Using Twitter to Augment Student Learning

by Emily Ware, PharmD, PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Resident, St. Dominic Hospital 

The use of social media across the educational landscape has considerably increased over the past few years and especially in the past few months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social media was not designed for the purpose of education and other learning activities; however, the ease of networking and sharing content has allowed social media platforms to gain popularity in higher education.¹ Twitter has been used as a communication tool for formal and informal learning by allowing students and scholars to engage with their peers and discuss emerging information.¹

In one study that investigated the use of Twitter as part of a face-to-face class, undergraduate students taking a teacher education course reported that Twitter enabled communication and interaction between classmates as well as with the broader educational community.² Students stated that Twitter also facilitated connectedness and resource sharing. This encouraged a more collaborative approach to learning.² Another study looked at the perceptions of first-year biomedical students who completed a course in which Twitter-related activities were incorporated into the course design.³ The study found that the students who most actively engaging in the Twitter activities had higher end-of-semester grades compared with those who did not.³ The authors also reported that the use of Twitter was a useful method of promoting public health, along with facilitating collaboration among peers.³

While there are potential benefits using Twitter for educational purposes, there are some drawbacks that should be mentioned.  One study that explored the perceptions of high school students found that students were overwhelmed with the volume of information on Twitter.⁴ Moreover, first-time users had difficulty using the platform and questioned the appropriateness of using Twitter in the educational setting.⁴ In another study conducted at a school of pharmacy, students who completed an optional survey about the use of Twitter in a management course, 71% stated Twitter was distracting and 69% believed it prevented note-taking.⁵ Although these are valid points, these are issues that could be solved if students are taught how to use Twitter effectively as a tool to support their educational endeavors.

There are many ways to use Twitter as an instructional tool. Since some students will not be familiar with Twitter, it’s important to start out small with a brief activity that intended to get students accustomed to the platform.  For example, an instructor could tweet a poll for students to respond to during class. Next, teachers could create an assignment requiring students to formulate a tweet. As students become more comfortable with the tool, the instructor could ask students to create concise writing exercises (like a tweetorial), take Twitter quizzes, use it to research a topic, and engage “backchannel” discussions.  Backchannel discussions are digital conversations that run concurrently with a face-to-face activity and they enable more students to participate and ask questions.  Twitter can also be used for professional development. For example, there are many health professionals across the world who regularly use Twitter to discuss interesting cases they have seen, analyze recently published research manuscripts, or share experiences during their day-to-day work.  Students may find it beneficial to follow a few people on Twitter who work in a potential career path to get a glimpse of what that field or specialty might be like.  Students could then be asked to complete an assignment summarizing their findings and opinions about their potential career choice.

During my third year of my doctor of pharmacy curriculum, we had days in which we completed a “Twitter consult” and were “on call”. During these simulated on call activities (similar to being on call in real life), it was imperative to be readily available and not engage in any activities during the day that required us to be away from our phone.  The consult request was delivered in the form of a tweet, and we never knew when the consult request was going to arrive.  It was the student’s responsibility to respond to the consult within an hour and formulate a verbal response. Typically, the verbal response could not be longer than two minutes. The concept of Twitter consults was to provide a very interactive way for us to glimpse what our future careers may look like – concisely answering difficult questions from health professionals (and patients) in a timely manner. 

Now, as a pharmacy resident, Twitter has helped me to stay current on the latest research and therapeutic recommendations. I have found it to be a great networking tool. I “follow” other pharmacy residents and practitioners who are located all around the US. It is insightful to learn from other pharmacists about their ideas and perspectives on pharmacy and medication-related issues.

I believe that there are many benefits to using Twitter as a teaching tool and I hope it is used more frequently in the classroom and experiential learning settings.  Students need to develop the skills to collaborate and network with their peers and Twitter (and similar social media platforms) go beyond what could be achieved in face-to-face settings.  Twitter can also help build a student’s confidence by encouraging them to formulate their own ideas and opinions. I believe Twitter can augment learning and can be used by teachers and students to facilitate collaboration, networking, and interaction.

References:

1. Malik A, Heyman-Schrum C, Johri A. Use of Twitter Across Educational Settings: A Review of the Literature. Int J Educ Technol High Educ. 2019;16:1-22.
2. Carpenter JP. Twitter’s Capacity to Support Collaborative Learning. Int. J. of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments. 2014;2:103
3. Diug B, Kendal E, Ilic D. Evaluating the Use of Twitter as a Tool to Increase Engagement in Medical Education. Educ Health (Abingdon). 2016;29(3):223-230.
4. Bull P, Adams S, et al. Learning Technologies: Tweeting in a High School Social Studies Class. Journal of Educational Technology. 2012;8:26–33.
5. Fox BI, Varadarajan R. Use of Twitter to Encourage Interaction in a Multi-Campus Pharmacy Management Course. Am J Pharm Educ. 2011;75:Article 88.