Adoption of Micro-blogging (Twitter) by Various Learner Types in an Information Systems unit: An Exploratory Study

A major obstacle in the practice of e-learning is the limited understanding of learners’ characteristics and perceptions about technology use. In this case, understanding the relationship between learning styles and Twitter usage could help educators to design better instructional strategies. This would also lead to better student experience and improved learning outcomes. Hence, in this study we investigate learning styles of an Information Systems undergraduate class and its influence on the use of micro-blogging (Twitter). The end of semester survey reveals that the majority of students were “well-balanced” on all learning style scales except ‘visual-verbal’ scale where visuals outclassed verbals. More importantly, active and visual learners emerged as the most significant adopters of Twitter. The study has implications for educators who wish to accommodate their students’ learning preferences and to enhance Web 2.0 usage in their teaching, in particular micro-blogging.