Went twitter mad

Went twitter mad at work today. Watched streamed conference, tweeted & read tweets at same time. Very tiring. It's an interesting way to engage with ideas though. What also interests me is whether this provides a more effective way of learning. I've always felt my education has been about fact-cramming. I was good at school because I have a good memory for facts. Subsequently I've been a serial student. I did a language degree (1985-89), and I don't remember having to use much critical thought then. Then I did a speech therapy degree (1991-1993), which must have required critical thought, but also felt very theoretical and far removed from what then happened when I became a practitioner. Then I did an IT conversion course (1998-1999) which was focused on passing. Again, in the 'real world' it didn't seem to relate much, although I think it was a good background to working in that field. I am able to think critically, but that seems a result of my personality rather than a trained skill. However, I would say that a university education is useful culturally, I believe that it should not be about training the workforce but about stretching people's minds, and giving the space for blue sky thinking. Don't know whether that will be the case in future though.