For users of Twitter, the question, “What are you doing?” is a familiar one.

But now, UW users of the micro-blogging and social-networking site are asking questions of their own.

By taking advantage of the tool that has been called the newest social media movement, some faculty members have begun to facilitate discussions and supplement lectures by allowing students a new medium of communication. Hanson Hosein, director of the Master of Communication in Digital Media, is one of them.

“Twitter is a platform where your students can have a background conversation about class,” Hosein said. “It’s also a permanent record of the class.”

Hosein said he encourages his students to get on Twitter during class in order to see what other students are talking about. Students bolster their learning with additional content, questions, comments and critiques.

“If they discuss subject matter even while I’m lecturing, it’s another form of conversation about the topic,” Hosein said. “That’s valuable to them from a learning point of view.”

Senior lecturer Kathy Gill said she is also using Twitter in her digital journalism class.

Twitter is also serving as a back channel for student learning. Oftentimes students will be uncomfortable about speaking out in class, but using Twitter allows them to ask questions even if they feel uncomfortable in a lecture or group setting.

“It’s allowed me to make those comments that I have on my mind but which might not have necessitated talking out loud,” said graduate student Matthew Stringer.

Twitter could be considered a distraction for some classes, Stringer said, but that would be at students’ expense.

“People bring their laptops and instant message during class,” Stringer said. “There are going to be people who do other things, but it’s their grade. It’ll be in their hands at the end of the day. They need to decide how seriously they’re going to take [their education].”

Although certain classes are utilizing the new tool, Twitter usage as a part of teaching isn’t widespread on campus. UW alumna Alice Marwick, who now studies social technology, said there is no strategy for technology such as Twitter to be used for higher education.

“Overall, [new technology] tends to be used by innovative professors and students who are pushing the boundaries of technology use,” Marwick said. “Twitter is not going to be [any] different.”

Marwick said universities often adopt software programs and cling to those investments, slowing down the transition to newer technology.

“If you look at the UW e-mail system, it’s not like it’s cutting-edge, but it works, and the school knows how to use it,” Marwick said. “It’s easier to stick with what you know.”

Students who are using Twitter in their classes, however, claim the tool is helpful.

Graduate student Mark Shea said Twitter is a powerful search tool and that getting important information is easier than ever to find.

“It’s very easy to use,” Shea said. “It’s a very accessible utility.”

Hosein said though Twitter can be a helpful tool, it needs to be used properly to work in an educational environment. Educators need to be prepared to engage and be responsive to students.

“With more access to information,” Hosein said, “it’s important to be more active in figuring out what’s true.”

Reach reporter Vivian Luu at news@dailyuw.com.