Twitter for Education (?)

For this week's reflection, I found an article discussing the use of Twitter in education in Romania.  But if they had not mentioned that they were writing from across the ocean, I would have never known.  "Can We Use Twitter for Educational Activities," by Gabriela Grosseck and Carmen Holotescu first gives a brief description of Twitter and then discusses the pros and cons of utilizing this media tool both in and out of the classroom.  I agree and disagree with some of their points about the positive aspects of using twitter in the classroom.  As far as exploring collaborative writing, I would agree that twitter promotes writing as a fun activity, while fostering (to an extent) editing skills.  But as far as developing literacy skills, I cast a wary glance.  It seems counterintuitive, seeing as the 140 character limit prompts the tweeter (?) to use every known abbreviation known to mankind, while making up a few along the way.  So in this sense, encouraging students to use this abbreviated language is not necessarily a good idea. The authors do include this in the bad points section, but I feel that the literacy concept of twitter is much more flawed than the authors suggest. 

However, sharing ideas instantaneously, allowing shy students to have a stronger voice in class, including absent students in the discussion (what up, Jennifer), are really great assets.  On a professional academic level, Grosseck and Carmen also suggest that Twitter enables greater project management and even promotes collaboration across schools, states, and continents!  I am also intrigued by the notion of metacognition: a process of reflecting on your learning.  In this sense, twitter could potential serve a similar purpose as blogging, yet in a more immediate, concise way.  Bloggers really have no limit to their journal; twitter would force one to sum up their thoughts on a topic, which is critical in many aspects of learning--what is the point, what is the bigger meaning, what are you trying to say/prove?

Overall, I can see many positive attributes of twitter used in an educational setting as proposed by Grosseck and Carmen.  I also heartily agree with many of its flaws.  Yet this article, and the general discussion of twitter our class has had, has influenced me not to be so critical of social media as educational tools.