Professors all a-Twitter about tweeting

SALT LAKE CITY — The students rebelled at having to try the new technology. They begged their teacher to just use something they were more familiar with, like Facebook. But Ben Webster, 33, insisted. The 19 students in his "Digital Studio Practices" at the University of Utah had to open an account on Twitter.com — an online communication service where people post short messages of 140 words or less.

"That was the shocking thing. Only two of the 19 had Twitter accounts and those two were not actively using. I thought, totally, that I was late to the party and that they would all be on Twitter. What's more, they really bemoaned having to sign up and use it," said Webster, an adjunct professor who teaches computer design.

Almost like a teenager trying to get a parent to try texting, Webster told his students, "Please just do it. Just trust me. You can drop it after this class. I predict a lot of you won't, you'll probably continue with it."

As teachers try to connect with the digital generation, using technology would seem to be a no-brainer. But change is difficult, and even a popular online service like Twitter requires a learning curve. Webster admitted being confused by it at first, but quickly got the hang of it and saw ways to use it in class. "It is almost a digital cork board, you post messages on it that are open to everybody," Webster said. "Anybody ... can read them."

While some educators worry that a service like Twitter could hurt writing skills and shorten attention spans, a third of higher education professionals are already using Twitter in some capacity, a recent survey by FacultyFocus.com found. Of those who are using it, about 90 percent plan to continue using it or increase their use. And the trend is for more teachers to use Twitter — this year's usage is 30.7 percent higher than FacultyFocus.com's 2009 survey. Professors say Twitter is more immediate than a static website or waiting for a handout in class or a notice posted on a door.

Michael Harper, 42, is an associate professor of digital media at Utah Valley University. Harper has his students sign up in the first class. "Within five minutes of starting my class any particular semester, every single student is following my Twitter feed and they are now signed up to follow my Facebook." Harper has a different Twitter account for every class he teaches — such as the Twitter.com/DGM2260 account for his class on "immersive authoring."