Twelve tips for using Twitter as a learning tool in medical education.

BACKGROUND Twitter is an online social networking service, accessible from any Internet-capable device. While other social networking sites are online confessionals or portfolios of personal current events, Twitter is designed and used as a vehicle to converse and share ideas. For this reason, we believe that Twitter may be the most likely candidate for integrating social networking with medical education. AIMS Using current research in medical education, motivation and the use of social media in higher education, we aim to show the ways Twitter may be used as a learning tool in medical education. METHOD A literature search of several databases, online sources and blogs was carried out examining the use of Twitter in higher education. RESULTS We created 12 tips for using Twitter as a learning tool and organized them into: the mechanics of using Twitter, suggestions and evidence for incorporating Twitter into many medical education contexts, and promoting research into the use of Twitter in medical education. CONCLUSION Twitter is a relatively new social medium, and its use in higher education is in its infancy. With further research and thoughtful application of media literacy, Twitter is likely to become a useful adjunct for more personalized teaching and learning in medical education.