Using Twitter to Promote Student Engagement

1. Jeff Freels :: @JeffFreels
Adjunct Instructor of History
Prince George’s Community College
Follow this presentation at: tinyurl.com/8xoyz58

2. Communication styles are changing
Short-form writing is a valuable skill
Only 8.3% of college teachers use it in the
classroom (Faculty Focus, 2010)
Twitter named the 2011 #1 Tool for Learning*
Source: Centre for Learning and
Performance Technologies, 2011.

3. Twitter is well-known, free to sign up
Accessible from any web- or text-enabled device
The 140-character limit challenges students
Source: Higdon et al., 2011.

4. Dunlap and Lowenthal (2009) use it in online
courses to enhance teaching presence
Junco, Heiberger and Loken (2011) found
evidence of improved student performance
My experience with it has been very positive

5. n of students % of class Average overall grade
Highly engaged 8 28.6% 84.1
Somewhat engaged 4 14.3% 80.0
Minimally engaged 5 17.9% 69.3
Non-participatory 11 39.3% 62.5
WHOLE CLASS 28 72.4

6. Decide how you want to use Twitter
Create a distinct Twitter account for each class
Prepare instructions and guidelines for students
Give students time to assimilate before starting

7. Mandatory usage :: 10 percent of their grade
Grade broken down into nine weekly periods
Sending out tweets for multiple purposes
Course reminders :: Answering student questions
In-class tweets :: After-class textbook searches
Retweets :: Targeted tweets

8. Teacher engagement sets the tone
Rapid response times
Near-constant availability
Ownership of a good smartphone 

9. Questions?
Jeff Freels
Email: freelsjx@pgcc.edu
Twitter: @JeffFreels