Teacher Reactions to Twitter as a Personal Learning Network

• In Event: Teacher Knowledge and Technology Professional Development

Abstract

Fourteen teachers enrolled in an online graduate class participated in a nine-week assignment to test the usefulness of Twitter for building a personal learning network (PLN). Most teachers responded favorably to the tool for professional learning, sharing and learning about resources from peers and using the platform to synthesize course topics. Encouraging interaction through the tool was a challenge, with a need to modify the assignment to require retweets, @account referencing, and peer questioning/answering. Only half of the teachers in the class continued tweeting after the class ended, with reluctance seemingly tied to age, comfort with social media, and beliefs about the tool’s applicability in the classroom. Exposure and increasing familiarity with Twitter features may help to change user perspectives.

Author

• Kevin M. Oliver, North Carolina State University