Abstract:

Social media has had a great impact on today’s society and education, specifically in Higher Education [1]. In particular, there has been a growing interest on Twitter for learning aims since it was launched in 2006 [2]. The literature review by Tang and Hew [2] reveals six specific ways as to how Twitter has been used in education: capture and representation, communication, collaboration, class organization and administration, reflection, and assessment. Also, research has demonstrated the growth of students’ engagement, the affordances for collaboration and sharing and finally the impact on learning outcomes ([3], [4], [5]). Drawbacks such as resistance [2] and information overload have also been observed [6].

The activity presented in this paper is a learning task formulated to promote the usage of Twitter for learning by student teachers during the academic year 2017-18. Students are asked to publish a tweet every week about their learning in the context of the educational technology subject in year 3 of the Degree in Primary Education of the University of the University of Balearic Islands (Spain). The research is aimed at exploring student teachers’ usage of Twitter for learning and their perceptions. The study is designed from an exploratory and descriptive approach. Quantitative and qualitative data are collected: firstly, based on the instrument built by Jalali, Sherbino, Frank and Sutherland [7], students’ tweets are analyzed according to three topics related to the construction of learning (previous knowledge, frame, reflection); secondly, a survey is used to collect participant perceptions. Discussion and conclusion will argue the value of Twitter for learning aims, and recommendations for further educational implementation and research.

References:
[1] Lackovic N, Kerry R, Lowe R, Lowe T. Being knowledge, power and profession subordinates: Students' perceptions of Twitter for learning. The Internet and Higher Education. 2017 Apr 1;33:41-8. doi: 0.1016/j.iheduc.2016.12.002
[2] Tang Y, Hew KF. Using Twitter for education: Beneficial or simply a waste of time?. Computers & education. 2017 Mar 1;106:97-118. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2016.12.004
[3] Junco R, Heiberger G, Loken E. The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades. Journal of computer assisted learning. 2011 Apr 1;27(2):119-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2010.00387.x
[4]Junco R, Elavsky CM, Heiberger G. Putting twitter to the test: Assessing outcomes for student collaboration, engagement and success. British Journal of Educational Technology. 2013 Mar 1;44(2):273-87. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2012.01284.x
[5] Kassens-Noor E. Twitter as a teaching practice to enhance active and informal learning in higher education: The case of sustainable tweets. Active Learning in Higher Education. 2012 Mar;13(1):9-21. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1469787411429190
[6] Lin MF, Hoffman ES, Borengasser C. Is social media too social for class? A case study of Twitter use. TechTrends. 2013 Mar 1;57(2):39-45. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11528-013-0644-2
[7] Jalali A, Sherbino J, Frank J, Sutherland S. Social media and medical education: exploring the potential of Twitter as a learning tool. International Review of Psychiatry. 2015 Mar 4;27(2):140-6. doi: 10.3109/09540261.2015.1015502

Keywords:

Social Media, Higher Education, Student Teachers, Learning Construction, Reflection, Learning Tools.