Answering questions concisely: analysis of a Twitter activity in a management course

Abstract

This paper summarizes the results of an activity conducted on a management course using the Twitter microblogging service. Students were required to answer a question by sending a tweet and to favor three classmates’ tweets on the basis of how well they answer the question. Students were rewarded according to the number of “favorites” received. The students’ tweets were compared to the correct answer, and graded accordingly. Findings are: a mismatch between the students’ tweets and the correct answer, no correlation between the number of “favorites” received and the marks scored, and a pattern of mutual favoritism among students.