Chapter 9: Tpack, Twitter, and online Learning Design

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine the use of TPACK and Twitter in an graduate level online course. The overarching research question is, “How is social media, in particular, Twitter, being used in an online graduate course?” This study uses the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework to provide a common language for describing the use of Twitter from an instructional design and research perspective. Data collection included (a) conversational and interactive dialogue between the researchers that included the instructional designer/course instructor, (b) the archived online course, and (c) the class Tweets (from Twitter) identified with class hashtags. Through collaborative autoethnography, the researchers (a) analyzed the instructional designer’s (also course instructor) practices, contextualizing TPACK principles for the design of the online course learning objectives and Twitter activities, and (b) engaged in an in-depth analysis of students’ tweets. Major themes identified are (a) TPACK framework explicitly supported online course design using Twitter, (b) facilitated fluency for technology integration, (c) promoted consciousness and reflection, (d) enhanced transfer of knowledge, and (e) heightened presences (cognitive, social, and teaching). One primary implication is that using TPACK for instructional design can create a common vocabulary and understanding for educators, instructional designers, and researchers.