Blog About Twitter

The introduction of Twitter has allowed for a more dynamic form of communication that can at times be limited by BlackBoard and in-class discussions.  Twitter allows for creativity, sharing of ideas and more collaboration.  For example, in the article "50 Ways to Use Twitter in the College Classroom", it not only offers diverse and fun ways to communicate with students and professors, but it is a way to test the creativity of students, especially with the 140 character limit that makes students get straight to the point of what they want to say.  They have to address an issue or answer a question in no more than the limit or else they will not be able to post.  Not only that but they can tweet photos, links, videos, and their locations on their own twitter or to another individual.  Additionally, there is more interactivity with Twitter in the sense that one can follow as many individuals as they want and easily respond to whatever tweets they would like to in a matter of seconds.  In the article "State of the Art - Twitter is What You Make It", "a fellow judge asked his Twitter followers if a certain project had been tried before and in 15 seconds, his followers replied with web links to the information he needed".  This just shows that Twitter allows for quick and sometimes instantaneous responses because people can receive notifications of tweets once they are made and respond once they read it, something that other ways of communication might not possibly offer.  In a few short words, Twitter has broken boundaries and allowed for following and sharing in a 140 character limit.

On the other hand, there are BlackBoard and in-class discussions.  Starting with BlackBoard discussions, this form of communicating is more of a forum style where one makes a post and others can respond.  The major difference here is the length, the notifications, and the fact that there is no way to follow people.  Firstly, BlackBoard discussions have no character limit and one can post as much as they feel needed.  Secondly, there is no indication of when and if someone responds to your post, unless you take the time to manually check.  As a result, you have to keep checking to see if anyone has responded to your thread by logging onto to BlackBoard and clicking Discussion Board.  Lastly, you are unable to follow others on BlackBoard and so you cannot see when someone posts something or comments unless you once again manually check.  Otherwise, it still allows for similar communication where individuals can post and share their opinions.

Finally, there is in-class discussions.  In-class discussions are probably the most valuable form of communication in the sense that everyone meets face-to-face and are there in person to debate/voice their opinions.  Being in class allows students to physically be in the discussion and the subject/topic they are studying about.  They can see and listen to the reactions that other students and the professor make and not just read them.  The biggest difference with this is the time restraint and the number of students.  Classes follow a tight schedule and so discussion must be limited in order for professors to teach the subject.  Not only that, but no one person can speak for a majority of the time, as other classmates must also have the chance to voice their opinions as well.  However, depending on the class size, most of the time not everyone can speak, again due to the time limits.

In the end, no matter what form of discussion, all are great ways for students to communicate with each other.  I think that out of all of them, Twitter allows for the easiest and fastest way where everyone can post and respond at any time and as many times as they decide to.  If Twitter is not agreed upon by all, then BlackBoard is another way to share and post except with some limitations.  But, I think that nothing beats in-class discussion because I think that that is the place where a lot of learning and interaction can take place, even if you don't get the option of "following" or always "tweeting" about what you are thinking/doing.