[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Twitter09.jpg” caption=”McMaster University Library recently created a Twitter.com account to keep students, staff and faculty updated. Image courtesy of the Library. “]Micro-blogging is changing the nature of online communication on- and off-campus. Micro-blogging refers to a form of blogging that allows online subscribers to broadcast brief messages to other subscribers of a micro-blogging service.

McMaster University Library recently created a Twitter.com account, accessible from the Library homepage, to update students, staff and faculty on new services, library events, and other happenings at the campus libraries. Twitter.com, a free social networking and micro-blogging service, is becoming increasingly visible at Canadian universities and in other areas of academic life.

Twitter is an online service that allows users to send and receive posts up to 140 characters long. These posts are otherwise known as Tweets. As Tweets are updated, other users who have subscribed to your account are alerted on their homepage. These Tweets are similar to status updates on Facebook with the efficiency of instant messaging and the mobility of a cell phone.

Many opportunities exist to use Twitter as a social media service to enhance teaching and learning at McMaster.

Twitter can encourage students to continue conversations outside of the classroom and provide instant feedback on course materials. It allows students to reflect on their learning, forces them to be succinct and can foster active-learning and interaction about a given topic. Twitter can also provide attendees at a conference with a simple means to comment on sessions and activities with others at the event or those unable to attend.

The bottom line is that social media tools are no longer just for entertainment or leisure purposes. Micro-blogging is just one example of an ever-changing communications environment and universities have the opportunity to use it to enhance communications and learning.

To follow McMaster University Library on Twitter, please click here. To sign up for an account, or to see who's Tweeting, visit Twitter.com.