"[Twitter] is not something I'm going to be using to chat [with students]," Newman says. "I use it as an additional way to let students know if there's some last-minute news, like class being cancelled."

Creating a personal brand. A motivation for going to college is to prepare for a future in the workplace. But good grades without a strong personal brand may not lead to immediate employment, says Alyssa Hammond, associate director of undergraduate career services and adjunct professor at Bentley University.

2. Learning to be concise. Although writing lengthy essays about the Declaration of Independence or the Federalist Papers involves heavy research and labor, exacting a response to these materials in 140 characters or fewer can also require deep thought.