Twitter can be used to meet a variety of learning objectives, in individual contexts and in a manner best suited to one’s needs. People often use networks to learn, and Twitter – with its architecture, functions and features – is an ideal tool for this purpose.
Twitter, as a popular social network, can be used in various ways for social learning as it offers many benefits when it comes to reaching your audience. Many teachers today are turning to twitter even though it’s encouraged for students to use the school websites.
Some of the benefits of using Twitter as a PLN include:
- Tweet can share homework and assignments for students to students who may not have been at school.
- It’s easy to use and highly interactive amongst all ages.
- Just like blogging, Twitter is a microblogging social media platform that allows for student collaborations.
- Provides real time opportunities for discussion and feedback.
- Excellent way to connect with other students around the world.
- It’s accessible anywhere.
- Facilitates a collaborative learning environment.
- Can be a great source of new ideas and collect more information about a topic, thus helping the student better understand the topic.
As educators, Twitter we can also benefit. Just like the pros and cons mentioned above, Twitter allows educators to share their thoughts, making it a perfect place to brainstorm a variety of ideas. Twitter is also a great place to find and share inspiring stories about educators doing amazing work. Twitter can also be like a playground filled with curiosity. By allowing our minds to wander wherever our own curiosity leads, we discover unexpected places—and these often lead to more questions and curiosity. Last, it allows for educators to make connections further than the brick and mortar. Twitter helps us connect beyond the “box” of our immediate reality and exchange ideas with educators across the globe.
I’m sure there are many other benefits Twitter has to offer as it continues to expand an already packed arsenal of learning weapons. Like many educational tools however, it also comes with its fair share of cons.
Some cons of using Twitter include:
- It limits the user to only 140 characters meaning that what I wrote here today wouldn’t be seen as a tweet.
- It’s not an ideal means for visual content making it difficult for the visual learner.
- Twitter does not archive their content, meaning if a topic was discussed overtime, it would be impossible to read all the tweets about it.
- It allows one direct message at a time to a user. Meaning that replying to a tweet takes time and if many posts are made it can be hard to keep up with the conversation.
- It can be distracting and easily lead students to a different topic completely off base.
Overall, social media, in particular Twitter has both pros and cons. This social media tool improves communication between teachers and students and facilitates the learning process. Twitter can be a great weapon in the aersonal of learning tools for all students. It allows doors to be open to a new world of learning globally rather than just face to face. Twitter can also be a great way to learn new materials and better understand topics that they are researching. Twitter also helps by making students become more engaged in the educational process and more interested in the materials thus making learning more fun and motivating the learner.
Twitter can be used to meet a variety of learning objectives, in individual contexts and in a manner best suited to one’s needs. People often use networks to learn, and Twitter – with its architecture, functions and features – is an ideal tool for this purpose.
Twitter, as a popular social network, can be used in various ways for social learning as it offers many benefits when it comes to reaching your audience. Many teachers today are turning to twitter even though it’s encouraged for students to use the school websites.
Some of the benefits of using Twitter as a PLN include:
- Tweet can share homework and assignments for students to students who may not have been at school.
- It’s easy to use and highly interactive amongst all ages.
- Just like blogging, Twitter is a microblogging social media platform that allows for student collaborations.
- Provides real time opportunities for discussion and feedback.
- Excellent way to connect with other students around the world.
- It’s accessible anywhere.
- Facilitates a collaborative learning environment.
- Can be a great source of new ideas and collect more information about a topic, thus helping the student better understand the topic.
As educators, Twitter we can also benefit. Just like the pros and cons mentioned above, Twitter allows educators to share their thoughts, making it a perfect place to brainstorm a variety of ideas. Twitter is also a great place to find and share inspiring stories about educators doing amazing work. Twitter can also be like a playground filled with curiosity. By allowing our minds to wander wherever our own curiosity leads, we discover unexpected places—and these often lead to more questions and curiosity. Last, it allows for educators to make connections further than the brick and mortar. Twitter helps us connect beyond the “box” of our immediate reality and exchange ideas with educators across the globe.
I’m sure there are many other benefits Twitter has to offer as it continues to expand an already packed arsenal of learning weapons. Like many educational tools however, it also comes with its fair share of cons.
Some cons of using Twitter include:
- It limits the user to only 140 characters meaning that what I wrote here today wouldn’t be seen as a tweet.
- It’s not an ideal means for visual content making it difficult for the visual learner.
- Twitter does not archive their content, meaning if a topic was discussed overtime, it would be impossible to read all the tweets about it.
- It allows one direct message at a time to a user. Meaning that replying to a tweet takes time and if many posts are made it can be hard to keep up with the conversation.
- It can be distracting and easily lead students to a different topic completely off base.
Overall, social media, in particular Twitter has both pros and cons. This social media tool improves communication between teachers and students and facilitates the learning process. Twitter can be a great weapon in the aersonal of learning tools for all students. It allows doors to be open to a new world of learning globally rather than just face to face. Twitter can also be a great way to learn new materials and better understand topics that they are researching. Twitter also helps by making students become more engaged in the educational process and more interested in the materials thus making learning more fun and motivating the learner.
(2019, April 17). Importance of Twitter in Education — Advantages … – Analyzedu. Retrieved October 20, 2019, from https://www.analyzedu.com/blog/education-tips/the-role-of-twitter-in-education.html
(n.d.). The Pros and Cons of Twitter for Professional Learning …. Retrieved October 20, 2019, from https://connection.sagepub.com/blog/sage-connection/2015/07/22/the-pros-and-cons-of-twitter-for-professional-learning/
Mr. Kotansky's Blog 
Robert,
As you mentioned, there are numerous ways in which teachers and students can utilize Twitter as a professional learning network. From being easy to use and highly interactive to providing real-time opportunities for discussion and feedback to facilitating collaborative learning, this social media app has earned its place in the aresonal of learning tools.
When we share ideas, I find myself becoming more and more excited about the possibilities of incorporating social media into my classroom. Then, I consider all of the challenges and pushback that I will face and am quickly brought back to reality. One aspect that we have to consider as educators, is the fact that we also need to inform and persuade administrators and parents of the benefits. I don’t condone having to constantly fight for what we believe is best for our students, but I believe doing so has become a necessity.
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Robert,
I do have a Twitter account, but I rarely ever Tweet. Instead I use it as a means to keep in contact with some education writers, such as Bill Ferriter and Will Richardson. When they tweet about articles to check out or their own thoughts on a subject, it supports my own development as an educator. Developing its use in the classroom may not seem like an option for some, when there are many creative ways to use it. One of my favorites was how a teacher took her older students on a field trip to an art museum. Students were required to visit each area of the museum, locate a picture that inspired them, and tweet about it. It not only kept students focused on the purpose of the field trip, but it allowed them to share their thoughts with each other. They also took pictures of their chosen art work to use in a project back in the classroom.
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Robert,
I had NO idea how useful Twitter was for educators until about 2 years ago. I took a Twitter Bootcamp with an educator by the name of Jennifer hogan (http://www.thecompellededucator.com), and I learned one new thing per week about Twitter. She basically helped me, along with many others in the group, to set up pages and gain a better understanding of how to use twitter for learning and networking. Now I periodically check in to see what people are up to. It’s one of many useful online tools. I do find it confusing when responding to tweets in Twitter Chats because I find it difficult to keep up sometimes (as you mentioned). I wish Twitter would figure out some better way to work that part of their system. All in all though, the pros definitely outweigh the cons in my opinion.
Diana
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