Let’s face it: things just aren’t the way they
used to be!
When students communicate outside
college classrooms today, often they are not using paper, pencil,
or even cell phones. A 2005 survey of over 200 incoming University of Tennessee
students reveal that about 85% of students used instant messaging
services and over 65% of students used chat rooms outside of the
class during their high school years. Incoming college students, it seems, pay a lot of attention
on their own time to reading and writing in IM (instant messaging) and online chat mediums.
These same students, though, were not using these mediums very often in high school
classrooms. Only 7% of students reported using IM and only 10% worked in chat
rooms for their high school classes.
So students chat outside class: what should we do about it?
This module rests on the idea that the disparity between the two
sets of numbers above presents college teachers with a big opportunity
and a big challenge. If students increasingly enter
college classrooms as products of what we call an “IM world”:
a world filled with dynamic fast-paced communication
and impromptu virtual dialogue, then we
think that changing times call for changing teaching strategies.
With this in mind, we propose that you take a few minutes to chat
with us about why synchronous online communication may help enrich your
college classroom.
How do I get started?
This online learning module contains four lessons designed to provide
you with enough information about online chat and instant messaging
to begin implementing synchronous online writing into your college
courses. This module is designed to be flexible enough to allow
both beginners and those with extensive chatting skills to find
out what they’d like to know.
Feel free to start here and follow linearly all the way through the module using the
“next” button located at the bottom of each page. Or, if you'd like specific information, skip to any lesson identified
on the menu to your right or listed on the table of contents page and jump right in.
After
completing this module, you will know:
-
what
chat is. Let us explain online chat’s history as a workplace
and academic communication tool. We'll take you through the
basic mechanics, rules, security features, and etiquette regarding
online chat
- why
you should bring chat and IM into your classroom. Let us show
you why incorporating online chat activities might foster improvement
in your students’ reading, writing, reflective, social,
and communicative classroom skills
- when
you could use chat to help students learn. Let us point out
specific situational scenarios in which chat can promote student-to-student
and student-to-instructor interaction in humanities and science
classes
-
|
Menu
What is it?
Why
use it?
When
do you use it?
How
do you use it?
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Table
of contents
Resources
About the Authors |
