Challenging the traditional methods of reviewing answers on lab activities is a great way to increase student understandings.The problem, as I see it, with the traditional review style is that when the teacher asks "are there any questions?", no students want to raise their hand and show that they don't know the answers, thus showing vulnerability in front of the class. It is a recipe that is destined to fail. Taking the focus and the pressure off of each student and channeling the attention towards the groups answers works wonders. I like to use Today's Meet for this. This back channel chat tool broadens student participation and is a modern way to review results and have conversations. Recently our class studied radioactive decay rates by using M & M's to model rate of decay. Instead of reviewing Your Assistant
In every class there is a teachers assistant waiting to be recognized and called to action by both you and their peers. Often times these students will offer a different perspective or explanation which will be received differently (and more possibly more effectively) by other students.
Extending Availability
Using this technology can also make you more available and accessible to your students. For example, while I was presenting about anytime learning at a recent conference, I had the audience connect with my students in a back channel chat. The students were able to answer questions from the audience about how our class room operates. During this chat, several students had questions for me that I was able to answer during my presentation from a remote location.
Check out @jsprfox fielding student questions on his backchannel during his #lhrictechexpo presentation. Priceless! twitter.com/jlubinsky/stat…
— Jesse Lubinsky (@jlubinsky) April 5, 2013
Modeling Digital Citizenry
Using back channel discussions in the class room setting offers a wonderful way to demonstrate to students the correct ways to chat online. From using the @ symbol correctly when responding to Q1/A1 formats can all be practiced. Any online activity is also a great time to discuss internet safety practices.
Incorporating In Your Spaces
Class discussions can be done in a more interesting and stimulating way that captures many more ideas and conversations than ever before using the backchannel. Regular, repeated use in the classroom can be beneficial to include all students on a regular basis. It is for this reason that I think this technique is an essential ingredient in today's modern classroom. Do you have experience using back channel chats in your class? Do you have questions you'd like to ask or ideas to share? Let's have our own conversation about this wonderful classroom tool.