Twitter:An Education and Communication ToolMunindra Khaund

Agenda

Twitter as an educational tool

Twitter as a communication tool

Implications

Lessons Learned

Tips

Follow and Follows

The Power of Retweet

Important of Hashtag

Resources

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Think micro-blogging

Vladimir: What are you waiting for?

Estragon: I’m waiting for Godot.

[with apologies to Beckett]

Romeo: Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?

Juliet: What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet

[with apologies to Shakespeare]

Brief messages [140 characters or less for Twitter] from one user to another or from one user to a group of users

- Real-time- Quick- Simple

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Twitter: An Education Tool

World Affairs Council of Central Illinois

Nobel LaureateDr Robert Solow

Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development

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Twitter: An Education Tool

World Affairs Council of Central Illinois

Nobel LaureateDr Robert Solow

Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development

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The Growth Report

World Affairs Council of Central Illinois

Nobel LaureateDr Robert Solow

Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development

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The Growth Report states that, “If the sustained, high-

growth cases are any guide, it appears that overall

investment rates of 25 percent of GDP or above are needed,

counting both public and private expenditures. They often

invested at least another 7–8 percent of GDP in education,

raining, and health (also counting public and private

spending), although this is not treated as investment in the

national accounts.”

The Growth Report highlights the following key features that

have helped a few countries maintain growth rates of 7% for

25 uninterrupted years – integration into world economy,

maintaining high rates of savings and investment, and

committed and credible governments.

Implications

A thread of tweets on a particular topic can prove to be most meaningful, as they can provide the basis for subsequent analysis to reveal the meaning and other indirect, frequently irrelevant, information about the event.

Tweets could suffice to merely track student attendance at an assignment, as well as determining of what value the assignment was.

Tweets make it possible to share the reality of an educational event among a wider audience than those in attendance.

Back-channelingStudents are asked to send tweets with a predefined hashtag. At their next class, the instructor has a complete transcript of all the tweets, which can be shared with the students.

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Twitter: A Communication Tool

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0%

50%

100%

Nellie, 1983Anti-Sikh Riots, 19849/11, 2001Mumbai Terrorist Attacks, 2008

Radio Television WWW Twitter

Nellie, Assam975 killed

Anti-Sikh Riots, Delhi3100 killed

9/11, New York2,819 killed

Mumbai Terrorist Attacks, Mumbai195 killed

Twitter: A Communication Tool

Mumbai Attacks, November 2008Approximately 8,235 miles from central Illinois

Twitter only source of information; no access to radio or television reports

Over 30-hours of tracking tweets

10/23/2009

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Information Technology Services, UIS

Twitter: A Communication Tool

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Tweets were precise, rapid, and a widespread camaraderie had sprung up among individuals the people tweeting.

Few tweets reflected anger with politicians wanting to capitalize on the tragic event as a photo op by appearing at the troubled spots yet not trying to help

Local residents grew angry at the media references to the event as “India’s 9/11”

Local resources for assistance set up and several retweets of these resources

Implications

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Citizen journalism played a key role in disseminating information about the Mumbai attacks

Traditional media sources makes late entry into this event

#Bombay and #mumbai

When the quantities of tweets were high, quality of tweets followed suit.

Lessons Learned

A simple idea, 140 characters of text, with a powerful impact.

Real-time public conversation.

Possibility of a tweet being pursued globally, is truly inspiring.

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Aware: You must accept that tweets can be information while social

Insightful: You get as much of value into a tweet as is possible

Selective: You have to identify reliable tweeters to interact with and follow

Succinct: You learn how to say what you need to in 140 characters or less

Tips: Follow and Followers

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Decide your purpose for using Twitter

Personal, professional, interest-based, etc.

Follow and be followed [but not always]

Be wary of spam

Use Twitter Search to find experts in your field(s) of interest and follow

Respond to requests you might receive on Twitter

Add Twitter Username to your signature

Maximize visibility

Have a contest and give out a prize

FOLLOW FAIL: The Top 10 Reasons I Will Not Follow You in Return on Twitter – Atherton Bartelby

Tips: The Power of Retweet

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Tweets can easily go viral

frictionless

Retweet and back link

Good etiquette to give credit for retweet

Keep total number of characters in mind if you want others to retweet your tweet

How to Find Twitter Twits to Retweet Your Tweet! – Kevin Gibbons

It’s Not How Many Followers You Have That Counts, It’s How Many Times You Get Retweeted – Erick Schonfeld

Tips: Importance of Hashtag

“Hashtags are a community-driven convention for adding additional context and metadata to your tweets.” #hashtags

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#hashtags

Allows you to create “groupings”

“ad hoc assemblages of people with similar interests” – Building Social Applications, Stowe Boyd [PDF, 9.3 MB]

Follow @hashtags for your hashtag(s) to be tracked

Search Hashtags.org or TwitterGroups

Do not overuse hashtags in your tweets – ask yourself if your hashtag adds value

#mumbai, #airfrance, #sandiegofire

Tips: Twitter Don’ts

Social Media Policy Examples – 123 Social Media

10/23/2009

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Information Technology Services, UIS

Don’t spam

Don’t ignore genuine requests for information

Don’t forget to give credit to the original tweet

Don’t launch initiative without guidelines/policy

Don’t expect the tool to work by itself

Don’t post vacation schedules

Resources: Getting Started

10/23/2009

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Information Technology Services, UIS

How Twitter Started – Evan Williams

Twittering Tips for Beginners – David Pogue

All You Need to Know to Twitter – Paul Boutin

Birds of a Feather Twitter Together – Walt Mossberg

14 Tools of Highly Effective Twitter Users –Kenny Hyder

Just Tweet It

Twitter Bible: Everything You Need To Know About Twitter – C G Lynch

Resources: Academics

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10 Twitter Tips for Higher Education – Heather Nansfield

Twitter for Academia – academhack

Scholarly Crowdsourcing: Twitter Does History – David Bill

50 Useful Twitter Tools for Writers and Researchers –Online College Degree

Micro Blogging with Twitter – Linda L. Briggs

Professors experiment with Twitter as teaching tool –Erica Perez

Twenty-Five Interesting Ways to use Twitter in the Classroom

Social Media and College Admissions – Nora Ganim Barn and Eric Mattson

Resources: Academics

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Twitter for Librarians: The Ultimate Guide

Twitter Goes to College – Zach Miners

Twitter in the Classroom: Backchanneling a Film Screening – Tanner Higgin

Twitter.edu: 100 Excellent, Educational Twitter Feeds

A Tool for Academia to Connect, Share, and Grow Relationships – John LeMasney

A Professor's Tips for Using Twitter in the Classroom – Jeffrey R Young

Activating Alumni Networks with Twitter –Andrew Shaindlin and Elizabeth Allen

Resources: Business

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Twitter’s Ten Rules for Radical Innovators – UmairHaque

50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business – Chris Brogan

How to use Twitter to Mitigate a Crisis – Denise Zimmerman

CEOs' Take on Twitter – Douglas McMillan

Twitter Tips: How to Safely Blend the Personal and the Professional – C G Lynch

Twitter: How to Get Started Guide for Business People –C G Lynch

17 Ways You Can Use Twitter: A Guide for Beginners, Marketers and Business Owners - DoshDosh

Resources: Marketing and PR

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7 Marketing Mistakes to Avoid on Twitter –Rodney Rumford

5 Marketing Tips for Tackling Twitter – Steve Mulder

How Twitter and email can benefit targeted marketing – Simms Jenkins

The Journalist’s Guide to Twitter – Leah Betancourt

Why newspapers should manage more like Twitter and less like GM – Joshua Benton

Resources: Miscellaneous

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Seventeen things that people are actually saying when they retweet others – Meg Pickard

Men Follow Men and Nobody Tweets – Bill Heiland Mikolaj Piskorski

Tweeting Your Way to a Job – Laura M Holson

Tweet Congress

TweetGrid

Tweetree

Social Media @ Illinois Springfield – Office of Web Services

@mkhaund