Mashable - The Social Media Guide - Latest Comments in Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

essayed — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:08:43 -0000

i m new & i want to have friends from all over the world

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

CollegiateLiving — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:05:13 -0000

very exciting for internet marketing in general...more are sure to follow.

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

Bee — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:36:49 -0000

I agree its not new. However as a student I found it could get very disruptive.

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

bigmarry — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:25:26 -0000

I think it's cool that they do this and show a useful face of social networks

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

Deb — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:58:05 -0000

I think anything that allows education to become more engaging is excellent. And it serves a higher purpose too. Thinking beyond the education -- applying that knowledge and networking is also important. Technology is opening up doors here and allows people to connect on points of interest.

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

Jessica Nunemaker — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:53:16 -0000

I think it's an interesting idea. I like it!

Hubs did online school and I think this would have been a better way of keeping the mandatory discussion forum posting interesting.

Real time conversation would have been more fun to follow than doing the log in and reply to the person above you kind of deal!

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

devinlamb — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:08:28 -0000

When was the last time you were a student in a large classroom? Did you really want to raise your hand in front of hundreds of people to ask a question every time you had one? If so, then you're pretty unique. Personally though, I would have let it go and never knew the correct answer. With a tool like this I can feel comfortable getting my question answered, and I think that's what's important. Learning is the main goal of classes; one way of accomplishing this shouldn't be denounced because it doesn't fit in with the classic way of doing things.

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

linuxos77 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:44:45 -0000

We use an OpenSource tool called Moodle (http://www.moodle.org) to allow for collaboration outside the physical classroom. Using open formats like RSS we can pull in Twitter feeds etc..

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

philhill — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:13:09 -0000

yes, these new tools for the classroom are great. there's one just launched out of GA Tech as well called OpenStudy.com (@openstudy) that lets students create study buddy groups online for assignments & test prep. Professors are using it for office hours as well.

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

andytgeezer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:30:08 -0000

I'm sure this still happens, but with the ability to answer in different ways as well then we allow pupils who are not able to simply blurt out an answer to do so. In addition, when they tweet or whatever way they choose to electronically answer, they may even think about it before they do so.

Opening up options for answering questions can only be a good thing

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

andytgeezer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:28:18 -0000

I only partially agree with this comment. This would only allow people who are confident socially to participate and only one at a time. In some cases, the ability for everyone to talk and everyone to hear everyone elses points of view would be hugely beneficial. We have to bear in mind that a class has limited time to hear all the sides of the argument, but if you open discussion in this way then you give more people a chance to have a say.

This is not about replacing the real interactions of the classroom but enhancing them in my opinion

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

wetarugula — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:09:50 -0000

There are many, many of us who have been using this in our courses for quite some time (yet I suppose we don't teach at Purdue...)
Using Twitter, Facebook, and other "backchannel" services doesn't sub for classroom participation - it enhances student participation and adds another layer with which they can engage with course material. And I unbanned laptops and cell-phones from my classroom long ago, and have not regretted it even for a second. Students have these great tools at their disposal, so it is really silly for us not to incorporate them into teaching and learning.

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

Tom Foremski — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:42:51 -0000

We are always in the hotseat wherever we comment. Which is a good thing...

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

Anand — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:07:54 -0000

wow..So I don't have to raise my hand to ask a question? Way to go. Let's create more anonymous cowards in the classrooms..

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

ONLINEPOKER — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:02:52 -0000

Nice!

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

AspNet — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:44:55 -0000

waiting for more languages...

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

TCHayes — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:11:40 -0000

I've felt like this type of thing could be useful for a while, but I couldn't see how exactly. I think the vote on questions feature is a HUGE deal. From my experience, students WANT to participate when things are interesting, and if this is much more likely to produce interesting classes.

Obviously, this has to be implemented cautiously as the potential for distraction is high as well. However, this definitely looks like a step in the right direction for the concept.

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

Hans K. Meyer — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:11:11 -0000

I set up a Twitter account to to allow students in a large lecture class the opportunity to comment in real time. It worked well. We had a couple of joke messages, particularly some from Charles Barkley, but I think it generated a lot of good discussion. The hardest part for me was to keep on top of all the comments.

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

shakymedia — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:59:01 -0000

I guess I'm somewhat confused. What happened to in classroom participation, you know, like raising your hand to ask a question or simply blurting out the answer?

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

Spewf — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:36:54 -0000

I go to school at Purdue. Crazy isn't it?

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

Ed — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:24:39 -0000

One of the best things I can think of in support of the project is that the "class" is no longer confined to the room or the clock on the wall. While IM has been used for some amount of backchanneling in various venues, content - and conversations - on Twitter and Facebook can (and should) go on well after the bell has rung. And for the prof, being able to see, and perhaps engage in the after-class conversations would be of great value; at least for those professors that really enjoy teaching.

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

kevin oshea — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:07:07 -0000

I totally agree, at least for smaller sized lecture courses, but for large (anything over 100 students, which we have a fair share of) I think this opens a channel of communication that may not have been there before.

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

Stephanie Daniel — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:48:15 -0000

Very promising... could make the learning experience a lot more engaging.

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

AJ — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:46:17 -0000

Excellent idea! It's already becoming a part of everyday business life, so it's great for college students to utilize social media as part of their college classes. Any medium that pushes the learning experience from listening to a lecture to integrating active participation and discussion increases the retention levels of the audience/students; social media (be it Twitter, Facebook, or the next platform/idea) definitely deserves a place.

Re: Purdue University Adds Twitter and Facebook to Class Participation

patrickt — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:31:53 -0000

here's an idea. maybe instead of tweeting and texting they should just raise their hand, open their mouth and ask a question....participate in real life instead of the virtual world.