Twitter in the Classroom:

If you would like to see other ideas for using twitter in the classroom, check out http://tinyurl.com/25u2cx

Twitter in the Classroom Update

It took two weeks for tech services to install a twitter widget on the podium computer in my classroom. That widget, Twitterlicious, seems to be quite unstable and wigs out every ten minutes. The client I use on my Mac, Twitterific, is much more stable. We're trying to find a better widget. Simply projecting the Twitter webpage takes up too much room on the screen. I need that space for other projection.
The students seem quite enthusiastic about this new way of communicating. There are four active twitterers, but all the students pay attention. This does reduce anonymity, but they don't seem to care. They also happen to be four of the more active students in the class. Some students enjoy bringing their laptops to class, while others know they can use their text message on the cell phone to add a comment. only 50 to 60% of the comments are pertinent.
However, that is not the point. What Twitter does is to even out the balance of control over the direction of the conversation in the classroom. Students feel they can redirect the topic thru a "tweet." I look at the thread from time to time, but usually because of some reaction among the students.
It is still tool early to evaluate whether this technique improves learning. When asked, students who don't twitter in class still defend having it there. They feel it gives them greater ownership of the class experience. This week, I'll begin trying a full classroom "capture" (video, audio and screen projection) where the twitter steam is less important. It will however enable me to demonstrate the technique to others when the course is over.
If you want to follow the tweets in the class, go to http://www.twitter.com. Then, create an account, search for PapaFranz and click on the "follow" button.

Twitter in the Classroom

I've decided to try a new experiment in my theory class this term. I'm going to sign all the students up on twitter and have them follow and direct post an account I created called Papa_Franz. Twitter is a microblog. You are confined to writing no more that 140 characters. During class, I will encourage students to capture their thoughts, reactions, criticisms, and ideas and put them in these short blogs. Then, I'll run a application that shows the messages posted to Papa_Franz live as a strip on the right hand side of the computer screen I project on the wall.
Why am I doing this?
There are several kinds of communication that take place in the classroom. There is the most obvious one, called the front channel, that takes place between the instructor and the students. There is also a back channel of whispered communication, passed notes, glances and looks, and audible punctuation that takes place between students and students. I want to see what happens when we capture the back channel and make it part of the front channel.
I saw this demonstrated at a session at an Educause meeting in October and in the hands of the pros, it worked very well. I'm interested to see how it works with students.
The students can bring their laptops or they can access twitter as a text message from their phone.
I'll let you know what happens.