why students really don't get

microblogging
Alternative sub-titles
Why Twitter is as appealing to students as a
bucket of cold vomit

Twitter is dead

Why some of our students just don't get

microblogging
About me

Tony McNeill
Principal Lecturer in Educational Technology
Academic Development Centre

@anthonymcneill
#durbbu10
About my Twitter projects
Supporting student
engagement with Twitter

3 projects: English Literature (18)

Media & Cultural Studies (80+)
Engineering (200+)
Student resistance to Twitter
Why Twitter?
Established a hashtag
Staff development
Created schedule of activities
Modelled good practice
Offered encouragement
Summarised and supported
Getting to grips with Twitter
Social interactions
Resource sharing (1)
Resource sharing (2)
Peer acknowledgement
Engagement with activities
Discussion of coursework
Problems and queries
Outside stuff
Tweets by month

Oct: 81 tweets

Nov:15 tweets

Dec: 6 tweets
Tweets per student
Twitter accounts pre-module
Twitter use pre-module (1)

I’ve actually got a Twitter account, I set up a

different one for the module … um … but I never
used it, all I did was follow celebrities. When Katie
[Price] and Peter [Andre] were splitting up it was
quite handy ‘cos I could see what was going
on.(Roz)
Twitter use pre-module (2)

I had an account, but I … generally, I didn't ever

really use it. I followed quite a few people, sort of
celebrities and stuff but wasn't .. I didn't check it
every day. […] I wasn't a user but I did have an
account so I was very aware of it. (Amelia)
Two positive views

• I was already addicted to it - I use it as a way of

keeping in touch quickly and conveniently with
people

• It is ok, good way of keeping in contact with some

people
Four negative views
• Much prefer Facebook as you're not restricted on
the word count. And more applications.
• Was not interested, seemed complicated
• Slightly self indulgent …
• … thought it seemed boring compared to MySpace
and Facebook
Students mainly indifferent
• Didn't think about using it as I was already on
Facebook
• I didn't really think about it, as I already had
Facebook
• Same ideas as Facebook
• … just another social networking site. Nothing
special. Celebrities used it.
• I felt it was a celebrity marketing tool
What Roz said

Because I don’t go on Twitter a lot, I didn’t become

second nature to me just to go on it; it was
something I had to think about.

I think it [Facebook] would have worked a whole lot

better; I think you would have had tweeting every
day … well, not tweeting, facebooking every day, …
um … commenting everyday.
What Amelia said

Starting the module, I was quite interested to see

how it would work. I started, I did use it and then it
sort of dropped off my radar just ‘cos I wasn’t using
it everyday or whatever.

[…]

I love the idea of Twitter but I guess it’s [i.e. not

using it] almost entirely because my close friends
and family don’t use it.
Technology-mediated routines

A lot of my friends say they do the same; they’ll go

and do their work, their coursework, but before they
can even do anything they check, it’s like a routine:
you check your emails and you check your
Facebook. You get distracted for about an hour and
then you start doing your work. But you always
leave Facebook on in the corner just in case
someone might want to get in contact with you.
(Roz)
Why Twitter?
Why not Facebook?
Answers on a postcard
About me (again)
Tony McNeill
Principal Lecturer in Educational Technology
Academic Development Centre

@anthonymcneill
a.mcneill@kingston.ac.uk
http://blogs.kingston.ac.uk/twitter