Twittering in the classroom : Aetiology

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Tara C. Smith is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology. Her research involves a number of pathogens at the animal-human nexus. She also writes for The Panda's Thumb and previously for WIRED SCIENCE's Correlations. Please note the views expressed on this site are Dr. Smith's alone and may not be representative of the groups mentioned above.

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Twittering in the classroom

Category: AIDS/HIV • Public health • Science education • Various viruses
Posted on: August 24, 2010 5:13 PM, by Tara C. Smith

Readers may be interested in participating in this, from Dave Wessner at Davidson College:

Building on a project I piloted last fall, I will explore the potential role of Twitter more intentionally this fall in a course I teach on HIV/AIDS at Davidson College. I invite you to join me in this exploration.
Here are a few details:
Basically, I am interested in extending the class conversation outside the classroom walls and beyond the appointed class hours. I want the students to begin thinking on their own about what aspects of the subject (HIV/AIDS, in this case) truly interest them. I want to move away from the professor as purveyor of all information model. I want students to improve their ability to critically analyze information from disparate sources.

With Twitter, students can gather information from a wide variety of sources, some very reliable, some less reliable. They also can post information/questions/thoughts and get feedback from a wide variety of sources - again, some reliable and some not. Finally, Twitter provides a platform that they can easily access in their dorm room, the student union, or the local coffee shop (at any time of the day or night). And accessing Twitter, I hope, will not seem as overtly class-related to the students as accessing, for instance, course material via Blackboard.

This fall, I am requiring the students in my seminar to have a Twitter account. Students will post items on a regular basis, using the hashtag #BIO361. We also will devote some time on a regular basis to discussing items or responses from Twitter. Our first post probably will be on the first day of classes - Tuesday, August 24, 2010.

For this project to work most effectively, we need a critical mass of people outside of our class to participate. If you, your students, friends, or colleagues would like to join us, please do. We will appreciate any new comments, retweets, or responses. I'm looking forward to an engaging discussion throughout the semester.

This is up and running now, so keep an eye on #BIO361 and @dawessner.