Chat for Online Students
It is hard for me to remember that this class focuses on teaching “adult” online students. I keep putting the things I learn in context with the situation I am in, which involves teaching in an alternative middle and high school. One suggestion for creating collaboration online is to use “Asynchronous discussion of the reading and discussion questions.” (Palloff & Pratt, 2005, p.10) My question is why synchronous discussion or “chat” is not listed as one of the methods for creating collaboration.
Another view is “synchronous tools like chat rooms and whiteboards are particularly appropriate for your class if you have students living in the same time zone.” (Ko & Rossen, 2004, p. 89) It seems to me that using chat too much would come too close to a “real” classroom and take away some of the appeal of taking “virtual” classes. I do like knowing that I can chat with the instructor in her virtual office during hours if I need to. Something about that gives me a feeling of security even though I have not taken advantage of it. According to Ko & Rossen, using chat this way can “lighten your advisory load, or at least make it less onerous,” from the instructor’s view. (p.254) Sounds good to me.
Chat is out of the question for the students in my classroom, but I am interested in finding out how it works in virtual high school classes. Georgia includes a chat option for students who attend the virtual high school, as you can see from the following URL:
http://students.ga.desire2learn.com/gvs-orientation/index.html
I just noticed they use desire2learn.
6 comments:
"No email or chat" is a school policy due to the type of program we are.
I can see how chat would be beneficial to online classes, but I have some vague, undefined concerns about k-12 chat. I think my doubts are unfounded and just baseless worry about the unknown. It is definitely a good tool for online teaching.
I like the way you are questioning, Pam--why use chat, why not use chat, who uses chat, etc. Keep asking these questions, and seeking answers for yourself.
I'd like to introduce you to iSafe.org, a website focused on internet safety for kids. They offer internet-safe chat rooms to introduce kids to chatting. You might want to check it out http://www.isafe.org/
In terms of "why chat" if you're online. Did you know that the Pew Internet Reports, http://www.pewinternet.org, show that 37% of teens age 14-17 instant message ON A DAILY BASIS. So, what we are doing as instructors by offering chat as a tool for communication, is appealing to communication modalities that students already use frequently in their own personal lives. Chat is preferred by teens over email, which they view as formal communication mechanism to talk with adults. See more on that report here: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/170/report_display.asp
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