Back to the Periodic Table

Explore the elements from Brian Washburn’s book
What’s Your Formula? Combine Learning Elements for Impactful Training.

twitter
twitter

Twitter

(TW-ih-tuhr)

interactive elements
Interactive

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a social media and microblogging platform allowing you to share information, follow colleagues or thought leaders, and conduct short-form interactions.

Key Properties

Several of the core properties of this element include:

  • Short-form (there used to be a 140-character limit on messages, and though that limit has been increased to 280-character it remains a “microblogging” site)
  • Posts may be public (anyone who follows you or looks at your profile can see them) or private
  • Use of hashtags allows you to filter or search for keywords and information
  • You can create groups to better organize Twitter accounts that you follow
social network

Resources From The Train Like a Champion Blog

Insights in More than 280 Characters

  • "Whether you’re researching articles, podcasts, or blog posts that align with your content or directing your learners to additional information, Twitter is crawling with learning professionals who are eager to share. If you find information to be reputable, you can amplify it by passing it along to your learners or re-tweeting it for the rest of the world to see. (Just be smart. There’s a lot of information out there, but not all of it is evidence- or research-based.)"
  • "I have found no easier way to connect with thought leaders in the field of learning and development then through following and engaging with them on Twitter. As you can see from Figure 5-1, many thought leaders participate in industry conversations and Twitter offers ample opportunities for quality interactions."
  • "Some learners need to write down key points they’re learning to help them remember certain concepts. In the “olden days” this happened using a pen and paper and those notes were kept private. With Twitter, conference session attendees and training participants can not only take notes, but they can share those notes with others who were unable to attend a session. When they attach a hashtag to those notes, often corresponding to the conference, learning event, or topic, the rest of the world can easily search for and find highlights from a variety of learning events. Virtual vs. In-Person Application"
Whats Your Formula book
Order your copy to earn more about Twitter as a learning tool and all of the related elements.

Elements that "Interact" with Twitter

lesson planLesson Plan

Be intentional about the way in which you want to incorporate Twitter into your program by spelling out exactly how and when it should be used—whether in the middle of class or as a follow-up assignment. This can be easily captured through the lesson plan.

adult learningAdult Learning

Keep in mind that adult learners are autonomous beings that bring their own experiences into the learning environment. Bringing social media like Twitter into a learning program and allowing participants to research and find information can be a way of respecting that autonomy.

spaced learningSpaced Learning

Twitter can be a helpful resource, especially for training programs that are broken up into parts. Whether you’re designing a multiday or multiweek in-person course, a two-month long asynchronous online program, or a multipart e-learning course, giving an assignment in between sessions whereby learners need to research, share, or connect with others can be a way to keep your content top of mind.

follow upFollow-up

Have learners participate in a Twitter chat (or better yet, more than one). Ask them to identify three thought leaders to follow or find an article about your topic and share it with the rest of the industry. Many learners are using social media anyway, so why not integrate it into post-training follow-up?

Other Sources of Information