Twitter: An Education and Communication Tool Munindra Khaund
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