Instant Messaging In The Classroom
In the article, Chatting it Up Online: Students Talk to a Favorite Author, Pamela Livingston recounted her classroom's online chat experience with her third grade students and author Mary Pope Osborne. Livingston was able to guide her students through the online chat successfully because she was organized and took mindful actions before the day of the online chat. Part of the success was the support Livingston received from various members of the school faculty. The librarian was the one who told her about the opportunity to chat with popular authors and directed her to http://www.classroom.net/. Through the website Livingston was able to search through the listservs for chat events with participating authors. She also worked closely with the school's tech support to help set up the chat for her students; if she ran into difficulty during the chat, tech support was at hand. Furthermore, Livingston was well-prepared before the chat. For example, she educated herself in the proper online chatting etiquette, familiarized herself with the software basics, and screened the students' prepared questions. The online chat was a beneficial experience for the students because it allowed them to speak directly to their favorite author and they were able to get answers to their questions instantly. Livingston stated that her students had written authors in the past through "snail mail." Through this mode of communication, students had to wait several months, as opposed to minutes, for a response.
Live chat is a useful tool in the classroom because it adds an interesting element to learning. Online chatting sparks the students' interest in their education and exposes the students to different aspects of our ever-changing technology. In addition to instant messaging, I would like to utilize online video chat as another form of online communication. That face-to-face online communication will promote a more personal connection between the student and guest speaker. If convenient and possible, I would use video chat more often because it will be easier for students to converse with the guest (typing speeds, typos, timing, and having to scroll up or down to view the response would not be an issue). The conversation will flow naturally and the students will take turns asking their questions so they can feel like an active participant of the event. Like Livingston, it is imperative that such engagement is well-planned and thought out. Unpreparedness may lead to wasted time for both the student and the guest speaker--the learning experience will be hampered. I too will familiarize myself with the software, perform test runs, and screen the students' questions beforehand. If the students have more questions than the time permits, I will use this situation as a teaching opportunity. I will have the students type out their unanswered questions and email them to the guest speaker. Here, the students will be exposed to the process of sending and receiving mail.
Standard NETS for Teachers IV
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical
behavior in their professional practices. Teachers:
a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright,
intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources
b. address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools
and resources
c. promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information
d. develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using
digital-age communication and collaboration tools
Live chat is a useful tool in the classroom because it adds an interesting element to learning. Online chatting sparks the students' interest in their education and exposes the students to different aspects of our ever-changing technology. In addition to instant messaging, I would like to utilize online video chat as another form of online communication. That face-to-face online communication will promote a more personal connection between the student and guest speaker. If convenient and possible, I would use video chat more often because it will be easier for students to converse with the guest (typing speeds, typos, timing, and having to scroll up or down to view the response would not be an issue). The conversation will flow naturally and the students will take turns asking their questions so they can feel like an active participant of the event. Like Livingston, it is imperative that such engagement is well-planned and thought out. Unpreparedness may lead to wasted time for both the student and the guest speaker--the learning experience will be hampered. I too will familiarize myself with the software, perform test runs, and screen the students' questions beforehand. If the students have more questions than the time permits, I will use this situation as a teaching opportunity. I will have the students type out their unanswered questions and email them to the guest speaker. Here, the students will be exposed to the process of sending and receiving mail.
Standard NETS for Teachers IV
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical
behavior in their professional practices. Teachers:
a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright,
intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources
b. address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools
and resources
c. promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information
d. develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using
digital-age communication and collaboration tools
I like that idea of utilizing online video to make it a little more personal, and as another form of communication. This may help students more in participating in the subject, as well as getting more help. Sometimes a visual explanation is more efficient then a written one.
ReplyDeleteYou summarized the article very well. The main idea of being prepared before the day of the chat was very well conveyed. I agree with you when you say that the online chat will engage the students in different aspects of ever-changing technology. As future teachers, we need to be aware that not all of our students' households will have access to the internet and other types of technology. Incorporating technology in the classroom will allow students to learn about things that they may not otherwise be able to learn. Setting up online video chats would definately make things more convenient and the students would probably be more interested in the face-to-face communication.
ReplyDeleteI agree that some kids won't be able to learn technology except through the classroom. Sadly, in this world, these skills are NECESSARY and not just optional. We have to teach students how to use technology and also model cautionary and prepared use ourselves.
ReplyDelete