Appropriation of Twitter in Educational Settings by Mentor Teachers of Delhi Government Schools: A Beginning

Abstract

This study aims to explore how Mentor Teachers (MTs) appropriate Twitter in their academic and pedagogic endeavours. It explores the journey of all 190 Mentor Teachers of Delhi Government Schools using Twitter in their educational settings; beginning from training of these teachers on tweeting skills to understanding their twitter usage post one year of the training. Tools and techniques of the study were the survey, interviews and content analysis. The findings of the survey and interviews were triangulated with the content analysis of the tweets. Five hundred tweets chosen for content analysis were hand-coded into emergent patterns to identify the messages these Mentor Teachers pass on Twitter. Findings of the study demonstrate that Mentor Teachers use Twitter to build networks with fellow Mentor Teachers, teachers and other educational professionals. The study reveals diversity in the extent of Twitter usage by the Mentor Teachers in their educational settings. Diversity is also evident in Mentor Teachers’ sharing of resources related to their respective teaching subjects. Mentor Teachers’ tweets’ content relate to different themes. Inclination was most on the theme of sharing achievements of students, school, other teachers and self. Majority of the Mentor Teachers reported the positive role of Twitter in their professional development.