Abstract
This article examines how Twitter can be used as a pedagogical tool in the Latinx studies classroom to connect students to a more expansive Latinx network beyond the local or campus community. The use of a course hashtag and careful delineation of a class Twitter project allows students to actively engage in national discussions related to Latinx studies and to critically (and virtually) curate an individual response to current events. This article includes a mixed-methods assessment of the use of Twitter in the Latinx studies classroom over a period of three semesters in an introductory-level course at a large, Midwestern, public institution.
Resúmen
Este artículo examina el uso de Twitter como herramienta pedagógica en el salón de clases de estudios latinos para conectar a los estudiantes a una red latina más extensa que trasciende la comunidad local o universitaria. El uso de un hashtag para el curso y una delineación meticulosa de un proyecto de clase en Twitter permite a los estudiantes participar activamente en discusiones nacionales relacionadas con los estudios latinos y seleccionar de forma crítica (y virtual) una respuesta individual a los sucesos actuales. Este artículo incluye una evaluación, realizada con métodos mixtos, del uso de Twitter en el salón de clase de estudios latinos a lo largo de tres semestres de un curso de nivel introductorio en una institución pública grande del medio oeste.
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Notes
I use the term Latinx throughout this article for consistency and also to reflect the use of the course hashtag, #LatinxStudies. Direct quotes from anonymous student responses, however, sometimes use other terms such as Latino/a.
I want to thank the Iowa State SoTL Scholars Program for their support of this project during the 2017–2018 academic year, particularly Joshua Mitchell for his guidance and statistical expertise.
This research meets the ethical guidelines of the Institutional Review Board at Iowa State University. I do not include the names of students or their Twitter handles. I also leave this information anonymous in the References section. I have changed all references to the course hashtag to a general #LatinxStudies, although, as is clear from Fig. 1, each semester the course hashtag was unique and referenced the semester and year (#USLS211_F17, for example, includes the course abbreviation, course number, F for Fall, and 17 for 2017.)
Twitter doubled its signature 140-word count limit to 280 in late November 2017 for a small group of users.
Storify was made unavailable after May 2018. Alternatives for content creation include Scoop.it and ContentGems.com.
Hawkins confirms that if we want students to be activists, they need to have social media skills (2015, p. 155) so they can spread information about events and/or organizations that are important to them. His article approaches social media as a tool for consciousness-raising and group formation.
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(2016, 2 October). Skyped with Walter Hernandez, the creator of @blaxicansofla in class and asked questions about the project! Super interesting. [Tweet].
(2016, 29 September). @georgelopez I know that feeling! In my #LatinxStudies class right now & learning everything about my Latina culture! [Tweet].
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Myers, M.J. The classroom, the campus, and beyond: Using Twitter to connect in #Latinxstudies courses. Lat Stud 17, 257–268 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41276-019-00175-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41276-019-00175-1