Twitter as a resource to evaluate the university teaching process

• Published in: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education Vol. 12; no. 3; pp. 32 - 45
• Main Authors: García Suárez, Jonatan, Trigueros Cervantes, Carmen, Rivera García, Enrique
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.07.2015
• Subjects: Computer Appl. in Social and Behavioral Sciences; Computer Science; Computers and Education; Educational Technology; Higher Education; Humanities; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Law; Statistics for Social Sciences; evaluation; docencia; social networks; university; students; Twitter; teaching; universidad; estudiantes; redes sociales; evaluación
• ISSN: 1698-580X; 2365-9440; 1698-580X
• DOI: 10.7238/rusc.v12i3.2092

The widespread use of social networks among college students has an excellent potential for academic purposes. The university has in its own students an important source of information that can be used to evaluate the quality of its services, and social networks provide a great assessment tool. The purpose of the study is to analyse an experiment based on the use of Twitter in the daily evaluation of the teaching process and its impact on the students. One hundred and forty-five students voluntarily and, if they so wanted, anonymously, participated in the experiment. They evaluated each of the classes through tweets. The students’ perceptions of the usefulness of Twitter for evaluating the teaching process was analysed through a questionnaire with open and closed questions. The main findings of the research showed considerable satisfaction with the process followed in the subject. There was also a modest positive evaluation in assessing the incorporation and use of Twitter for academic purposes. It is concluded that Twitter can be a useful tool for students to evaluate the teaching process and that Twitter is highly suitable for incorporation into the university sphere.