Presentation by Jeremy Speller and Claire Ross at the UCL Digital Humanities launch event on 21 May 2010.

1. Twitter
in the
Academic
World
Jeremy Speller
Claire Ross
#ucldh
Examples and case studies

2. Twitter in Teaching
• Alerts and notices
Today’s seminar is cancelled apologies for short notice #mycourse
• Summing up
– Have students summarise an article within 140
characters - a challenge!
• Sharing links
Useful ideas and tips for Twitter use in teaching from @timbuckteeth http://
is.gd/cdeYw #ucldh
• Tweming
– Have students contribute content to a common hastag
so that content is picked up by http://twemes.com/

3. HE Case Studies
• University of Bath
– Using a module-specific account to supplement reading
list with useful online articles
• University of Texas, Dallas
– Using Twitter conversations to pull together large-group
classes enabling individuals to be heard
• Sheffield Hallam University
– Collecting students feedback on informal learning
spaces

4. Use of Twitter during
Academic Conferences

5. Before, During and After

6. Research Question:
What can analysis of Twitter use in Academic
conference settings tell us about the users?
Enhancing the Conference experience?
Allowing for collaboration and co-construction
of knowledge?
OR
Is it disruptive,
distracting and an
inconsequential tool full
of pointless babble?

7. The cons
• Pointless babble
• Disparaging and disrespectful
• Unevenness of participation
• Awareness is important

8. The pros
• Reporting out to people who aren’t there
• Note taking, but in public
• Backchannel
“I use Twitter as a form of note taking
and information sharing”
“To make the proceedings more of a
discussion, including with those not
at the conference”
“I wanted to both regurgitate and
aggregate good points for people
attending and not attending”

9. Recommendations:
encouragement, transparency and honesty
• Establish a hashtag for your event so that your
followers can easily watch and search the
conversations. #ucldh
• Be transparent and honest
• Encourage your attendees to tweet during the live
event/ be positive towards speakers and
presenters

10. Recommendations:
encouragement, transparency and honesty
• Beware of the dangers: carefully
consider use of a Twitter wall
• Archive the event tweets

11. Thanks!
Jeremy Speller Acknowledgements
Director of Learning & Media Services Hugh Cartoon: http://www.citizensound.net/citizensound/wp-content/uploads/hugh-mcleod-twitter-cartoon.png
Email: j.speller@ucl.ac.uk Conference hall: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shinemy/1358913641/
Twitter: @jeremyspeller An engrossed delegate - Museums and the Web 2009: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pratty/
Twitter: @spellerlive (events only - don’t follow it!) Dannah Boyd web2.0 expo: http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2009/11/24/spectacle_at_we.html
Graph: C.Ross
Claire Ross
Research Assistant, Centre for Digital Humanities On-line conversation about MW2009 tracked in the TwitterfallPhoto: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pratty/
Email: claire.ross@ucl.ac.uk Screwdriver and pencil: http://www.jumsoft.com/
Twitter: @clairey_ross Twitter bird: http://ipotion.devianart.com/
Twitter: @ucldh Clouds: http://www.backgroundlabs.com/
Steve Wheeler’s blog: http://is.gd/cdeYw
Tony McNeill’s case studies: http://is.gd/cdfcJ