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This article examines student and teachers’ use and perceptions of Twitter, based on a mixed-method comparative approach. Participants (N=153) were education majors who used Twitter as a part of required coursework in their programs at two universities in Spain and the United States. The theoretical background covers research on international work carried out on Twitter as well as a brief overview of the introduction of technology in two educational national systems. Quantitative data were collected via a survey, while qualitative data were obtained from students’ reflective written texts. The majority of participants from both contexts perceived educational benefits to Twitter. However, their use of Twitter, and the nature of their perceptions of its educational value, appeared to differ in important ways. The U.S. participants’ longer and more frequent use of Twitter was accompanied by more positive beliefs regarding the educational relevance of Twitter. While many Spanish participants saw value in the use of Twitter to find and share information, U.S. students highlighted interactive and collaborative uses. The study uncovers some challenges for learning related to Twitter’s short format. In the conclusion section we discuss implications for learning and teaching in an age of ubiquitous social media. El presente artículo examina los usos y las percepciones de estudiantes y profesores en relación a Twitter a partir de una investigación comparada con metodologías mixtas. Los participantes (n=153) fueron alumnos de educación de dos universidades en España y EEUU que usaron Twitter como parte de una actividad del curso. El marco teórico abarca la investigación internacional sobre Twitter así como un breve repaso a la introducción de la tecnología en los dos sistemas educativos nacionales. Los datos cuantitativos se recogieron con un cuestionario mientras que los datos cualitativos se obtuvieron a través de los textos reflexivos escritos de los estudiantes. La mayoría de los participantes de los dos contextos percibieron los beneficios educativos de Twitter. Sin embargo, su uso de Twitter y la naturaleza de sus percepciones en relación a su valor educativo, difirió de maneras importantes. Los participantes de EEUU usaron Twitter por más tiempo y de manera más frecuente a la vez que demostraron creencias más positivas en relación a la relevancia educativa de Twitter. Mientras que los participantes españoles valoraron el uso de Twitter para encontrar y compartir información, los estudiantes americanos destacaron los usos para la interacción y la colaboración. El estudio destapa algunos retos del formato breve de Twitter para el aprendizaje. En las conclusiones discutimos las implicaciones para la enseñanza aprendizaje en la era de la ubicuidad de los medios sociales.

Matters of data privacy related to social media are increasingly relevant for educators as happenings such as the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal have attracted public attention. Many educators use social media for professional purposes, including with their students and should, therefore, be knowledgeable regarding data privacy issues that impact education. This research explores this issue from an interpretive paradigm based on a mixed‐methods approach derived from survey data from an international sample of 148 pre‐service teachers who were studying education courses at three universities. Data suggest that pre‐service teachers see both educational and distracting potential in social media, but lack knowledge regarding relevant policies and regulations, which reflects trends in the broader population. Attitudes toward educational social media use were not correlated with awareness of data privacy policies. However, comfort with companies’ use of personal and student data and faith in governments’ capacity to regulate social media companies were correlated. We discuss our findings in relation to the use of social media and related data privacy considerations and the need for data literacy training in teacher education programs. We include recommendations in light of the findings.

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This paper presents research focused on the educational experience of students using the microblogging platform Twitter for debate activities in three groups in different teacher education programmes at the University of the Balearic Islands, Spain. The implementation of this technology-based task in a face-to-face class was introduced as an innovative experience as a way of enhancing student learning and fostering participation in the context of formal learning. The educational objectives of these activities, besides working on the topics of the debate, were to empower student teachers' Personal Learning Environments, engage student participation and enhance their use of social media and mobile devices for learning. Student perceptions were assessed by means of a questionnaire completed by them at the end of the courses. Tweets related to the debate were also collected in order to obtain some statistical data on student participation. Data collected allowed the researchers to observe student teacher engagement with the use of Twitter for the debate activity and its impact on their learning and understanding of the debate topic. Results also showed positive perceptions towards the use of social media in education and students' willingness for future use, learning opportunities from Twitter and the use of mobile technology were also envisioned. Finally, conclusions argue the implications for practice of the current study and highlight some issues for further research, such as the exploration of new and innovative uses for teachers' professional development and the empowerment of new activities and habits in learning on the move.