Teaching with Twitter:reflections on practices, opportunities and problems

In recent times there has been an increasing wave of interest in the use of Social Media for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. In particular, the micro-blogging platform Twitter has been experimentally used in various Universities world-wide. There are relevant publications reporting on experimentations with Twitter for reaching diverse learning goals, including better engagement, informal learning or collaboration among students. Existing research papers on the use of Twitter however focus exclusively on the positive aspects of experimentations, on what went well in the use of Twitter. In our University we run a small project on the use of Twitter with goals that are similar to those of others: fostering participation and better learning processes. In this paper we report on our project and the strategies and best practices we adopted for using Twitter for teaching. We also reflect that in our experimentation however we encountered a number of practical problems connected for example with use of technology, with the class settings and with spam. In the conclusion we offer some recommendations for Teaching and Learning with Twitter based on our personal experience

Building online employability: a guide for academic departments

This guide will help academic departments to support students to think about their careers and to use the online environment wisely. Used badly the array of social media and online technologies can seriously disadvantage a students’ career development, but if used well they can support students to find out about and transition into their future career.This work was funded by the University of Derby’s Research for Teaching and Learning programme

Why Americans Use Social Media

Presents survey findings about motivations for social media use such as staying in touch with family and friends, contacting old friends, and connecting with others who share hobbies or interests, by age, gender, parental status, and other demographics

Exploring H.pylori seropositivity as a risk factor for type 2 diabetes

Background: In the US, the percentage of adults with diagnosed diabetes are higher in members of racial and ethnic minority groups compared to non-Latino Whites. Understanding why such disparities exist has been less forthcoming. Methods: Secondary data analysis was conducted using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2000 cross-sectional data. Results: H.pylori seropositivity was highest in Mexican Americans (43.7%), lowest in non-Hispanic Whites (18.1%). Diabetes was highest in non-Hispanic Blacks (5.9%); lowest in non-Hispanic whites (4.3%). H.pylori seropositivity was associated with greater likelihood of having type 2 diabetes (1.927, 95% CI 1.142, 3.257) compared to H.pylori negative in unadjusted model. After adjustment, H.pylori seropositivity was no longer associated with diabetes. Obesity (aOR 4.94, 95% CI 2.672,9.133) was associated with having type 2 diabetes compared to normal weight. Non-Hispanic Blacks (2.436, 95% CI 1.489,3.984) and Mexican Americans (1.896, 95% CI 1.002,3.587) had greater odds of diabetes compared to Whites. For nearly all stratified analyses, H.pylori did not have a significant association with type 2 diabetes although several other noteworthy findings emerged. A chance finding, where H.pylori was associated with greater likelihood of diabetes in Mexican Americans, 60-85, \u3e25 BMI, may be worth a closer look. Conclusion: Findings indicate weight status, obesity in particular, is the strongest predictor of diabetes followed by Black race. Stratified analyses suggest increasing racial disparities over the course of the life span

Evaluation of the InDUCKtion project at UCL

Executive summary: There is evidence that a good induction to university life can help with student retention; however, there is also a danger of overwhelming students during the intense period of fresher’s week. Under the auspices of a small grant from the Higher Education Academy’s ‘Changing the Learning Landscape’ funding stream, staff at two universities (University College London and Southampton Solent University) collaborated to produce an innovative and engaging induction project entitled ‘InDUCKtion’, based on the idea of an induction duck being a fun character for students to interact with. At UCL, the InDUCKtion duck existed in the form of a physical plastic duck included in international postgraduate student induction packs, and they were encouraged to take photos of themselves in and around UCL and London as part of a photo challenge using social media. It was anticipated that this would enable students to familiarise themselves with the locale, make friends and have fun at the same time. The InDUCKtion duck was also evident on flyers and posters with QR codes advertising an online tour to enable students to gain an accelerated familiarisation with the campus and its facilities. Within UCL, the project was a collaborative, cross-departmental venture instigated by members of UCL’s E-Learning Environments (ELE) working in partnership with the Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT) and Student Support and Wellbeing (SSW). The logistics of the project meant that the team members also had to liaise with a number of other individuals and departments around UCL, to help promote and implement the project. Despite a rapid following on Twitter in a relatively short period, a reasonable hit rate on the QR code for the main page of the online tour resource, and some engagement with the photo challenges using social media, participation in the project was lower than anticipated. Lessons learned from an evaluation perspective revealed that adding another activity to an already overwhelming fresher’s week was problematic, despite its innovative and interactive nature. The use of QR codes was problematic for a number of reasons, and the project needed more buy-in from student representatives and academics to provide institutional endorsement. Recommendations for future instances of the project include securing student representation and academic endorsement, integrating the activity with parallel induction activities – particularly with academic departments, replacing QR codes with an alternative technology-enhanced learning approach and optimising the learning design to better motivate students and promote groupwork

Community tracking in a cMOOC and nomadic learner behavior identification on a connectivist rhizomatic learning network

This article contributes to the literature on connectivism, connectivist MOOCs (cMOOCs) and rhizomatic learning by examining participant interactions, community formation and nomadic learner behavior in a particular cMOOC, #rhizo15, facilitated for 6 weeks by Dave Cormier. It further focuses on what we can learn by observing Twitter interactions particularly. As an explanatory mixed research design, Social Network Analysis and content analysis were employed for the purposes of the research. SNA is used at the macro, meso and micro levels, and content analysis of one week of the MOOC was conducted using the Community of Inquiry framework. The macro level analysis demonstrates that communities in a rhizomatic connectivist networks have chaotic relationships with other communities in different dimensions (clarified by use of hashtags of concurrent, past and future events). A key finding at the meso level was that as #rhizo15 progressed and number of active participants decreased, interaction increased in overall network. The micro level analysis further reveals that, though completely online, the nature of open online ecosystems are very convenient to facilitate the formation of community. The content analysis of week 3 tweets demonstrated that cognitive presence was the most frequently observed, while teaching presence (teaching behaviors of both facilitator and participants) was the lowest. This research recognizes the limitations of looking only at Twitter when #rhizo15 conversations occurred over multiple platforms frequented by overlapping but not identical groups of people. However, it provides a valuable partial perspective at the macro meso and micro levels that contribute to our understanding of community-building in cMOOCs

Twitter: A Professional Development and Community of Practice Tool for Teachers

This article shows how a group of language teachers use Twitter as a tool for continuous professional development through the #MFLtwitterati hashtag. Based on data collected through a survey (n=116) and interviews (n=11), it describes how this collective of teachers use the hashtag and evaluates the impact of their Twitter network on their teaching practices. The results show that most users try the suggestions and ideas that they find on this network, which have a positive impact on their teaching. Finally, the article assesses whether the hashtag users can be described as a community of practice

A literature review of the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education

This review focuses on the use of Web 2.0 tools in Higher Education. It provides a synthesis of the research literature in the field and a series of illustrative examples of how these tools are being used in learning and teaching. It draws out the perceived benefits that these new technologies appear to offer, and highlights some of the challenges and issues surrounding their use. The review forms the basis for a HE Academy funded project, ‘Peals in the Cloud’, which is exploring how Web 2.0 tools can be used to support evidence-based practices in learning and teaching. The project has also produced two in-depth case studies, which are reported elsewhere (Galley et al., 2010, Alevizou et al., 2010). The case studies focus on evaluation of a recently developed site for learning and teaching, Cloudworks, which harnesses Web 2.0 functionality to facilitate the sharing and discussion of educational practice. The case studies aim to explore to what extent the Web 2.0 affordances of the site are successfully promoting the sharing of ideas, as well as scholarly reflections, on learning and teaching