In eLearning [Twitter] can be used as a backchannel to connect learning communities or smaller classrooms over a specific topic or event, to share highlights, make statements, upload pictures, etc. All instructors have to do is create an account and communicate its #hashtag to their students/followers. Twitter is heavily used for social learning.
I wonder why more people aren't aware of the OTHER great use of Twitter. It's easy to focus on the value of the "backchannel" aspect, but to me, the greater value is as a passive research tool. Set up some search columns in TweetDeck (or a similar tool) to grab every mention of a given word or phrase, and you have a great source of sorted comments, links, and discussions about that word ready for you to do some final sifting for the gold nuggets. You don't have to feel like you need to search out and follow every influencer and SME on Twitter to get the good stuff; just set up some smart search parameters and let the tool do the work for you. THAT is the real value of Twitter, for both educators and students!
LBCC eLearning on Twitter
