I created my Twitter account sometimes in 2008. I also introduced Twitter to my class. I learned that majority of my student did not know what Twitter is. I used Twitter to inform my students about any emergency events and to update what would happen in class. However, my first attempt to use Twitter in class was not successful. One of the possible explanations would be iPhone or smart phone were not commonly used among my students. Therefore, the accessibility to their Twitter accounts was limited to either receiving tweeting messages through email or logging in to their Twitter account online. Later, I neither made any attempt to integrate Twitter in my class nor tweeted on my account.
In 2010, I attended a presentation about using Twitter in classroom at the Creating Future through Technology (CFTT) Conference, Biloxi, Mississippi. Through the CFTT conference, I am aware of new creative and successful ways to integrate Twitter in class yet I hesitate to adopt it in my class. However, through Dr. Yuen’s class, I explored Twitter again. Each one of us was required to create a Twitter account, set up our profile, configure our settings, and modify out layout. Then, we follow the class Twitter. In order to complete the assignment, we had to post 5 tweets to the class Twitter account by sending Direct Messages.
Because of class assignment, I realized that Twitter is an efficient tool for disseminating information though it only allows 140 characters. I have followed people in different fields such as educators, small business owners, and organizations. I have learned so much from links that people either tweet or retweet. I then recognized why and how Twitter has become one of the largest grow social networking site. In addition to teaching and learning tools, Twitter is a powerful tool for business. In other words, business can use Twitter as marketing, advertising, and promotional tools. There are a lot of resources by YouTube and blogs discussing how to use Twitter in business and education. Furthermore, there are many apps creating to help managing Twitter for business in particular.
The title of this blog entry is “shall we tweet?” In my opinion, yes, we shall tweet. Not only shall we tweet, we shall teach our students to utilize Twitter to gain a competitive edge for their future. As a fashion merchandising faculty, I recognize Twitter can be used as a branding tool for my students. First, students should learn about Twitter so they become familiar with it. Second, students should explore Twitter to see who tweet, how they tweet, and who they should follow. Third, students should reflect on how they can use Twitter for branding purpose. Forth, students should plan on how to effectively tweet and how to maintain their twitter account. They can also include Twitter in their blogfolio so their future employers can see their twitter information. Additionally, Twitter can be used in class project as a tool to distribute resources and information. Students can cultivate useful information from Twitter and share with other classmates.
Note: Resources for Twitter in Business
Video:
Twitter means business
http://money.cnn.com/video/fortune/2009/04/17/fortune.500.twitter.fortune/
How to Use Twitter For Business
Twitter Marketing Tutorial – What to Tweet About
Blogs:
How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business
Gallayanee
Fashion Merchandising Classroom 2.0 
Apr 26, 2011 @ 09:19:39
I agree with your points on Twitter and its use in education. This class with Dr. Yuen was the first time I set up a Twitter account and I have used it a lot. I teach 9th graders and I do not think they are ready for Twitter in class due to their (lack of) maturity level, but I think it is a great tool for higher education.