Twitter is an example of a micro blog system; it is a social networking site used as a means of interaction and communication among people and also friends. It is a leading online community and is open to all like many social networking sites and a very powerful social marketing too that is used by many people for educational purposes. Twitter uses a Micro blogging system which is a Web 2.0 technology, a new form of blogging which lets the users publish online brief text updates, less than 140-200 characters, and images too. “The posts can be altered and viewed on the internet or conveyed as SMS, e-mail or through instant messaging clients. This system is used by all social networking sites like twitter and facebook and MySpace” (Lew, 2007).
Students and tutors have found twitter to be an effective way to solve the technical difficulties of class work since they are able to get instant answers and views about a particular problem hence assisting them in learning. Tutors also can use twitter to remind the students about home works or post the assignments to them the teachers just need to create a twitter feed on which the students can subscribe.Twiter can also be used by lectures to teach about technology, students can learn with it while at the same time interact with people.
Students use twitter for class discussions, which involve discussing questions and other issues that are learned in class by using a username account, it is also used to promote writing, editing skills and it improves literacy because twitter is all about writing and all information is conveyed through texts, it is also a source of knowledge because students can post question and get answers, students can a create groups that they can use to learn, and twitter also has a personal learning network to assist students at an individual level.
Conferences can be set up through Twitter and attendees can get to share their thoughts and those that are not able to attend can follow the discussions through twitter quick updates, students can also use twitter for research on their projects, educators can send assignments to students through twitter, announcements can also be made quickly to students and previous information can be retrieved. Twitter has also reference services and libraries’ from which one can easily access new books and information, this makes learning cheaper since information is accessed freely instead of using a lot of money in downloads or sending text messages to classmates to enquire about an issue.Teachers too can engage students in story telling sessions through twitter, and can also share among themselves good teaching methods through twitter.
Twitter has many advantages that makes a social network preferred by many.ome of these advantages are: it is easy to join, one does so by just creating an account with them, it takes less than a minute and also one can create as many accounts as you wish, twitter also has unique profile templates, which can be created through HTML mode or purchase it through legitimate dealers in different auction sites related to templates, the site limits people to short updates hence information on twitter is straight to the point hence there is no too much unnecessary information, there is one home page that enables people to get what they want very fast. One can get anyone they want on twitter and the same way they can get you hence enabling efficient and free networking and also one can access third parties.
Twitter updates people on new activities taking place, new information and new books that are available hence keeping you updated with new information available, twitter also allows use of any username as long as it is available hence keeping your information personal and anonymous, it is very useful and curriculum centered though not academically bound because its core business is socializing, through twitter one can is also able to connect to the real world interact, learn new cultures which enables one to cooperate and understand other people and also get to share their joys and sorrows.
Twitter has age, limits so as to protect minors because any thing can happen online including stalkers and bad sites, but in addition a private account is required for class work, twitter has track services through which one can track movies, words, names stores, instead of posting updates, people can protect their updates and restrict them only to friends that they approve hence making this is very appropriate for classroom work and discussions. Twitter is a possible substitute to emailing, instant messaging and online discussions, as means of coordinating with students and also it is fun to use. It is easy to create a twitter link to ones company or personal website with the availability of the flexible selection of free widgets and mini applications, and also twitter is easily accessible as long there is internet connectivity hence making it very reliable (Lew, 2007).
Twitter, like any other social networking site has its disadvantages, which include: Tweeter does not have many applications like its competitors do have sites for groups, videos blogs, marketplace and networking menus, one can only upload one picture in twitter which must be very small while in facebook one can upload even albums, in twitter people can not specify their audiences and hence chances of having stalkers following you are very high and this compromises ones privacy, it is also very simple, the profile is very lean and has little information about you hence making it not a very good social network which is their core business and this can be discouraging for those that are interested in socializing only but this is appropriate for educational purposes since the aim is to learn not to meet people.
Twitter updates keep appearing since they are not restricted and this can be very disturbing and inconvenient when in for lessons or when discussing an item with your group members especially when these updates are not educational, twitter can also be addictive and even distract students in a lecture or in discussions because some may prefer to chat with friends and this can lead to low grades and can also be treated as disrespect by the tutors which can lead to expulsion or other forms of punishment, when teachers are involved in twittering students can take this chance and intrude into the teacher’s private life which is rude and offensive, twitter can also be used to spread bad rumour about other people and can end up ruining their reputation and finally twitter can be very bad for students grammar because of the use of short forms to express themselves, which they can also do in class work and lead to bad performance (Java et al 2007).
In conclusion there is need for action to be taken to improve twitters services to its subscribers and some of the suggestions are: twitter can be bad for students due to the many spammers and even stalkers in it so there is a need for a private account for classroom work which can not be accessed by other people, students should be encouraged to post well thought updates and maintain anonymity so as to block followers who have nothing to do with class work. This does not mean that they should be discouraged from sending requests because twitter becomes useless without people to share or discuss with.
They should also be encouraged to practice self discipline to avoid getting addicted to twitter or consuming too much time on it, there should be a time limit for the amount of time one can tweet hence creating a restriction for too much tweeting. Before a class decides to use twitter they should make sure that every member is well informed on how to use twitter and understand it’s language so as to prevent mistakes being made and avoiding inconveniences, It also ensures that all students are able to access information on twitter, students should also be mixed when forming twitter groups so that the diverse need of all students are met. Students should also be taught how to protect their devices against viruses and data theft, how to customize twitter to meet their specific needs and interests.
People have criticized social networks and even propose that they should be banned because it is affecting children and teenagers as they spend most of their time on the internet, but with the current trend situation social networks are here to stay, because others claim it improves interpersonal communication skills. Parents who are the most complainers’ should embrace the networks and assist their children not to misuse this services and they should also understand that though the same sites their children can get employment and other good opportunities that can improve their lives.Twitter has proved to be an effective way to enhance learning the system though they should make various changes in their privacy settings and other issues mentioned above but the point that it has made learning easier can not overlooked.
Reference list
Java et al (2007). Why We Twitter. A journal of Understanding Microblogging Usage and ommunities, 2(10), p. 12-13.
Lew, A. A. (2007) Twitter. Tweets for Higher Education. Web.