Understanding the Use of Twitter for Teaching Purposes in Saudi Arabian Universities

The increased use of Twitter in Saudi Arabia has opened new opportunities in higher education teaching. However, there exists a lack of studies which examine academics' thoughts on Twitter use for teaching purposes. For this study, a questionnaire was distributed to academics in Saudi Arabian universities in order to explore their experiences and opinions regarding Twitter use in teaching. The results of the questionnaire indicated that the top three teaching activities Twitter was used for were: sharing resources, posting important information, and enabling students to ask questions. Positive experiences of using Twitter in teaching focused on: accessibility, the dissemination of important information, student engagement, and the sharing of opinions and ideas. Negative experiences highlighted issues such as a lack of Internet connections, the distracting nature of tweeting, privacy, the small size of tweets, and time management. What this study highlighted was the use of Twitter in higher education teaching was still in the experimental stages of implementation.