Using Chatting and Instant Messaging in the Classroom

• Why Chat?
• Sample Assignment for a First In-Class Chat
• Sample Chatting Exercise
• Basic Guidelines for chat groups
• Staring Chat Rooms with Chatzy
  

Why Chat?

“Whoever is doing most of the talking or most of the typing is doing most of the learning (and the more people listening the better).”

Class discussions provide excellent opportunities for people to listen, think and speak. They have a few problems though. First, only one person can speak at once. Second, some people are too shy to speak.

Chatting solves these two problems. Chatting is as natural to our students as picking up the phone is to us (for many, chatting is actually more natural). While chatting, students can all talk and listen at once. Many students who are nervous about speaking, have no trouble typing their thoughts.

I often use chatting exercises when I need to be absent for a day. I email the students instructions, have a substitute sit in to supervise and open up our laptop cart, then let the kids work all period.

Sample Assignment for a first In -Class Chat:

Email: Abraham In Class Chat

The leader from each group should invite the other members into a chat. From this point forward NO TALKING, ONLY TYPING.

Each person will then in turn ask one of their discussion questions. You will be given 15 minutes to discuss. The goal is to discuss questions as deeply and thoroughly as possible. I'd rather read an in-depth examination of two questions than brief discussions of six. GO DEEP!

You will get a 5 point grade for this exercise. While I will raise the standards later, for now the grade will be mostly based on the following:

1) Do you stay on topic?
2) Do you carefully read and respond to each other?
3) Do you ensure that you finish each question before moving on?

In the future, I will also expect you to actively challenge one another and to incorporate evidence from the source material.

When you are finished, the leader should copy and paste the chat into an email and send it to turninreich.

-JR

A sample chatting exercise on the Bhagavad-Gita:

Pablo Toribio-09[10:11:31 AM]: Why is Arjuna is reluctant to fight?
Jess Lippincott-09[10:11:54 AM]: because he doesn't want to kill all of those people
Pablo Toribio-09[10:11:55 AM]: Arjuna is reluctant to fight because he believes those people are his family.
Jess Lippincott-09[10:12:02 AM]: and his teachers
Vinesha Collymore-09[10:12:07 AM]: yeah
Jess Lippincott-09[10:12:09 AM]: and his great uncles
Vinesha Collymore-09[10:12:22 AM]: his family, he didnt want to kill them
Jess Lippincott-09[10:12:29 AM]: right
Vinesha Collymore-09[10:12:39 AM]: he felt like he was close to these people
Jess Lippincott-09[10:13:12 AM]: yeah, and he thought it would be cruel and unnecesary to kill them
Vinesha Collymore-09[10:13:17 AM]: yeah
Jess Lippincott-09[10:13:28 AM]: +, he says he doesnt want a kingdom
Jess Lippincott-09[10:13:30 AM]: right
Vinesha Collymore-09[10:13:32 AM]: he became overcome with grief
Pablo Toribio-09[10:14:04 AM]: "Then Arjuna saw in both armies fathers, grandfathers, sons, grandsons; father of wives, uncles, masters;brothers companions, and friends.  When Arjuna thus saw his kinsmen face to face i both lines of the battle, he was overcome by grief and despair and thus he spoke with a sinking heart. "
Jess Lippincott-09[10:14:20 AM]: right
Vinesha Collymore-09[10:14:44 AM]: so that's our conclusion for number 1
Jess Lippincott-09[10:14:49 AM]: then "I have no wish for victory Krishna, nor for a kingdom, nor for its pleasures"

Basic Guidelines for Chat Groups:

1. Have students work in groups of 3-5
2. Give students clear expectations for grades
3. Require students to email you their work
4. Encourage students to challenge each other and to draw from the sources you are using
5. I usually give students a few questions I want them to work on, and I usually have them come up with a few on their own.

Starting a Chat Room with Chatzy:

Go to www.chatzy.com. Click on the link for Virtual Chat room.

Fill in the appropriate form windows and you’ll come to this page:

Next, you’ll need to click on “Invite People.”

In the “To:” Box, email all of the people who you would like to invite into this chat room.

They will receive an email with a link to your chat room. After logging in with the password you selected, your students can begin chatting.

These rooms are persistent, so anytime you want to use them, students can go back to the same web address. If you made permanent teams in your classrooms, you could easily get this activity up and running after the initial investment of time.