Twitter in the Classroom...Good or Bad?

One social networking site that I never imagined I would join is Twitter. The thought of telling the world what I am doing in less that 140 characters was never that appealing. After reading about Twitter in the classroom in Will Richardson's book and researching on-line, my opinions are beginning to shift. I was never fully certain on the multitude of beneficial uses that Twitter could offer. While reading, my favorite example of how Twitter could be used in a classroom was the example of a history professor using it as a way to take questions during a large lecture. This seems like a very good use, in large lectures teachers are usually crunched for time and unwilling to take questions, this system allows for the lecture to run smoothly as well as questions to still be answered. Students who have questions but are too shy, or sit in the back row, or for whatever reason don't usually ask their questions will be able. I am still not completely sold on the idea of using this social networking site in the classroom. I feel that there are still going to be students who might try and abuse the system and use Twitter as a personal site in the classroom. There are also the students who do not have access to computers or the internet at home which could pose another problem for teachers. The more I research about the uses of Twitter in classrooms, the more I feel that it could actually be beneficial. Twitter in the classroom...Good or Bad? The Verdicts not out on this one...yet!