Social networking platforms such as Twitter can increase university students' engagement in the learning process and improve their grades.
Researchers studied 125 students in America taking a first-year seminar course for pre-health professional majors. Seventy of them used Twitter for various academic discussions and the other 55 acted as a control group.
It was found that the students who used Twitter showed a significantly greater increase in learning engagement than those in the control group. Twitter not only increased students' contact with instructors, but also with one another, making it possible for them to support one another in a virtual learning community.
The Twitter group also had higher grade-point averages at the end of the semester. The idea that student engagement can be increased outside of the classroom in a low-credit course through the use of technology is one of the key findings.
Researchers studied 125 students in America taking a first-year seminar course for pre-health professional majors. Seventy of them used Twitter for various academic discussions and the other 55 acted as a control group.
It was found that the students who used Twitter showed a significantly greater increase in learning engagement than those in the control group. Twitter not only increased students' contact with instructors, but also with one another, making it possible for them to support one another in a virtual learning community.
The Twitter group also had higher grade-point averages at the end of the semester. The idea that student engagement can be increased outside of the classroom in a low-credit course through the use of technology is one of the key findings.