Discussions in Tweeter compared to in Blackboard, or to in-class is very different. While in-class usually, no one wants to say anything that will grab everyone's attention and be overwhelmed with so much pressure. Most of the time students will be thinking about getting out as fast as they can and do other "more important things." However, student that are interested in the subject will be actively participating and specially if professor encourages it. On Blackboard discussion are very dead, much worse than in-class. The only reason student participate, well everyone knows why, is to earn the credits and nothing more. The problem of discussions on Blackboard is that, it feels like no one cares, no one is reading the posts, even if someone responses, it is because they have to. So, no one really likes to post anything knowing no one would read or care about it. Tweeter, on the other hand, has much more people that will read and notice your opinion, but at the same time does not have those eyes staring back at them. It combines the freedom of saying whatever you want knowing people will notice and the privacy that will protect from being humiliated or embarrassed.
Hi Vepa,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you with the discussions on blackboard being very boring. Most of the time students just want to answer the question, get the credit for it and thats its. No one really tries to be engaging and I found the Twitter conversation to be very engaging and interactive! I also noticed that during class at times it might be hard to participate because you might be shy, but on twitter there is nothing to be shy about since you're not physically there talking. Twitter definitely lets users participate more freely and with the use of hastags, more people can be involved!