Tweeting and mining OECD-related microcontent in the post-truth era: A cloud-based app

Abstract

This paper queries the Web 2.0-enhanced approaches to teaching and learning and Web 2.0-tools employed in education, specifically Twitter and Twitter-related microcontent. Subsequently the paper examines how and to what extent their targeted use in education might generate positive spillovers for our societies as they strive with pressures associated with the post-truth era. To this end, a prototype of a cloud-based application employing Twitter-content is introduced and tested on the example of the OECD and its flagship events including the OECD Forum and the MCM. While caveats exist when attempting the move from the prototype to the actual app, this research suggests that the proposed here cloud-based app may serve as unique educational tool promoting the acquisition of subject-related knowledge and understanding as well as skills pertaining to data mining and, most importantly, news literacy.