Twitter in the classroom: Modeling online communication attitudes and student motivations to connect

As instructors continue to incorporate technology into the college classroom and use social media as a site of connection, it is important to consider the ways student attitudes impact their use of technology and how that impacts social connection. In this study, we examine the relationship between the online communication attitudes of students and their motivations to communicate, specifically as they relate to student engagement via Twitter. Informed by media choice and polymediation theories and using the Online Communication Attitudes Measure (Ledbetter, 2009) and a scale that measures student motivation to communicate (Myers, Martin, & Mottet, 2002), we develop a model that indicates the ways students choose to interact with teachers in and around the college classroom via Twitter. Implications and future research are discussed, especially in consideration of how students might use other interpersonal communication technologies to connect in classroom settings. •A model of twitter participation, communication attitudes, and motivation.•Ease of social media use was positively related to student motivations to use Twitter.•Willingness to self-disclose online was negatively linked with classroom Twitter use.•Students' communication attitudes impact motivation and use of class social media.