Using games to disrupt the conference Twittersphere

• Main Authors: Rosie Jones (Author), Emily Shields (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Association for Learning Technology, 2018-05-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2156-7077; 10.25304/rlt.v26.2036
• Keywords: Unconference; Twitter; Playful; Networking; Conference; Games; Social media; Education; L
• Source: Research in Learning Technology, Vol 26, Iss 0, Pp 1-10 (2018)

Social media tools are changing practices in many industries, including academia, and the Twitter platform is widely recognised as the 'tool of choice' for microblogging. Academic conferences often use social media to provide conference 'backchannels'. This article describes a conference game using toys as alter egos, driven through Twitter. We found that the soft toy game format was participated in by a majority of the attendees, with early posts in advance of the conference a good signal of engagement. We look at what the organisers learnt from the game and how such games, including Twitter elements, could support wider networks beyond the conference itself.