From JS Online: Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel:
Professors experiment with Twitter as teaching tool http://bit.ly/HP4RZ
Facebook may be the social medium of choice for students, but Twitter has found adherents among professors. Twitter is helping them build community in their classes in a way that appeals to the Facebook generation.
Some students are assigned to live tweeting: publishing the speaker's thoughts on Twitter during the presentation.
Twitter helps students develop key skills: listening, information-gathering, multitasking and succinct writing.
Twitter allows professors to post links to what they're reading - students "follow" them.
Professors "listen" to conversations students have with each other on Twitter to gauge what questions they have.