Communication pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Students’ Perceptions of Using Twitter To Interact with the Instructor during Lectures for a Large-Enrollment Chemistry Course Marcus L. Cole,† D. Brynn Hibbert,† and E. James Kehoe*,‡ †
School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
‡
S Supporting Information *
ABSTRACT: Students in chemistry lectures were encouraged to use Twitter.com to ask and answer questions during and after lectures. Across 12 lectures, 49 students from a total enrollment of 485 generated 112 messages, of which 68% were germane to the course. Among users and nonusers alike, 77% reported Twitter made it easier to ask questions, but 66% also reported the messages intruded on lectures. KEYWORDS: First-Year Undergraduate/General, Internet/Web-Based Learning, Learning Theories, Covalent Bonding
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unrecorded oral replies from the podium, the instructor generated 94 messages largely after each lecture, concerning content (69%), assessment (11%), and administration (20%). During the last lecture, the students were surveyed on their experience. Participation was voluntary, anonymous, and approved through the university’s ethics process. The itemby-item responses are provided in the Supporting Information. There were 239 respondents, who appeared to be most of those attending the lecture (48% of nominal enrollment). Among the respondents, 95% were 17−19 years old, 54% were women, and 60% had English as their first language. Among the respondents, 23% reported having a Twitter account before the lecture series, and another 19% subsequently established an account. Account holders who reported their usage (n = 95), 33 (35%) recalled sending 1−4 tweets. Using N = 239 as an estimate of class attendance, the self-reported users (33) and recorded users (49) together suggest that usage ranged from 10% to 25% (95% confidence interval). Table 1 shows the percentage of respondents answering “yes” to questions about the value of Twitter. Any apparent differences among subgroups of prior users, new users, and nonusers were not statistically significant according to z-ratio tests (p > 0.05). Responses were generally positive, although not entirely. Across all respondents, 72% saw Twitter as useful to learning. Among the 72% who rated tweets as useful, 60% of them also found that they were intrusive. Among the 28% who did not rate tweets as useful, 78% found them to be intrusive. Across other items, 70% recommended that Twitter be used routinely in lectures, 77% agreed that it was easier to ask questions, and 67% agreed that it was easier to answer questions. Smaller majorities agreed that tweets increased their
ncreasing possession of Internet-equipped devices, the spread of wi-fi, and the short message service of Twitter.com may encourage text-based interchanges during classes beyond verbal questions and answers, although with a risk of disruption through a high volume, including tangential messages.1−5 Moreover, notwithstanding popular myths about multitasking, humans of all ages have a limited ability to process simultaneous sources of information.6,7 Generating a tweet while attending to the lecturer may divide attention and intrude on the flow of the lecture. Accordingly, the present study trialed Twitter.com in chemistry lectures regarding usage and student experience.
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METHOD AND RESULTS The trial occurred during 12, 50-min, prepared lectures on bonding theories in an advanced, first-year course with a final enrollment of 485 from science and engineering programs. Before the series, the students were directed to Twitter.com and notified that the instructor’s account would be available for questions and answers during and after lectures. The message stream was displayed alongside screens used for the presentation slides and overhead-projector notes. A total of 112 messages (97 during class) were received from 49 students, of whom 19 sent more than one message. This volume (∼9 tweets/lecture) exceeds the 0−2 oral questions ordinarily asked in large lectures. This Twitter volume, however, was not so large as to suggest confusion among the students. The majority of messages (55%) concerned the content of the lecture, for example, “Do the extra electrons from the bond go into the third orbital?” Smaller proportions concerned assessment (9%), for example, “Do they give us formulas in the exam?”, and administration (4%), for example, “Do we have labs next week?” The remainder (32%) were extraneous, for example, “Omg, we get to use Twitter,” chemistry-related jokes, birthday greetings. In addition to © 2013 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Published: April 9, 2013 671
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed3005825 | J. Chem. Educ. 2013, 90, 671−672
Journal of Chemical Education
Communication
Table 1. Perceived Value to Using Twitter during Lectures “Yes” Responses by User Type Statements for Response In general, did you find the tweets useful to your learning? Did the availability of Twitter make it easier to ask questions? Did the availability of Twitter make it easier to answer questions? Did the tweets intrude on the flow of lecture? Did the tweets increase your engagement with the course? Did the tweets make the lecture feel more personal for you? Would you recommend that Twitter be used routinely in large lectures?
Prior Users
New Users
Nonusers
All Users
(%, N = 54)
(%, N = 41)
(%, N = 144)
(%, N = 239)
78 85 73 63 59 57 67
66 69 62 74 54 59 74
72 75 67 63 53 57 70
72 77 67 66 55 57 70
engagement in the course (55%) or the personal feel of the lectures (57%).
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DISCUSSION Although tweets intruded on the flow of the lectures, the tweets nevertheless were seen to make it easier to ask and answer questions by users and nonusers alike. In the future, the instructor intends to reduce the intrusiveness of the tweets by asking students to only send questions about the content during the lecture and defer any other messages until after the lecture. Furthermore, the twitter feed may be hidden whenever the full attention of the audience is desired.
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ASSOCIATED CONTENT
* Supporting Information S
A copy of the questionnaire and the item-by-item responses. This material is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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REFERENCES
(1) Belford, R. E.; Moore, J. W.; Pence, H. E. An Introduction to Enhancing Learning with Online Resources, Social Networking, and Digital Libraries. In ACS Symposium Series 1060: Enhancing Learning with Online Resources, Social Networking, and Digital Libraries; Belford, R. E., Moore, J. W. Pence, H. E., Eds.; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2010; p 1−19. (2) Elavsky, C. M.; Mislan, C.; Elavsky, S. When Talking Less Is More: Exploring Outcomes of Twitter Usage in the Large-Lecture Hall. Learn., Media, Technol. 2011, 36, 215−233. (3) Lowe, B.; Laffey, D. Is Twitter for the Birds?: Using Twitter To Enhance Student Learning in a Marketing Course. J. Mark. Educ. 2011, 33, 183−192. (4) Mitchell, O. How To Present with Twitter and Other Backchannels. http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/twitter/ present-twitter-backchannel-ebook/ (accessed Mar 2013). (5) Tofan, D. C. Using a Tablet PC and OneNote 2007 To Teach Chemistry. J. Chem. Educ. 2010, 87, 47−48. (6) Mayer, R. E. Applying the Science of Learning: Evidence-Based Principles for the Design of Multimedia Instruction. Am. Psychol. 2008, 63, 760−769. (7) Sweller, J.; van Merrienboër, J. J. G.; Paas, F. Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design. Educ. Psychol. Rev. 1998, 10, 251−296.
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