People use networks for learning purposes. Twitter is an ideal learning tool based on its features, functions, and architecture. Individuals, for example, teachers, pupils, students, employed, employees, and self-employed, can benefit significantly from Twitter. After searching some of the assigned twitter accounts and hashtags, I have observed that Twitter is a good platform for discussion and information sharing. Learners post questions, and others share their responses to these questions. The content shared was to do with the benefits of open education, the benefits of open education, and links to websites that provide Open Education Resources (OER) (Wiley& Hilton, 2018). Moreover, other individuals shared twitter accounts, which their colleagues can follow to get more information about OER.

Twitter is an ideal channel for disseminating information. The open platform is beneficial to both learners and educators in a variety of ways. Both educators and learners can quickly and easily tweet details of assignments and homework. Besides, the educator or the learner can share links to valuable online sources and pages. Additionally, Twitter is a useful tool for learners’ collaboration (Lowe, 2016). Leaners can tackle a collaborative assignment with ease. The educators have a chance to intervene, give advice, and share valuable links with the students. Moreover, both educators and learners can get links to relevant links and also have insights and ideas from other individuals around the world.

The 280 characters post limit is a harm to both learners and educators. This is because limits give limited room for response elaboration, which can cause misinterpretation (Dumford & Miller, 2018). By making the message too short, in-depth thinking of both learners and educators is restricted. Additionally, twitter causes harm to educators and learners because of the increased workload. It is challenging to maintain the flow of leaners’ and educators’ interaction.

Twitter can be used to increase education access by sharing links to relevant websites, twitter accounts, and useful learning materials. Enhancing collaboration between learners is essential for their learning. For instance, a learner posts a question about a particular topic, and others have a chance to share their knowledge about the subject. Besides, the learners can interact with individuals out of class using the hashtag feature, which connects learners, educators, and other interested individuals.

 

References

Wiley, D. & Hilton, J. (2018). Defining OER-enabled Pedagogy. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 19(4).

Lowe, R. E. M. (2016). Education all a’Twitter: Twitter’s role in educational technology.

Dumford, A. D., & Miller, A. L. (2018). Online learning in higher education: exploring advantages and disadvantages for engagement. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 30(3), 452-465.