The Use of Twitter in Large Lecture Courses: Do the Students See a Benefit?

Abstract

The purpose of this two-year quantitative study was to determine the usefulness of the micro-blogging tool Twitter in large classes for improving the students' sense of community and belonging. Three instructors of large classes were recruited to test the outcomes of using Twitter as a learning tool, one each from the Departments of Geography and Psychology, and the College of Nursing. Twitter was used as a learning tool to allow students to engage in discussion and ask questions in real time during class as well as outside of class. The method used by the authors included surveys that measured students' perception of their sense of community and belonging, their engagement with the Twitter portion of the course, and their thoughts on the use of Twitter for academic purposes in a higher-education classroom setting. Data about students' use of Twitter was further collected using the Twitter Archiving Google Spreadsheet tool. The authors conclude this study showed that Twitter, if integrated into the course and supported by instructor and/or assistants who are familiar with the use of Twitter, improved the sense of community reported by students.

Being knowledge, power and profession subordinates: Students' perceptions of Twitter for learning

“…yes, they did. The need for tutor's instructional support in modelling the activity has been confirmed here, in line with Ross, Banow and Yu (2015). Yet, one of the central themes for enabling student contribution was around student "ownership", just as Seale et al (2015, p. 547) reflect.…”

“…In a similarly critical manner, it has been argued that Twitter can bring no considerable difference in levels of student-reported learning engagement (Welch & Bonan-White, 2012). On the other hand, positive outcomes of Twitter use in HE learning are reported in various ways and in relation to particular learning contexts, for example: collaboration, information sharing and community building for distance learners who followed a particular hashtag (Ricoy & Feliz, 2016) , improved student sense of community (Ross, Banow & Yu, 2015), augmented content, such as linking course topics with current news and activities for use outside and inside large classes, albeit not for active discussion and feedback (Jacquemin, Smelser, & Bernot, 2014). In all the above cases that reported positive Twitter influence on student learning, the tutor/instructor's role is noted, signaling the necessity of highly supportive, interventionist roles of the tutor (e.g.…”

Computer-based technology and student engagement: a critical review of the literature

“…Studies pertaining to specific behavioral student engagement indicators also reveal mixed findings. For example, in studies where course-related Twitter use was voluntary, 45-91% of students reported using Twitter during the term (Hennessy et al, 2016;Junco et al, 2013;Ross, Banow, & Yu, 2015;Tiernan, 2014;Williams & Whiting, 2016), but only 30-36% reported making contributions to the course-specific Twitter page (Hennessy et al, 2016;Tiernan, 2014;Ross et al, 2015;Williams & Whiting, 2016). The study that reported a 91% participation rate was unique because the coursespecific Twitter page was accessible via a public link.…”

Use of Twitter across educational settings: a review of the literature

“…A number of students further report that Twitter's hashtag feature is highly effective in building these communities, as it allows them to build connections and feel as though they belong to the community (Bledsoe et al, 2014). Courses that include Twitter usage have been found to have a significantly stronger sense of a classroom community and comfort with peers than those without it (Clarke & Nelson, 2012;Rohr & Costello, 2015;Ross, Banow, & Yu, 2015;Smith & Tirumala, 2012;Wright et al, 2014). Participation in the community increased their engagement, and the meaningfulness of what the students were learning (Bull & Adams, 2012;Evans, 2014;West et al, 2015).…”