Presentation at eLCC 2014 conference, Breckenridge, CO. Using Twitter in higher ed courses. Presented by Donna Armelino & Janiece Kneppe Walter

2. 
Presented By:
Donna Armelino, Business Faculty &
Janiece Kneppe Walter, Early Childhood Ed Faculty
Red Rocks Community College
donna.armelino@rrcc.edu
janiece.kneppe@rrcc.edu
ELCC Conference
Breckenridge, CO
April 17, 2014

3. 
 Define Twitter
 Setup a free twitter account
 Learn best practices for using twitter in the
classroom
 Explore how Twitter is being used at RRCC
 Hands on Practice using Twitter here & now!
Goals for our Session:

4. 
Learn the Basics - Twitter.com
Twitter Lingo:
 Tweet – A message on Twitter (140 characters or less)
 Follow – When you subscribe to messages from another
individual.
 Followers – Individuals who subscribe to your tweets
 @ Reply – Message sent from one individual to another
 DM – Direct message from one person to another
 RT – Retweet a message that another person posted on Twitter.
 Hashtag – Allows a tweet to be located by topic
Learn the Basics

5. 
Anatomy of a Tweet
Source: Tech Social http://teksocial.com/socialblog/2013/6/17/the-anatomy-of-a-tweet-cheatsheet.html

6. 
Signing up for Twitter
To create an account:
1. Go to http://twitter.com and find the sign up box, or go directly to
https://twitter.com/signup.
2. Enter your full name, email address, and a password.
3. Click Sign up for Twitter.
4. On the next page, you can select a username (usernames are unique identifiers on Twitter) —
type your own or choose one we've suggested. We'll tell you if the username you want is
available.
5. Double-check your name, email address, password, and username.
6. Click Create my account.You may be asked to complete a Captcha to let us know that you're
human.
7. Twitter will send a confirmation email to the address you entered on sign up, click the link in
that email to confirm your email address and account.

7. 
Key Elements to note:
 I use my full name in my profile. This helps me to build a positive digital
footprint. Adding my picture lends credibility to my professional image. (Don‘t be an
‗Egghead!‘)
 My ―Twitter Handle‖ @JanieceKneppe is easy to remember and is a variation of my
name. Leave out your school from your twitter handle as you only want to create a handle
once (unless you want to set up more than one account!)
 In my bio, I mention a bit about what I do professionally. It is EXTREMELY important to
say what you do or teach as it helps people connect with you. If you teach grade 2 and
share that, there will be other grade 2 teachers specifically that will want to connect and
learn with you.
 Link to George Couros blog post about professional vs. private social media accounts
Setting up your Profile

8. 
Key elements to consider:
 Create a professional profile linked to your role at a program or institution
 Add a graphic that clearly identifies you. Consider adding a profile description so
followers can expect what kinds of information you will tweet about and share.
 Often times professional profiles like these use a specific hashtag to share information.
Alternative Profile Options

9. 
 Try tweeting throughout this session using one of the
following hashtags in your tweet:
 #elcc2014
 #Mar216FA13
 #ece102rrcc
 Tweet a comment about what you are learning, a photo, a
link to an interesting website or article…have FUN!!
 Hint: download Zite app (android or iTunes) to
search/link to articles on topics of interest.
Tweet this!

10. 
How we use Twitter
In our classes

11. 
Focus: Moving from Twitter Experiment
to Twitter Experience
Source: http://teachbytes.com/2013/03/25/22-ways-to-use-twitter-with-blooms-taxonomy/

12.  Twitter Facts in Business
 93% of marketers use social media in
business
 Over 200 million active members on
Twitter
 67% of Twitter users are far more
likely to buy from the brands they
follow on Twitter
 Over 90% say they follow businesses
on Twitter to get discounts and
promos.
 42% of Twitter users say they use Twitter
to learn about products and services.(
 70% name brand marketers view
social media advertising more
valuable
Application/Goals
 Goals
 Practical use of social media
 Business
 Consumer
 Create an interactive and
dynamic learning experience
for students
 Apply theory and explore
concepts with critical
analysis
Sources: http://socialmediatoday.com/stephaniefrasco/1770161/100-facts-figures-about-twitter-business

13. 
 Course Relevant to the Social Marketing (MAR 216 – Principles
of Marketing)
 Online environment (7 week course)
 Marketing-based activity creating a link to real-world use of
Twitter in business
The Setting

14.  Resources
 How to set up Twitter
 How to use hashtag
 Instructions to students
Tools

15. 
 Introduction to Twitter
http://www.slideshare.net/alextronic/an-introduction-
to-twitter-in-higher-education
 Course Links:
 http://www.slideshare.net/alextronic/an-introduction-to-
twitter-in-higher-education
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSbZ-
qTrifc&list=PLDjz50rCyX8JL_KM1qIfi4wm9tmB4rjHB
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h08SlngA2zk&list=PL
Djz50rCyX8JL_KM1qIfi4wm9tmB4rjHB
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0ZvYRU1Y5Y&list=
PLDjz50rCyX8JL_KM1qIfi4wm9tmB4rjHB
Tools: Links

16. 
 Guided students by a series of reminders
 Introduce and explain activity
 Current use (2a – polled students)
 Account set-up (2a – polled students)
 Step-by-step outline of Twitter activity, discussion
forum post, and explaining the marketing activity
 Twitter feeds on course homepage
 Twitter discussion link in Content section of course
 Follow-up with students who did not initially
participate / encourage and guide
Method

17. 
Method Time Table
Beginning Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 7 Ongoing
Introduce X X
Explain X
Set-up X
Privacy X
Twitter Activity X
Discussion Forums X X
Marketing Activity X X
Feeds X X
Discussion Link X X X X
Follow-up X

24. 
 Introduce and explain activity
 Account set-up in class with iPads
 Practice tweeting in class ―Describe an Orange.‖
 Weekly tweet prompts during class time related to
course content
 LOW Stakes grading (3 points for each week a student
tweets, 30 total points possible across the semester)
 Instructor Goal: familiarize students with Twitter as a
means to create a personal learning community
 Extension: join a formal twitter chat for professional
development. (i.e. #edchat, #kinderchat, etc.)
Using Twitter in ECE102

25. 
Your invitation to use
Twitter in your course
Create a hashtag just for your course. Encourage students to use this
hashtag if they find course-related items in different social media spaces or
elsewhere on the web. Make sure the hashtag is unique to your course.
Consider reviewing the posts and then sharing an item a week with the
entire class.
Why it works: Students are actively contributing to the conversation by
sharing resources and information they find rather than just reviewing the
content you have collected.

26. 
 Required a step-by-step process = ORGANIZATION
 Lots of follow up and coaching with students
 Directions
 Follow up to encourage them to tweet
 Confirmation that they were on track
 Technology glitches
WELL WORTH GETTING THROUGH!
Roadblocks

27. 
 Positive Attributes
 Created significant lead time to introduce and prepare
class for activity
 Incremental Step-By-Step Process (method outline)
 Participation with students
 Incredible tech support
Maximizing The Tool

28. 
 I think social media is one of the most important tools to
promote products and build customer loyalty, the social
network twitter is one of those tools. I didn’t have enough time
to contribute to the twitter discussion as I would’ve liked to,
but I do know that if you have a business or are marketing a
product, then twitter and blogging are great tools to use. I do
not use twitter because I am a reserved person and I don’t like
to twit about my life (I just don‘t think is that important).
However, in the world we live today businesses use it to
approach customers and inform them about products and
services.so, if I had a business or simply was seeking to
promote a company’s service then I would definitely use
twitter as a promotion tool. Thank you for introducing me to
twitter and highlighting its importance. -Kate
Student Feedback

29. 
 I actually did not participate in the Twitter
experiment, as I am quite leery about getting
involved in social media on a personal basis. On
that note, I found it interesting how right about the
same time there was a sort of firestorm on Twitter
regarding the Miss America pageant, with a lot of
both hateful and stupid remarks being tossed
around. -Anthony
Student Feedback

30. 
 About Twitter, it is hard for me to have an opinion about
the experience seeing that we had only one twitter
discussion feed. But I do understand that Twitter is
being used widely amongst companies and will
probably prove to be a significant factor in the coming
future. So yes I think you should continue doing the
experiment maybe try to start it earlier so that students
get more practice with it. Twitter was definitely
confusing at first, but that‘s coming from someone who
still thinks Facebook is confusing to use after 7 years of
using Facebook.
Take Care, Nickolas Anderson
Student Feedback

31. 
 Launch first in a
hybrid or classroom
format
 Poll students early in
the class about their
familiarity and use
 Assign points for
credit
Future Considerations

32. 
 I liked the Twitter experiment for a couple of reasons. I
really do think that when used correctly, Twitter can be a
powerful marketing and communication tool. For
frequent users, it's a quick and easy way to get or stay in
touch. Once some conversations were started, it was
much easier for me to respond to classmates via Twitter
than to log into D2L. My only disappointment- and
surprise, frankly- was that none of the other students
had experience with Twitter and they didn't seem
excited. Overall, I think it's worth sharing and exploring
with future classes. Hope this helps!
 Thanks again, Gemma Ganni
Student Feedback

33. Twitter for Educators: A Beginners Guide
Edutopia website - primarily K-12, but thought provoking
information that is adaptable for higher ed
Twitter Infographic - Social media use by higher educators
International Society for Technology in Education - primarily K-
12, but adaptable to higher ed – if this is what K-12 students are
being exposed to, why is higher education so much slower to adopt
these strategies?
More Resources: