Project SET
Modules
Classroom Conversation in an IM World: Bringing Online Chat into the University
launch moduleStacey Pigg and Erin Hetzel
Graduate Students in English, UT KnoxvilleAn increasing number of students communicate with one another using various forms of synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC), especially instant messaging and online chat. Preliminary results of a study of over 200 incoming University of Tennessee first-year undergraduates reveal that 85% of students used instant messaging services outside of high school, while less than 10% of the same students used the medium for high-school class projects. Corresponding figures for participation in online chat rooms are not quite as striking, but are still substantial: over 65% of students used online chat forums outside of high school, but less than 10% used the medium for high school coursework. These figures confirm both the importance of CMC to student writers and the need for educators, not only in high school, but also in colleges and universities to respond. Educators have a unique opportunity to use online chat as a tool in the classroom to appeal to student's own preferred communication practices, while promoting dialogue, conversation, classroom community, and advanced literacy across the disciplines. To respond to this opportunity, this module will introduce faculty to the why, when, and how of using online chat in the classroom. Specifically, faculty will leave this module with knowledge of 1) the basic mechanics, rules, security features, and etiquette regarding online chat, 2) the variegated pedagogical uses of online chat in the classroom, including specific situational scenarios for its usage in humanities and the sciences, as well as 3) some specific chat hosts and environments to use for online chat, with a special focus given to the Chat and Virtual Classroom features of the University of Tennessee's Blackboard site.