Twitter in the interaction between students in virtual learning communities: possibilities for educational practices in the context of cyberculture

Abstract

In virtual environments where interaction among students occurs, communities are often created with the objective of producing and distributing content related to study routines, organization, tips, among other topics. In this sense, the research aimed to investigate to what extent Twitter can be configured as a space for exchanging experiences among students. As a methodological approach, a research was conducted on the virtual learning community of Twitter, in which content analysis was used in the publications, relating them to categories that organize levels of interaction in virtual learning communities, namely: sharing materials, debate, and co-creation of materials. The results point to a use of Twitter as a space in which students can dialogue about topics related to their studies, share materials, and exchange experiences. The results also indicate that the potential of the platform is not fully explored, as it was evident that debate is a scarce element in the investigated community. It is concluded that, although Twitter presents itself as a space with several potentialities, it is necessary for users to appropriate the space more and use it to debate, to co-create more frequently, and to promote more meaningful dialogues.