Twitter for Teaching

The Chronicle of Higher Education web site has a story about an assistant professor at the University of Texas who began using Twitter with his class and says, "It was the single thing that changed the classroom dynamics more than anything I’ve ever done teaching." The comments posted by readers include some other good ideas and insights too. Dr. Z--You should post a comment about your experience using Twitter in your class last semester.

Innovative technologies like micro-blogging and virtual spaces can be a fun and effective way for students to build a sense of community, collaborate with each other, and reflect upon what they're learning. The academHacK blog recently posted a list of 13 ways to use Twitter in academia. One of my favorites is assigning students to follow a professional. What an innovative way to job shadow someone who you might otherwise never have a chance to meet! Seek out their Twitter feed and follow it to get an idea of what they're doing and thinking.