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Being part of the conversation: Why analysing Twitter hashtag communities is useful and how to do it

Martin Hawksey

@mhawksey

Scott Turner

@scottturneruon

Sarah Honeychurch

@NomadWarMachine

https://go.alt.ac.uk/SocMedHE18TAGS

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Outcomes

  • Able to perform basic Twitter analysis techniques;

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  • understanding of the limitations and opportunities of data from Twitter;

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  • *Inspire* you to do more

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Why?

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Image: CC-BY-NC-ND Tintin44�https://flic.kr/p/7oLZc5

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Education is changinging

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Image: CC-BY-ND Bryan Mathers�https://flic.kr/p/p2UJ5d

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Connected now…

©EDUCAUSE

http://vimeo.com/76178422

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Image credit: http://edtechreview.in/images/Daily/E-Learning/twitter_learning_tool.jpg

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What’s happening …

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Active

Passive

Dialogic

Transmission

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@mhawksey

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In-class Backchannel

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Uses: ad hoc class discussion, real-time commenting, recording divergent viewpoints

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Benefits: engages less vocal students, archives otherwise ephemeral comments

Outside of Class Discussions

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Uses: extend class discussions, exchange comments about readings or questions about assignments

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Benefits: community building, continuity between class sessions

In-class Directed Discussion

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Uses: Open or guided questions with student responses collected for later analysis

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Benefits: engages all students in discussions in large lecture classes

Tracking Activities

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Uses: find and follow instructor experts in the field, or key topics

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Benefits: exposure to the larger cultural conversation about the class material

Lightly Structured Activities

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Uses: solicit course feedback, offer ambient office hours, poll class, language or writing practice

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Benefits: flexibility, availability, scalability

Metacognitive/Reflective Activities

Uses: students report on self learning, articulate their difficulties, recap the most valuable lesson of the day

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Benefits: fosters critical thinking

Institutional communication

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Uses: community outreach, alerts, announcements

Instructor Communication

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Uses: announcements, syllabus changes, reminders

Pedagogical Communication

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Uses: sharing timely links and resources

Student Activity

Dialogic

Transmission

Passive

Active

Mark Sample’s Twitter Adoption Matrix

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vulnerability

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©Alec Couros

https://flic.kr/p/64ZQkd

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Image: CC-BY-NC Chris Jones�https://flic.kr/p/bupUcB

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Patterns are

…left behind

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Courtesy Marc Smith

http://www.slideshare.net/Marc_A_Smith/2013-nodexl-social-media-network-analysis

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Twitter Search

@mhawksey

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alt.ac.uk

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@mhawksey

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alt.ac.uk

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@mhawksey

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Lets interface … {API}

Image credit: CC-BY-NC nikki

https://flic.kr/p/5d59EW

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Twitter Search API – Single tweet

@mhawksey

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alt.ac.uk

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Twitter Search API Limits

  • Data from last ~7-9 days
  • Last 18,000 tweets for search term
  • Developer ‘Rules of the Road’ on storage

@mhawksey

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alt.ac.uk

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@mhawksey

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Twitter Archiving Google Sheet

alt.ac.uk

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alt.ac.uk

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@mhawksey

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alt.ac.uk

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Google Sheet benefits

@mhawksey

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alt.ac.uk

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Going further… TAGSExplorer

@mhawksey

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alt.ac.uk

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Breaking the cell

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alt.ac.uk

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Activity

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Worksheet - go.alt.ac.uk/TAGSSetup

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Note: Links are case sensitive

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@mhawksey

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alt.ac.uk

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SocioViz

@mhawksey

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alt.ac.uk

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@mhawksey

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nodexl.codeplex.com

alt.ac.uk

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Summary

  • Able to perform basic Twitter analysis techniques;

​

  • Understanding of the limitations and opportunities of data from Twitter;

​

  • *Inspire* you to do more

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https://go.alt.ac.uk/SocMedHE18TAGS

alt.ac.uk

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@mhawksey

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https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/social-media-analytics

Next Run TBA

alt.ac.uk