Abstract
The purpose of this article is to help readers understand how Twitter can be used as a supplement to classroom assignments. First, a critical look at Twitter and Web 2.0 must be taken in order to contextualize them and better understand the kinds of practices that are already happening on Twitter and Web 2.0; specifically, this article attempts to parse out practices that might be used to enhance composition students’ ability to connect with the world beyond academia and explore the link that already exists between Twitter and the “real” world. Hopefully this will lead to students becoming more prepared for the changing scope of the World Wide Web (from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0), their professional lives, and their continued studies in their chosen field. To accomplish this, a survey and follow-up interviews were administered to students enrolled at California State University, Sacramento. The quantitative and qualitative research indicates the potential for helping students engage in extra-curricular professional discourse easily and efficiently. The implications of this engagement suggest the possibility of expanding a professional network before leaving college, understanding a wider array of professional and/or academic positions, or in any other number of ways directly connecting with the world beyond academia.