Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research

Enhancing learning with the social media: student teachers’ perceptions on Twitter in a debate activity
Enriqueciendo el aprendizaje con social media: las percepcio-nes del alumnado sobre Twitter usado en una actividad de debate

DOI https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2015.1.102
Published on: Jan 15, 2014
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Gemma Tur
University of the Balearic Islands (Spain)
Victoria I. Marín
University of the Balearic Islands (Spain)

Abstract

This paper presents research focused on the educational experience of students using the microblogging platform Twitter for debate activities in three groups in different teacher education programmes at the University of the Balearic Islands, Spain. The implementation of this technology-based task in a face-to-face class was introduced as an innovative experience as a way of enhancing student learning and fostering participation in the context of formal learning. The educational objectives of these activities, besides working on the topics of the debate, were to empower student teachers’ Personal Learning Environments, engage student participation and enhance their use of social media and mobile devices for learning. Student perceptions were assessed by means of a questionnaire completed by them at the end of the courses. Tweets related to the debate were also collected in order to obtain some statistical data on student participation. Data collected allowed the researchers to observe student teacher engagement with the use of Twitter for the debate activity and its impact on their learning and understanding of the debate topic. Results also showed positive perceptions towards the use of social media in education and students’ willingness for future use, learning opportunities from Twitter and the use of mobile technology were also envisioned. Finally, conclusions argue the implications for practice of the current study and highlight some issues for further research, such as the exploration of new and innovative uses for teachers’ professional development and the empowerment of new activities and habits in learning on the move.

Este artículo presenta una investigación centrada en la experiencia educativa utilizando la plataforma de microblogging Twitter para actividades de debate en tres grupos de diferentes programas de formación del profesorado de la Universidad de las Islas Baleares, España. La realización de esta tarea, basada en tecnología en una clase presencial, se introdujo como una experiencia innovadora y como una forma de mejorar el aprendizaje y fomentar la participación en el contexto de aprendizaje formal. Los objetivos educativos de estas actividades, además de trabajar en los temas de debate, fueron capacitar a los estudiantes de educación en Entornos Personales de Aprendizaje, lograr la participación de los estudiantes y mejorar el uso de los medios sociales y dispositivos móviles para el aprendizaje. Las percepciones de los estudiantes fueron evaluados por medio de un cuestionario completado al final de los cursos. Los tuits relacionados con el debate también se recogieron para obtener algunos datos estadísticos sobre la participación de los estudiantes. Se recogió información que permitió a los investigadores observar el compromiso con el uso de Twitter para la actividad de debate y su impacto en su aprendizaje y comprensión del tema de debate. Los resultados también mostraron una percepción positiva hacia el uso de los social media en la educación y la disposición de los estudiantes para su futuro uso, las posibilidades educativas de Twitter y el uso de la tecnología móvil. Por último, en las conclusiones se argumentan las implicaciones para la práctica de este estudio y se destacan algunos temas para futuras investigaciones, como la exploración de nuevos e innovadores usos para el desarrollo profesional de los docentes y la potenciación de nuevas actividades y hábitos para el aprendizaje ubicuo.

Keywords
HIGHER EDUCATION; TEACHER EDUCATION; STUDENT PARTICIPATION; EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY; EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES
EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR; FORMACIÓN DOCENTE; PARTICIPACIÓN DEL ALUMNADO; TECNOLOGÍA EDUCATIVA; ESTRATEGIAS DOCENTES
Issue
Vol 4, No 1 (2015)
Section
Articles
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