Microblogging as a Teaching & Learning Enhancement Stuart Hepburn & Dr

So what is microblogging?

Why Team Writing for Television?

Our pilot study

1 st Phase Data Collecion Survey Midway through module Sample: All Students from the TWFTV class 92% Response rate 5 YES/NO questions

Prior to the start of the TWFTV module, had you ever communicated with your tutors about class matters via a social networking platform? Yes: 12.82% No:87.18%

Since the start of the TWFTV module, have you communicated with your tutors about class matters via a social networking platform? Yes:53.85% No:43.59%

Do you think that social networking platforms are a useful tool in communicating feedback to your peers and tutors? Yes:94.87% No:5.13%

Would you like to see more modules using social network platforms for class feedback and engagement? Yes:82.05% No:17.95%

Do you prefer using tools such as Twitter, Facebook and Google Docs to the university VLE Blackboard for feedback and communication? Yes:76.92% No:23.08%

2 nd Phase Data Collecion Focus Group After completion of module Sample (non-representative): – 9 Students from TWFTV class: 3 Generally anti Twitter 3 Generally undecided 3 Generally positive about twitter

Can access feedback whenever you want on your phone. Positive Comments 1 Exciting possibilities because you can start working on ideas immediately. Facebook group was nostalgic. Great to see how the idea evolved from the idea and through all the different stages. Twitter is very useful if you are on the go. You can still contact your tutor and get a reaction about things outside class time. On Facebook we can create for ourselves and its much better than blackboard which is clunky.. When someone puts a post on Facebook you know immediately that they have posted. Combination of Facebook and Twitter much better than Blackboard and easier to navigate.

Positive Comments 2 The creative flow is really quick and doesn’t die away with Twitter. You don’t have to wait for the next week to discuss your ideas. The ideas are fresh and immediate and don’t stagnate. Twitter is really quick to communicate. You can get your suggestions looked at immediately. Better than because you don’t leave it. You can react to it immediately because its easy to do. You can volunteer to help others immediately and using it becomes natural. You check blackboard once a week but Twitter every day or even more often. Combination of Facebook and Twitter much better than Blackboard and easier to navigate. You can let your friends know what you are doing creatively. Its good to have the separate #TWFTV hashtag so you don’t have to read rubbish It lets you collaborate and interact. Immediate feedback is much better than waiting.

Negative Comments In face to face you get a better impression of the teachers opinions. Twitter isn’t private and you feel you don’t want to say what you think. I prefer face to face feedback for academic work. Better to talk to people in front of you rather than tweet to those who aren’t. Not everyone has an iPhone or a Blackberry Don’t want to read random messages on Twitter. It shouod be separate for the course. Sometimes you need more clarification from tutors than you get from Twitter. When does the day end? When am I out of the loop? Too many different accounts to look at. Not sure when to check Twitter Better to have a two way dialogue in class

Themes Emerging Concerns about loss of face time/intimacy. When does the working day end? Concerns about study/ life balance. Concerns about access to smart phone technology. Concerns about too many different channels of communication Twitter feedback & collaboration is good for people on the go. Creates an easily accessible history of the creative development process/feedback process. No restricted hours, the feedback/ development process is live & fresh. Social networks more natural and accessible than VLEs Share coursework with friends outside the institution. #Hashtags make it easy to get to the info you want. Facilitate collaboration.

Conclusions