Passing notes in class is a time-honored tradition among students battling boredom and short attention spans in classrooms around the globe.  But when the teacher catches you, look out!   The consequences can range from public embarrassment to the long, lonely walk to the principal’s office.  But for students of a Penn State University professor, passing notes is actually permitted (even encouraged), as long as you trade in that crumpled piece of paper for a laptop using Web 2.0’s latest darling – Twitter.  

For those unfamiliar with Twitter, it is a micro-blogging service that limits messages to a pithy 140 characters.  Students are encouraged to utilize the service – during class – to share observations and questions with other classmates.  The professor hopes that this second layer of conversation will disrupt the old classroom model and lead to new kinds of teaching in which students play a greater role.

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