'Tweet dreams are made of this, who are we to disagree?' Adventures in a #Brave New World of #tweets, #Twitter, #student engagement and #excitement with #learning'

This paper describes the adoption of a constructivist learning approach in a post graduate creative communications module. Web 2.0 technology, specifically Twitter, is embedded into the assessment task, requiring students to... [ view full abstract ]

This paper describes the adoption of a constructivist learning approach in a post graduate creative communications module. Web 2.0 technology, specifically Twitter, is embedded into the assessment task, requiring students to engage and share real world marketing communications from the lived external environment. The assessment task is designed to generate a greater sense of group cohesion, dialogue and debate within a small student community and encourages student commentary on shared communications within an informal environment. Data is collected through student reflections on their engagement with the overall task and its contribution to their learning and understanding of curriculum content, their problems encountered with the use of technology, perceptions of the appropriateness of the technology to create engagement, as well as reflections on peer-to-peer engagements and contributions. The paper will present a thematic analysis of student engagement with the assessment task in the context of the Technology Acceptance Model, with specific insight on the perceived usefulness of Twitter as a tool for creating opportunities for learning outside of the traditional classroom, as well as providing a rich source of material which enhances the quality of in-class discussions.