Twitter

A Twitter discussion is different from a BlackBoard discussion, in the fact that the replies are shorter because of the character limitation on Twitter. In a way, this is makes it harder for those individuals that have the tendency to write long responds. Putting myself as an example, Blackboard was easier to reply to because each posting had more substance to it and there was more topics that I was able to touch on. However, with Twitter, because it’s super to the point, I have to think about how I should reply and whether my reply makes sense to what the individual posted. Another comparison between Twitter and Blackboard is that all the comments on Blackboard are within one folder/link. You can scroll and see the number of postings and what each posting is about. However, for Twitter, you would need to search the hashtag and go through the hashtags. Sometimes, there are older posts that have the same hashtag. On the bright side, the posts on Twitter are shorter and more straight forward, so the person reading it is able to tell what the post is on.

In comparing Twitter to an in-class discussion, in-class discussions definitely have a better flow of information. There isn’t a character limit in a classroom setting, it’s more of whenever you’re finished with your thought, you can stop and the next person will go. The reply is instant, so there are more topics discussed. Sometimes, one topic jumps to another and develops into a tangent. Tangents aren’t necessarily bad but that would mean there’s less time to discuss what needs to be discussed because of time constraints. However, on Twitter, the communication is more of an exchange of a few sentences. The upside of using Twitter is that everything is concise and easy to read. You also have the ability to link other articles, which may be difficult in a classroom setting. There’s also no one talking over another person, which may happen in a classroom setting if the topic sparks a heated conversation.