Twittaptation: Twitter Techniques 1

RUNNING HEAD: TWITTAPTATION: TWITTER TECHNIQUES

Twittaptation: Twitter Techniques for Learning Professionals

Jennipher Murphy, Allisun O’Connell & Erica Johnson

California State University, East Bay

EDUI 6707 Final Project

August 28, 2009

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Introduction

The explosive growth of Twitter as a social networking tool has provided a relatively

simple way for individuals to connect with a worldwide community. It has grown into a powerful

communication tool for disseminating information to a large group of users while building

relationships in communities with similar interests. Although many social networking platforms

offer opportunities for collaboration and interaction, a unique feature of Twitter is that it allows

for live and brief updates that may not need an entire blog post or the effort of an instant message

or email (Bhargava, 2007). The result is that the user has a real-time avenue for sharing brief

informational updates, such as news links or new blog posts, within both professional and

personal communities. Twitter feeds can contain links, text, graphics, and video providing a way

to share information in a variety of formats, with a group of users or followers, without needing

to use email or to direct users to a specific website.

Twitter has proven to be a valuable tool for building Online Learning Communities

(OLC) which offers the exploration of ideas, opportunities to apply and practice these ideas, and

the sharing of resources within the community (Khalsa, D. & Hildreth, S. 2000). Think about

your work environment and all of the different communities that you come in contact with each

day and how you communicate with each other by phone, email, F2F meetings or community

events. Community networks, once built only locally, have transcended into the global

environment with the advent of social networking tools like Twitter.

The ability to share information and instantaneously connect through a simple tweet

makes Twitter an attractive option for learning professionals in the training and teaching fields to

build online communities. Twitter is an excellent tool for teachers and trainers to enhance
 Twittaptation: Twitter Techniques 3

communication and facilitate online group work. This paper will explore these tools and

investigate the effective use of Twitter which rests on the strategic development of community

building, the implementation of Twitter techniques and important user considerations in learning

environments.

Getting Started With Twitter

Twitter is a micro blogging application which asks the question “What are you doing?”

with an answer in 140 characters or less. The results are of interest depending on the context,

topic or person posting the answer. Beyond simply keeping friends and family informed about

one’s life, Twitter has applications for politics, marketing, research, professional development,

networking, the news, personal learning environments, and education. Tweople follow

celebrities, professors, designers, musicians, athletes, politicians, authors, to name a few, and

more recently grass-roots political movements. Organizations such as Oxfam America,

Educause, the Exploratorium Museum and various universities have Twitter feeds to connect

with their followers and update them on events. If you are a new Twitter user there are several

concepts and terms to become familiar with in order to make sense of the tool and use it

effectively. Once you join Twitter and determine the topics you plan to tweet about, it is

important to consider the learning terminology and the tools needed to grow your professional

network and participate in online communities A detailed explanation of Twitter terms and

applications is shown in Appendix, Table 1.

Twitter For Trainers

Corporate trainers are increasingly employing the power of social media networks, such

as Twitter, to promote professional development and participate in professional online

communities. Whether one just wants to get training tips, announce an upcoming event, or share
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a useful link, Twitter has the capacity to deliver it in real time, in a variety of formats and on a

single platform. As with any new application, the user needs to manage their interaction within

the network and build momentum in order to succeed in creating social capital and benefit from

participation in online communities.

Social Networking Trends in Training

The advent of social networks has provided an opportunity for professionals to knit

together an online community of experts for collaboration and knowledge sharing. The training

field is no exception, with social networking tools increasingly being used to enhance trainings,

to build professional networks and share resources. Trends in corporate training indicate that self

published content is becoming increasingly important for learning, interacting and professional

networking (Bersin, 2008). Social networking trends predict that training organizations will

increasingly use social networking platforms for collaboration, interactive sessions and to deliver

information to participants (Abai, 2008). One of the major benefits of Twitter as an interaction

tool is that it enables individual trainers to communicate in real time with trainees and the larger

professional community. Active participation can also enhance professional presence in the

online environment by increasing visibility and directing traffic to professional blogs, published

articles and events.

The successful application of Twitter as a professional interaction tool for trainers

depends on context and audience (Mason, 2009). Twitter is seen as both a vehicle for

broadcasting information and a tool for relationship building. People can be motivated to follow

Twitter feeds based on factors like celebrity, brand loyalty, professional notoriety and expertise

or a personal connection. Twitter provides many opportunities to collaborate, share ideas and

build relationships within communities focused on a defined topic or event. As a trainer, it is

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important to utilize these applications for broadcasting events to a larger audience and cultivate

relationships within online learning communities. Trainers using Twitter can benefit from being

familiar with practical applications and effective techniques for accessing information and

finding relevant communities and topics as shown in Appendix, Table 1.

Twitter As A Training Tool

One of the most important applications of Twitter use, as a training tool, is to connect

with trainees in order to promote collaborative learning and foster discussion. Twitter enables the

trainer to provide tips, relevant links, and updates on events and to answer questions through

tweets or direct messaging (DM). It also serves as a channel for feedback and performance

evaluation during and after trainings. During events, Twitter can be used to network with

attendees and receive immediate feedback on presentations by organizing tweets around an

official hash tag for the conference itself. Another application of Twitter is connecting trainers

with experts in the field and sharing ideas within professional communities. As a research and

information gathering tool, Twitter is an effective way for trainers to learn what is happening in

the field and to follow current trends by using hash tags and tools to follow trending topics

within the Twitterverse.

During trainings, a trainer often uses group teamwork teaching strategies and team

coordination for training programs which can be facilitated through Twitter using several

techniques. Updates and important information can be shared with team members through

tweets, DM or tweetups and can be held for quick informal planning meetings and consultation.

In addition, trainers can prepare for training programs by consulting experts, directing

traffic to blogs and providing informational links. Important applications for corporate trainers

are in the effective use of Twitter as a training tool, to promote professional development and
 Twittaptation: Twitter Techniques 6

collaborate with teams. Furthermore, Twitter communication enables trainers to build social

capital quickly because of the frequent and instant communication compared to that of other

social media (Kitano, 2009).

Although many social networking platforms offer opportunities for collaboration and

interaction, a unique feature of Twitter is that it allows for live and brief updates that may not

need an entire blog post or the effort of an instant message or email (Bhargava, 2007). These

features of Twitter provide useful ways to reduce email traffic and gain wider exposure to

professional colleagues and clients. Professionals who use Twitter effectively can build social

capital, broadcast information and build relationships in online communities for collaboration

and professional development.

Twitter For Teachers

Twitter’s use in business, professional fields and communication has been very well

demonstrated, yet creative applications for the classroom are just beginning to emerge. Twitter’s

uses in education are wide-reaching, from communication and research, to assignments and

story-writing. Benefits of using Twitter in the classroom include increased social presence,

timely response to student issues, concise writing for an audience, and support for informal

learning. .

Twitter is an incredibly powerful tool to use for your own learning, and Nine Great

Reasons Why Teachers Should Use Twitter (Walker, 2009), presents ideas and use cases to

inspire the use of Twitter for professional development. Through the following resources and

ideas explored, teachers should be able to apply Twitter as a tool to design relevant instructional

experiences for students with clear expectations for participation. This focus is primarily in the

areas of communication, class projects, group work and research using Twitter.
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A Communication Tool

Explore how to keep your students informed, enhance social presence and build community,

foster reflection, gather feedback and connect with others using Twitter as a communication tool

in the classroom.

Class Updates. Update students and parents about changes to schedules, lesson plans,

field trips, assignments, and more. Twitter is especially powerful for this because it can be set up

as an SMS with tweets sent directly to (and composed from) cell phones, with the advantage of

not needing to know the recipient’s phone numbers (Belshaw, 2007). Similarly, school libraries

could use Twitter accounts to broadcast events, arrival of new books, announcements and field

students questions (Francoeur, 2007).

Enhance Social Presence. Twitter can be used to build social presence in the classroom

and “to build the culture of openness and to create closeness among students” (Melander, 2009),

but be sure to start using it early on to gain all the benefits (Melander, 2009).

Record thoughts and reflect. At any time throughout the class, learning can be

reflected upon and insights recorded. Groups can share thoughts about their process and update

members on progress in real time.

Gather feedback. Ask for feedback when one gets stuck thinking of the right word, needs a

synonymous term, or assistance with a decision or approach.

Dunlap and Lowenthal’s (2009) paper explained the following:

A student is reading something in the textbook and has a question about the chapter on

multimodal learning. She immediately tweets (i.e., posts) her question to the Twitter

community, and gets three responses within ten minutes) - two responses from classmates,
 Twittaptation: Twitter Techniques 8

and one from Joni (her professor). This leads to several subsequent posts, including comments

from two practicing professionals. (p. 3)

Connect with and learn from others. Students can connect up with a Twitter pen pal in

a school in another country. Have them ask questions to garner a global perspective like “Most

of the children in our class walk to school because so many live nearby, what is the most popular

form of transport in your class and why?” (Barrett, 2008).

Class Projects, Group Work & Research

There are many ideas in practice for using Twitter that can be customized to one’s personal

curriculum. What follows is an assortment of ideas culled from some great in-depth, must-read

resources for incorporating Twitter into research, group and project work.

1. Twenty-Five Interesting Ways to use Twitter in the Classroom (Barrett, n.d.),

2. 10 tips in Teaching with Twitter (Wheeler, 2009)

3. 100 Serious Twitter Tips for Academics (Gordon, 2009)

4. 50 Ways to use Twitter in the College Classroom (Online Colleges, 2009).

Gather Data. Twitter allows for up-to-date information to be obtained from one’s network

in real time and from real people. Personal opinion, life experience, facts related to one’s

profession – it’s all fair game. Twitter makes it possible to collect and collate student opinion by

creating a Twitter account dedicated to the topic, i.e. #H110recession and requesting students to

@H110recession when they state their opinion. Tip: Create and distribute graphical polls with

the tool Twitpoll.

Generate a problem-based learning assignment. Have students ask their network for

questions related to their studies, a challenge to pursue or direction on what topics to explore.
 Twittaptation: Twitter Techniques 9

Make sure to thank participants to increase relationship building and the social network (Barrett,

2008).

Monitor a topic. Twitter is a powerful news source for first-person grassroots movements

or larger media outlets and politicians. Follow key people in the issues you are studying and

topics using search.twitter.com or twitterfall.com. A good tip for the classroom is to display the

information coming in on the search in real time. There are many widgets for this, or it can be as

simple as following the RSS feed for that Twitter account. Encourage and help students to find a

professional, mentor, the news, citizen journalism, a word or phrase (Gordon, 2009).

Collaborative storytelling. Have each student contribute to a story using 140 characters

at a time which can be published to a wiki for further editing by groups.

Take on a role. Students take on the persona and role of a character in a book that the

class is reading, or a historical figure they are studying. Teachers could even have students

engage with each other on Twitter as these personas. A language arts example of this is given in

this article Where for art thou Twitter! (Marcinek, 2009).

There are numerous ways that Twitter can increase student-teacher interaction, facilitate

group learning and customize learning plans. Using the tool effectively also allows for the

opportunity of professional development and connecting with current trends in education.

More examples and evidence of Twitter empowering and enhancing learning communities can

be found on the web. Just type in the Google search engine “using Twitter professionally” and a

wide variety of support sites pops into the field.

Considerations

Thus far we have been discussing all the benefits of Twitter and how this tool can enhance the

professional and educational environment. However, there are a few things that should be
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considered before beginning to apply this social networking tool successfully in learning

communities.

Context

The first element to consider is the question that everyone considers before they begin

Twittering, “What are you doing?” The interpretation of this question varies by context, topic or

with the person doing the tweet. Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, says the question is meant to be

interpreted in different ways depending on the content that the reader brings to the feed;

“Someone who doesn’t know me will bring a different context to my updates than my mom”

(Phillips, P. 2008, p.1). Context is important to consider partly because globalization has

changed the context with which individuals interact in today’s online environment, it has

impacted the development of community networks. With the advent of the internet, online

communities are reaching across boundaries of culture, race and demographics to include a

variety of cultural variations and extending the learning and knowledge sharing. This

interpretation seems apparent, but how is the context different for a global tweet?

Each culture will approach this in different ways. Even the Tweet coming from the

context of an educational institution versus a corporate one could be interpreted differently,

affecting the effectiveness of the communication. Thus, context is critical to define at the

beginning of the application of Twitter in an OLC. If everyone, regardless of culture, agrees to

address the question in the same context there will be increased effectiveness and quality of

knowledge and communication.

Cultural Variations

In global communication, we need to consider one of the most discussed cross-cultural

communication aspects; the fundamental difference between individualism vs. collectivism. This
 Twittaptation: Twitter Techniques 11

distinction is critical to the effectiveness of particular applications of online communities

because individualistic cultures, such as the United States and Japan, focus more on personal

goals and the benefits to themselves and their immediate family (Batista, E. 2009). This can

create conflict with communication styles of collectivist cultures, such as Latin or Asian, because

they stress collective goals and place priority on organizational and group aspirations

(Gudykunst, W., Yoon. Y.C. & Nishida, T. 1987).

How do these two styles translate when a community has a global outreach?

Individualistic cultures can often learn more through the written word so texting, emails and

discussion boards are more appealing to them. On the other hand, people in collectivistic cultures

enjoy learning through non-verbal actions and communication. They find face-to-face

interactions and phone calling more appealing than texting. These differences are just a small

representation of all cultural variations and may affect willingness to share information, which is

important to the function of an OLC. This requires individuals to acknowledge that others often

have different views of identity, time, leadership, humor and introversion and extroversion

attitudes (Hannon, J. & D’Netto, B. 2005).

Training and Teaching Environment

In addition to the common cultural variations of learning environments, there are some

specific considerations for the corporate, training and educational setting. When deciding on

using Twitter in a professional environment, a critical question will be to decide to “friend or not

to friend” (Rubel, G. 2009). Deciding who you want to connect with and what you want to get

out of using Twitter is a decision that needs to take place in the beginning. One can use Twitter

both socially and professionally; company culture and policies should be checked to find out if
 Twittaptation: Twitter Techniques 12

Twitter would be appropriate for your workplace or find out if your institution even allows

access to Twitter.

Time management is another important element to consider. Grouping followers,

scanning, hash tag searching, using the many tools/applications which support Twitter, and

relying on direct messages and retweets to learn who is ready to engage are time saving

suggestions. Once - connected and interacting on Twitter, -individuals may find that -they save

time due to the richness of the resources provided by -the network and -the ability to call on them

for help.

With these considerations in mind, how does Twitter benefit communication in a cross-

cultural environment? Herein lies an interesting perspective, Twitter embraces both

communication styles. Twitter is primarily about sharing resources and interconnecting

networks which reflects more of the collectivist style, but at the same time it can be selective.

People can deny access of potential followers as well as choose to follow desired individuals.

Communication can be put out to the group or directed to individuals and can be as small a

network or as broad as each person desires. It is the individual’s choice and there lies the power

of Twitter in a global context. In its very essence it is global by being multilingual and available

to organize and mobilize communities into action.

Twitter’s 140 character limit might appeal more to the individualist style, but its

affordance to connect with a broad community and ability to attach photos and other image

material could cater to collectivists. Twitterfone, an application to add audio to Tweets, could

appeal to both communication styles (Arrington, M. 2008).

Saving time and sharing resources are a few examples of the benefits Twitter offers

individuals, professionals and online communities. Twitter provides a quick tool for transferring
 Twittaptation: Twitter Techniques 13

information and communication, which enables a community of people to learn faster and allows

individuals to keep abreast of constantly evolving knowledge, supports knowledge sharing and

collaboration. There is no other online social networking tool that facilitates a real-time capacity

and Twitter does all this with no lag time involved in contrast to other social networking tools

like that of blogging and Facebook. To get started using Twitter professionally, individuals need

to become familiar with the plethora of terms and symbols used in the Twitterverse since they

are integral to communicating and networking using this micro-blogging tool. The successful

implementation of Twitter as a learning tool, in training or teaching environment, includes an

examination of key considerations, insuring topical context and a personal strategy for active

community building.

Conclusion

The micro-blogging phenomenon of Twitter has provided an excellent tool for learning

professionals to enhance communication and facilitate online group work while promoting their

professional presence. Used effectively, Twitter can be used to develop a rich network of online

communities that that benefit learning professionals across all fields. The implementation of

Twitter techniques and important user considerations can enhance interaction and lead to

increased knowledge sharing in learning environments

This article has covered a wide range of tools and resources to get individuals started on

the path of micro-blogging using Twitter. The benefits of Twitter appear to far outweigh the

disadvantages and it is the individual who will need to weigh the pros and cons before deciding

to jump on the Twitter bandwagon. Globalization brings a variety of issues to the forefront in

OLC’s and using Twitter could increase the speed and scope of connecting, allowing interaction

and knowledge sharing to be more in-depth.

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Every member of the Twitter community needs to learn how to use the tool effectively

and actively use it on a regular basis to make it a truly effective social networking tool. Twitter

can be a powerful networking tool for online communities in both professional and educational

settings. All kinds of learning professionals from instructional designers, university presidents,

subject matter expert faculty, corporate trainers, to K-12 teachers stand to benefit from

experimenting with this tool.

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Appendix A

Table 1

Getting Started with Twitter

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Symbol/Term Meaning & Application

Followers The people you connect with. Whenever you want to track
a person’s activity you follow them.

@username Use an @ sign and the Twitterer’s username, ie

@Educause, to ask someone a question or reply to their
Tweet. This will appear in their stream to read and to any
followers the two of you might happen to share. Whenever
you place an @ sign in front of a username, it creates a live
link to that user’s account.

Direct Message (DM, D) To have a private conversation with a Twitterer, you can do
so through DM, or Direct Messaging. Don’t let a public
conversation carry on too long unless it is very relevant to
your topics – move it to a DM - as followers may get
annoyed by this filling their stream and subsequently
remove you.

Retweet (RT) Relationships and community are strengthened on Twitter

when one Retweets (RT) another’s message. This is done
when a tweet is particularly interesting and relevant in order
to share it across networks (reaching wider audiences) and
give credit to the original poster. Simply type RT, followed
by @ and their username.

Hash tags (#) Hash tags are simple key words defined by users to label
and tag a Tweet into a searchable index for others to find
and organize around topics, issues and events. A hash tag
can be used in a sentence if it is appropriate or placed at the
end of your tweet. Popular hash tags related to education
include #edtech, #scied (science education), #highered,
#education, #elearning, #training.

Twitter Tools/Apps (ie Tweetdeck, Twhirl, Mr.
Tweet)
The default twitter.com interface doesn’t support live
streaming, easy retweeting, hash tag searching, or URL
shortening which is important when sharing links for the
140 character limit. An extensive list of tools and
applications have been created to support Twitter, and a
Google search on “Twitter Tools” connects to a wealth of
information. Often recommended interfaces for easy
Twittering include Tweetdeck and Twhirl, and websites
such as Mr. Tweet and Twibes support finding others with
the same interests.