Originally created for the KCPDC Tech Expo 2002 meeting on Saturday, January 26, 2002, by Ben Ward, Educational Technology Center, Johnson County Community College (http://web.jccc.net/edtech). Also published in LENS: Learning Exchange Networks, Module 4.
Chatrooms provide an opportunity for students and instructors to exchange thoughts and ideas in a real time environment. Although this does not allow for the depth of reflection that is possible in a threaded discussion, chatrooms make up for this in spontaneity. However, to get the most out of your synchronous collaborative learning it is best to lay some groundwork prior to entering into a chatroom.
Do’s
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Don’ts
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- Set rules and expectations for chatroom etiquette and contributions
- Provide some preparatory work for your students prior to meeting in the chatroom
- Create an agenda for chatroom meetings
- Realize that it might be difficult to coordinate the schedules of your students if a chat time is not set in advance
- Guide and direct the discussion while it is happening
- Provide students with a transcript when applicable
- Suggest students schedule and use the chatroom to discuss group projects
- Stay after the scheduled time just to chat with students and get to know them better
- Keep track of who is contributing so that you can prompt those students who haven’t had a chance to say anything
- Invite a guest speaker to share insights with your class
- Have drop-in chat times so students can have a broader span of time in which to show up and share – virtual office hours, per se
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- Have too many people in a chat at one time – break them into groups if need be
- Use humor loosely – it can be difficult to gauge responses, be careful
- Forget that once you have pressed the “Enter” key nothing you have typed can be taken back
- Use the chatroom for student critiques unless you have guidelines for positive criticism in advance
- Allow students to get carried away with too many side discussions – keep focused
- Forget to set a cut off time for a scheduled chat so that students do not feel obligated to stay longer than
they can
- Forget that not all students are strong typists or, for that matter, fluent in English
- Dominate the conversation – allow some wait time for your students
- Forget that varying Internet connections can cause
conversation to be out of synch
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Remember that a lot of what makes online learning a unique opportunity for both students and instructors is the chance to create new learning communities. Success in this endeavor is dependent on several key concepts: honesty, responsiveness, relevance, respect, openness, and empowerment.
