"The sight of students fiddling with their mobile phones and laptops as they tweet their way through lectures is enough to drive many academics up the wall.
But according to a study at Lock Haven University in the US, tweeting could be used to improve academic performance.", writes the Times Higher Education.
Photo: Mendeley |
Rey Junco, associate professor in the department of academic development and counselling, assessed the impact of using Twitter as a teaching tool on students taking a pre-health course at the institution, which is a member of the Pennsylvania state system.
Separating the students into two groups, he asked one to use the social-networking site Ning to communicate with lecturers while the other used Twitter.
According to a paper published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, titled "The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades", the latter group scored on average a grade higher than their counterparts.
Related link Dr. Rey Junco's Blog
Source: Times Higher Education