et al., 2010). Twitter can support students’ informal learning activities (Aspden and Thorpe,
2009). It can also be an active learning tool (Cherney, 2008) that promotes connections with real-
life learning, thereby encouraging critical reflection and fostering enhanced understanding
(Bonwell and Eison, 1991).
One of the few empirical studies exploring the effects of Twitter on college students was con-
ducted by Junco et al. (2011) with 125 pre-health majors. Splitting the students into two sections,
the researchers found that Twitter had a positive impact on both student engagement and grades.
Owing to the use of Twitter, class conversations were extended beyond sessions, students more
easily and more readily displayed openness about feelings and their own shortcomings, more
cross-communication took place, and unlikely interpersonal relationships were forged based on
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5. 12 Active Learning in Higher Education 13(1)
shared values and interests. In short, Twitter catalyzed connections more quickly than classroom
discussions. Furthermore, instructor–student communication was improved when Twitter provided
a comfortable platform for asking deeply probing questions.
Purpose of the study and research questions
This evolving stream of literature supports three conclusions about Twitter. First, all instructors
who have experimented with Twitter agree that it can have a positive impact on engagement.
Second, studies have focused almost exclusively on Twitter used as an instant feedback tool inside
the classroom. Third, scholars suggest Twitter holds potential as a powerful learning tool that can
readily transmit knowledge, inform learners, and extend beyond individuals to their social
networks.
Despite a multitude of websites suggesting the use of Twitter in academic settings and advising
on how to use the Web 2.0 tool (Parry, 2008; Perez, 2009; Reuben, 2008), there are very few
empirical studies that actually support this advice. In particular, studies have yet to examine quali-
tatively the effect of using Twitter beyond the classroom as an active and informal learning tool
focused on peer-to-peer interactions.
Therefore, the goal of this study is to stimulate scholarly discussion about Twitter as an active,
informal, outside of class, peer-to-peer interaction tool that aids the in-class learning process. This
study is an exploration of ways in which today’s students apply, create, and retain knowledge when
using Twitter compared with more traditional approaches to learning. In this study, traditional
approaches are defined as individual homework assignments and in-class discussion. The research
questions that ultimately drive this study are ‘Does the use of Twitter aid students in learning a
particular subject matter? And, if so, in which learning contexts does Twitter offer advantages over
more traditional teaching methods?’
Methodology
This methodology section is divided into three sections. The first introduces the study participants.
The second explains the study’s design and implementation procedure. The third elaborates on
measures and analysis.
Participants
The Twitter experiment ran in a Midwestern research tier I university class, in which students grap-
ple with how urban planners can create sustainable and climate-resilient cities. Between 25 March
2010 and 22 April 2010 (Earth Day, a day during which people worldwide inspire awareness and
learn to protect the natural environment), 15 students participated in the study; eight were upper-
level undergraduates and seven were graduate students. The students’ grade point average (GPA)
was 3.58 and their age averaged at 23.65 years. As a cross-disciplinary class, the students majored
in urban planning, construction management, and environmental studies.
Prior to the class, five students had used Twitter, three of them rarely and two on a weekly basis.
Their reasons for using Twitter were primarily to receive news updates, to stay in touch with
friends, and to gather information about jobs. Furthermore, two students indicated their interest in
celebrities.
Prior to the start of the study, the experiment was deemed as expedited via the instructor’s insti-
tutional review board (IRB). The IRB is an appointed committee acting independently and
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6. Kassens-Noor 13
Table 1. Group characteristics
Student characteristics Twitter Traditional (diary and discussion)
Active participants/Total 6/7 6/8
Undergraduates/Graduates 4/2 4/2
Average GPA 3.57 3.59
Age 23.3 24
Time spent on exercise 2 hours 1 hour 40 min + 30 min discussion
ethically to protect the rights and welfare of human research subjects. Fourteen students provided
informed consent to release the findings of this study. The student who did not want to participate
in the study was excluded from the evaluation, and this student’s contributions to the study have
been destroyed. In the course of the study, two students did not turn in their assignments. Hence
both were deemed as non-active participants and excluded from the evaluation of the study. To
ensure confidentiality, the students who took part were asked to adopt code names for the exercise,
such as ‘Captain Planet’, or ‘Earthability’, and keep their diaries and new Twitter accounts exclu-
sively under these code names. Thereby, the collected data could not be associated with any one
student and any potential teacher–student power relationship bias was eliminated.
As part of the course, students were asked to identify unsustainable practices in cities and suggest
remedies. Divided in groups, one group would use Twitter to create and exchange information, while
the other group would keep a personal diary and discuss their entries once among the group members
towards the end of the course (a third option, to write an individual essay, was not selected by any of
the students). In the end, a quiz would indicate which group had retained more knowledge.
Design and procedure
Students were offered three choices to complete their sustainability assignment: (1) the ‘Twitter
group’ would use Twitter as their only communication mechanism, (2) the ‘traditional group’
would have one in-class discussion and keep individual diaries, (3) the ‘essay group’ would write
5,000 words on unsustainable practices and their remedies. No student chose the third option. The
assignment was a for-credit exercise. To avoid the potential bias of a student–teacher power rela-
tionship, the students received full credit for the exercise if either the Twitter assignment or the
traditional assignment was completed on time.
The Twitter group and the traditional group show comparable group characteristics (Table 1).
Active participants provided informed consent to make the results of this study public and regularly
produced Twitter or diary entries. After the exclusion of the two non-active participants, each group
had an equal number of students: four undergraduate and two graduate students. The average GPAs
in the two groups were almost identical, and there was only a slight difference in their average ages.
Data from five sources were collected during the experiment: surveys, tweets, diaries, a group
discussion, and a pop-quiz. The surveys were given to all students in-class before the study exer-
cise began (14 January 2010), asking them to report whether they had used Twitter and, if so, for
what purpose. After the study (22 April 2010), the Twitter group was required to hand in printouts
of all their tweets and re-tweets (answers to tweets) made during the study. On the same day, the
traditional group had to hand in their diaries and hold a team discussion about their diaries in class.
This discussion was audio-recorded and the tape was transcribed by a third person, who did not
know the students. The 30-minute quiz was given to students on 27 April 2010. The in-class quiz
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7. 14 Active Learning in Higher Education 13(1)
Table 2. Extract from diary instruction sheet
Date Unsustainable practice Remedy
first asked students about their demographics: which group they belonged to, their current under-
graduate or graduate year, the time they had spent on the exercise, their GPA, and their age. The
second part of the quiz asked students to recall an unsustainable practice and potential remedies
they had explored in their respective groups. To avoid potential bias in this knowledge-retention
exercise, students were not informed about the quiz beforehand.
The sustainability assignment was introduced to all students during an in-class presentation on
18 March 2010; handouts further clarified instructions for the assignment to the two groups. One
email reminder to continue their diaries and to keep posting tweets was sent (1 April 2010) a week
after the exercise started.
Starting on 25 March 2010, the Twitter group was instructed to post a tweet whenever they
found an unsustainable practice in daily life (for example, buying a paper cup) and suggest a rem-
edy (for example, bringing their own reusable cup to buy coffee).
Twitter rules
•• Each new tweet has to briefly describe an unsustainable practice and suggest a remedy.
•• Each answer to a tweet has to either add an additional remedy or refute that the previous
tweet contains an unsustainable practice.
•• Tweet daily (if possible multiple times – as soon as you identify a practice/remedy).
The Twitter group members were not allowed to discuss their tweets outside the online forum. For
communication and evaluation purposes, each of the Twitter group participants joined the course
leader’s Twitter list called ‘the sustainable city’ under their code names. Prior to the start of the
project, the students were informed that the instructor would not interfere or add to the knowledge
application and creation exercise unless the students were posting inappropriate tweets.
Also starting on 25 March 2010, the traditional group members were instructed to keep a daily
diary according to Table 2.
The students discussed their diary entries within their ‘traditional group’ during class time on 22
April 2010. A time slot of 30 minutes was allotted for discussion while the Twitter group left the
classroom.
Measures and analysis
All collected material was tracked, examined, and evaluated. Knowledge application and creation
were qualitatively assessed through content analysis of four sources: tweets, diaries, surveys, and
the transcript of the team discussion among the diary-keeping students. Knowledge retention was
qualitatively assessed through content analysis of the in-class pop quiz.
Scoring and coding were conducted after the end of the study with various cross-checks. First,
the course leader coded the tweets by key words, pairing the unsustainable practices with their
remedies. Then, the instructor identified all students who noted the same unsustainable practice
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8. Kassens-Noor 15
Table 3. Traditional and Twitter participation
Expected Total Average
Baseline Entries per day per person per person per day
Diary entries 174 131 4.5 21.8 0.75
Tweets 174 88 3 14.7 0.5
and the same remedies. The identical coding procedure was applied to the diary entries. Thereafter,
the transcript was coded and cross-compared with the diary entries, marking similar and different
unsustainable practices and their remedies. Finally, the quiz was coded according to the same pro-
cedure. A second coder independently applied the same methodology; discrepancies were dis-
cussed and mutually agreed upon.
Results
The results are split in two sections: the first reports on knowledge creation, the second reports on
knowledge retention. The distinction between the two is important, because they measure different
outcomes of the learning process. Whereas the former focuses on the communicative advantages
Twitter may offer as an instant tool and readily available database, the latter shows which teaching
practice has the potential for long-term recollection of the created and shared ideas. Before launch-
ing into the results sections, a brief comparison between the two groups is necessary in regards to
participation and knowledge comprehension.
Both groups showed a good understanding of the content taught in class: the unsustainable
practices and their remedies. Throughout the exercise, the students applied the knowledge they had
learned during class and applied it faultlessly via Twitter, diaries, and in the team discussion.
Both groups frequently tweeted or kept their diaries, but both groups participated less than
expected (Table 3). The baseline of 174 entries represents the minimum number of expected entries
(29 days × 6 student entries) per group, in which all students had followed the instructions by
tweeting at least daily or making at least one diary entry per day.
Even though the traditional students made more entries than the Twitter students (Table 3), the
Twitter students reported a higher amount of time spent on their entries than the traditional stu-
dents; while students reported to have spent two hours on average on the Twitter exercise, the tra-
ditional group reported 10 minutes more: 1 hour 40 minutes for their diary entries and the 30-minute
discussion.
Knowledge creation
The Twitter group found more unsustainable practices and found more remedies per identified
practice. Overall, the Twitter students identified 64 unsustainable practices with 65 remedies
through their tweets. In contrast, the traditional group found 10 fewer unsustainable practices, but
gave a variety of remedies per identified practice, totaling 70 remedies. For example, the Twitter
group identified as an unsustainable practice that individuals drove cars, and suggested one rem-
edy: riding a bike. In contrast, the traditional group found the same unsustainable practice (an
individual driving a car), but identified seven remedies to the identified unsustainable practice:
car-sharing, transit (using public transport), using hybrid cars, collating trips by car, cycling, walk-
ing, and using more energy-efficient air travel.
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9. 16 Active Learning in Higher Education 13(1)
For the traditional group, the venue to share their individual work and discuss their diaries was
the in-class meeting on 22 April 2010. During the discussion, the traditional group managed to
analyze 28 unsustainable practices (~55% of all unsustainable practices created by the entire
group) including various remedies.
Knowledge retention
The traditional group reported on average 10 unsustainable practices including remedies during the
pop quiz. On average, 70% of these practices were those created by themselves, which means the
students had either reported those unsustainable practices and remedies in their own diaries or
invented new ones during the quiz. The other 30% of reported unsustainable practices and reme-
dies were those discussed during the 30-minute in-class meeting.
The Twitter students reported fewer unsustainable practices and remedies than the traditional group.
On average, they reported 7.6 unsustainable practices with remedies during the quiz. In contrast with
the traditional group, the Twitter students remembered over 60% of the unsustainable practices and
remedies that others had created on Twitter, while only 40% were from their own source of ideas.
Discussion of Twitter and traditional group activity
Knowledge creation
The following interpretations might explain why (1) the Twitter group found more unsustainable
practices with matching remedies than the traditional group and (2) why the traditional group
reported a variety of remedies per identified practice, but found overall fewer unsustainable prac-
tices than the Twitter group.
(1) The traditional group found fewer unsustainable practices, because no communication among
the students took place during the collection of ideas. Consecutively, the same unsustainable practice
was identified multiple times by different members of the traditional group; in their diaries, they
reported 18 unsustainable practices at least twice. In contrast, the Twitter group only mentioned the
same unsustainable practice eight times. This interpretation supports the findings of Rheingold (2010)
and Richardson (2009) that Twitter is a powerful collaboration tool between students. Additionally,
the comparative nature of the study suggests that Twitter is better suited for creating and sharing large
amounts of information compared with traditional teaching methods. A further advantage Twitter
provides is tracking the tweets by time and date automatically; it ensured continuous participation
throughout the entire month, which may also have contributed to the greater number of unsustainable
practices identified. In contrast, the traditional students could have completed their diaries the day
before their assignment was due or might have thought about the exercise only on a weekly basis.
Because both groups presented information equivalent in quality, this suggests Twitter is also useful
for informal out-of-classroom assignments, just like other microblogging tools (Ebner et al., 2010).
(2) The traditional group created more remedies per identified practice, because there was no
character limit for diary entries. In contrast, the Twitter group had to adhere to the 140 characters
per tweet (Figure 1). For multiple remedies, students would have had to start a new tweet.
Starting new tweets might have been a barrier for reflective thinking (no student tweeted twice
within a short time frame or even within the same day). The multitude of remedies created by the
diary-keeping students suggests that traditional teaching practices allowed for more in-depth think-
ing and self-reflective learning because diaries did not create artificial writing barriers. While
Twitter can be an active learning tool (Cherney, 2008), tweets seem to defeat an essential attribute
for active learning, because tweeters do not have ‘space to think’.
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10. Kassens-Noor 17
Figure 1. Extract from the sustainably city Twitter site (Source: http://Twitter.com/#/list/ekassens/the-
sustainable-city)
Twitter showed another pitfall in comparison with interactive face-to-face discussions. During
the traditional group meeting, students offered knowledge that was not part of the exercise per se.
The student conversation shown in Table 4 exemplifies this finding. As this extract of the tran-
scribed discussion meeting shows, because one student explained the reason for packaged food
(sanitary purposes), all students in the traditional group knew about that reason after the discus-
sion. While the same discussion came up in the Twitter group (fast food packaging) with the same
remedies (do not eat at all, or minimum packaging), none of the students explained why packag-
ing was necessary.
Knowledge retention
The Twitter students reported a much higher percentage of team-created solutions than the
traditional group in the pop quiz. There are multiple explanations for the discrepancy in
outcomes.
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11. 18 Active Learning in Higher Education 13(1)
Table 4. Extract from traditional group discussion
Participant A: Another thing that really upsets me, if you ever go get fast food, everything is packaged. It
comes in a bag. The food is wrapped.
Participant B: Yes
Participant A: The plastic straw is wrapped, the plastic fork is wrapped. It’s like it’s ridiculous. So, my
remedy was to stop eating fast food, because it’s bad for you anyway.
Participant C: But then, if we like, . . ., I’ll just ask them for stuff without the bag.
Participant B: Will they give you that?
Participant D: Yeah, well I kinda force them to. They’re like ‘are you sure?’ [laughter]
Participant D: Yeah, I do the same thing in other food stores.
Participant E: The one thing about the, sorry, real quick, about the fast food is like, I think they have to
do that for sanitary purposes.
Table 5. Extracts from James Bond’s diary
Date Unsustainable practice Remedy
25 Mar I drove my car to school today. Ride the bus or ride my bike.
3 Apr I went to Cirque du Solei today Provide obvious recycle bins at the
and there were hundreds of Breslin center.
recyclable cups just getting thrown
in the trash or left on the ground.
12 Apr My roommate left the light on in Turn off the light when one leaves.
the hallway all day while nobody
was home.
First, continuous tweeting fosters team communication and prolonged interactive engagement in
the learning process. This combination enhances the understanding of the team-created unsustainable
practices and remedies. Therefore, the tweeters remembered more solutions that were jointly created
on Twitter. This interpretation would support the findings of Aspen and Thorpe (2009), who posit that
Twitter can be a powerful active learning tool.
Second, the diary format, as individual work, is intrinsically self-reflective (Table 5). Therefore,
traditional students might have primarily recalled their own ideas. This interpretation would support
the idea that self-reflection is encouraged more strongly in diaries than on Twitter. This outcome sup-
ports evidence found during the knowledge creation exercise of this study: Twitter may be superior
in gathering the amount of information, but is less powerful at fostering self-reflective thinking.
Third, because only half of the overall unsustainable practices identified were discussed during
the traditional group meeting, the traditional students were more likely to report from their diaries.
In contrast, through Twitter, gathering of information was more easily facilitated, as also suggested
by Wankel (2009).
These three reasons, however, do not explain why traditional students seemed to have retained
overall more knowledge about sustainable lifestyles than Twitter students (10 vs 7.6 unsustainable
practices including remedies identified in the test), especially given that the Twitter group could
draw from a larger pool of existing ideas. This result, collapsed to a single assignment, is in con-
trast to Junco et al.’s (2011) findings of Twitter’s positive impact on grades. One possible explana-
tion is that the traditional group had the chance to share their knowledge shortly before the test
during their scheduled discussion session, whereas the Twitter group probably did not reread all
tweets shortly before the quiz.
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12. Kassens-Noor 19
Conclusions
This exploratory study filled some knowledge gaps in the largely unexplored Twitter territory. Twitter
as an active, informal learning tool has some distinct advantages and disadvantages over traditional
team work. The advantages lie in that Twitter can foster the combined knowledge creation of a group
better than individuals’ diaries and discussion, because Twitter facilitates sharing of ideas beyond the
classroom via an online platform that allows readily available access at random times to continue
such discussion. The disadvantages of Twitter lie in constraining critical thinking and self-reflection
because of the tweets’ character limit. As in previous studies (DeCosta et al., 2010; Dunlap and
Lowenthal, 2009), Twitter had a positive impact on student learning, because instantaneous peer-to-
peer communication via Twitter enhanced understanding of unsustainable practices and remedies.
Twitter, like other microblogging tools (Ebner et al., 2010), also supports informal learning. In con-
trast to Junco et al. (2011), this study contradicts the finding that students using Twitter more easily
and more readily displayed openness about feelings and their own shortcomings. This study instead
suggests that the diary-keeping students showed a stronger display of self-reflection: more students
identified their own flaws, whereas Twitter students only identified faults of others.
This study has several limitations. First, the small sample size limits the generalizability of
results. Having six students in each of the groups only allowed for a glimpse into the advantages
and disadvantages Twitter could provide to the learning community. Second, the ways in which
this study measured knowledge application, creation, and retention are clearly limited. All
assessment methods contain obvious biases, because knowledge application, creation and reten-
tion are not equivalent to writing in diaries or on Twitter nor to recalling facts in a quiz. As prox-
ies though, the five sources combined offer important lessons on the value of using Twitter as a
new teaching practice. Third, the study stretched only over one month. Given these limitations,
future research should sample a larger study group, observe the students’ knowledge creation
and application over longer periods of time, and comparatively apply both teaching practices to
a variety of topics in order to provide further insights into the benefits and pitfalls of Twitter.
While most researchers have argued that Twitter can encourage creativity and stimulate conver-
sation and collaboration, research is still in its infant stages in exploring the ‘different approaches
to teaching and learning . . . in order to take advantage of the potential of digital media and Web
2.0 applications’ that Hicks and Graber (2010: 627) suggest exist. Despite the small sample size,
this work offers valuable insights into the applicability and usability of Twitter as a teaching prac-
tice. As an informal, active, outside the classroom tool, Twitter can be a powerful teaching practice
to relate theoretical concepts to practical applications in everyday life.
As a first step, this study showed that the use of Twitter can display both sides of the coin as it
depends on the course content, the assignment task, and the instructor’s intent whether or not
Twitter is the right tool for learning aspects of the subject matter. So, in some contexts Twitter will
better aid students in learning a particular subject matter compared with more traditional teaching
methods, but in other contexts it would hinder them. If instructors intend to engage students on a
particular subject matter, bridging theory and practice while including real-world examples (linear
applicative learning), Twitter provides distinct advantages over the traditional individual home-
work assignments and in-class discussions. Offering a 24/7 available communication platform,
Twitter is a powerful tool in applying and creating ideas. In contrast, if the instructor intends to
foster critical, in-depth and self-reflective thinking among the students and their peers, this study
suggests Twitter is likely to be an unsuitable teaching practice for the class.
Assuming continuous growth of the social network, Twitter may become a phenomenon that
captures our millennial student generation. If wisely introduced by educators this tool could
become a powerful medium that extends beyond classrooms.
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13. 20 Active Learning in Higher Education 13(1)
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Professors Kathleen McKinney and Pat Crawford for their valuable feedback on earlier
drafts. I am also grateful to Professors Trixie Smith, Manuel Colunga, Janice Molloy, and Wen Li for helping
me think through the structure of this article. Furthermore, many thanks go to my students, without whom this
research would not have been possible.
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Biographical note
Eva Kassens-Noor is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, holding a joint appoint-
ment in the School of Planning, Design and Construction and the Global Urban Studies Program.
Her work primarily focuses on sustainability and urban planning. She received both her PhD
(Department of Urban Studies and Planning) and her SM (Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering), from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She completed her Dipl.-Ing.
degree at the University of Karlsruhe Fridericiana in Germany. Address: School of Planning
Design and Construction, Michigan State University, 201E Human Ecology, East Lansing,
Michigan 48823, USA. [email: ekn@msu.edu]
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