To Chat or Not To Chat
With the ever-changing of cyberspace, are more "traditional" live chat that supplant lectures still relevant?
I believe that live chats are necessary for certain courses. Some courses may just need recorded lectures for students to view to better understand the material. In my case where I teach mathematics, it is very essential to have live chats. Where I teach, I have two live chats. I am able to use the whiteboard and students are able to follow along while I am doing problems on the board. They are able to ask questions, such as, "how did you get this answer because I got that answer?" This dialogue is great amongst students and myself because students will begin to have an understanding of the concept. It makes for a meaningful live chat!
Kenneth,
That is a great way to utilize chats. Do you record your chats?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kenneth,
I think that is smart. I read throughout these forums that instructors are "required" to hold chats but students are not required to attend. As important at chat may be in the learning process, students don't have an incentive to attend.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Technologies available in classrooms today range from simple tool-based applications. I teach in the management program and there are a number of assignments which requires the basic activity of build a model utilizing excel. Each technology is likely to play a different role in students' learning.
In using technology as an essential tutoring tool, I try to increase students basic skills and knowledge by walking them step-by-step (during chat sessions) in building several spreadsheets to assist in completing the homework assignments.
Kenneth Terrell
Joanna,
You bring up an essential in that student "could not" pass your class without attending chat sessions. Immediately, I see value for the students beyond the perception, "if I attend chat session, I will get a better grade". The value appears to be tangible because the concepts apparently are visited and discussed.
Kenneth
Albert,
Do you have students who utilize your chats? Your strategies are great.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I find that live chats are beneficial to students who are audio learners. The live chat allows students to post questions; I respond. Any student can review the live chats in the archives. My online university does not record who listens to the archived live chats and how many times each student listens to a particular chat.
My objective of the live chat is to review and discuss the expectations for the assignments. We discuss how to learn the concepts, and we discuss the relationships among the concepts.
Any attending student may ask any question they wish; however, I do not answer the question:" what is the correct response I should write in my assignment?" LOL Yes, that question has been asked.
I have used live chat a lecture that can be reviewed in the archives if I find there is misleading information in the textbook or if students tend to move in the wrong direction in their internet research. In this case I consider the live chat a tutorial on a concept or theory.
I believe that live chat can have many roles to play for the online student.
Please keep in mind that my live chats are intended to provide tips, suggestions and hints on how to learn. A student may not attend later live chats if they develop their own effective learning techniques.
Constantinos,
OK, I am going to follow your lead and quit calling them chats. I think that is a great observation. We have to make those synchronous classes have value and it starts with the term we use to address it. GREAT!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I cannot overemphasize the importance of chats. In fact, I don't know WHO in online cyberland came up with the term "chats," but it is certainly a word that should be removed from the online learning lexicon ASAP.
Call them CLASSES. "Chat" denotes: "oh, maybe I'll stop by for a chat," as if it were coffee buddies at Starbucks.
They should be CLASSES and imperative. Online education is great when it does NOT diminish the instructor's role as the central fountain of knowledge.
Tina,
Thanks for sharing, that is interested. I am trying Google Hangout this summer. It provides some interesting functions.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I teach online. I have found that fewer and fewer students participate in the "chat" option and go for the "live lab" option instead. The "live lab" is based out of webex and allows for screen sharing. Live labs are much more collaborative and students can interact better than in chat.
Tina Cressman
George,
I like your suggestion. I too think you are right. Next semester I am going to setup a Facebook page for general information rather than use a discussion board. They are already in Facebook, why not use it.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Johnnie,
I love that!!! You know class pressure can help even in the online environment. I find students want to be apart of the course on their own time so watching archive chats is there way of choosing their times. (A control issue maybe . . .)
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
More and more students use social media today and I think their fondness of the venue for the most part should be taken advantage of. I have noticed over the past few years that students attend maybe the first and second “voluntary†chat and then attendance tapers off. There will always be the students that do not want to miss anything. I attribute low attendance to a few reasons. The chats are optional and do not contribute towards the grade. They are also recorded and archived for asynchronous use so there is no reason to attend “live†except to present an issue. I also post presentation material as an uploaded file. Live chats seem one-way in that students type rather than speak and a portion of the chat (30 minutes) does seem like a lecture. That is usually sue to the student wanting to be passive and stay in the background. It may also speak to typing and language skills. Using the tools in the classroom, I think that students prefer to “receive†versus “send†in the live chat setting. Back to my opening statement, if students for the most part use social media and enjoy it, I think that the live chat can be formatted to be more inclusive by moving toward the less formalized approach. This applies to the brick and mortar classroom as well where instructors who are effective are not static. They present multimedia material and demonstrations that get the students involved by piquing their interest. Many “teach†from the back of the classroom or among the students. As in web research, the availability of material on the web to share with students is immense, up-to-date and, with careful consideration, relevant. I do not think that a new venue is needed. It is how that venue is used that will make the difference.
I agree. Even though I have very low attendance, we archive live chats and it always amazes me how many students view the archived chats and email me with questions or responses based on what the attendees ask during the chat. I've found that common questions come up ( in mathematics) no matter the topic and students benefit from hearing others ask. Within discussion board posts, I see many students referring fellow classmates to the live chats. Stating: "Professor Hunt covered that in Live Chat!".
Ann,
Interesting. I think it is really personal preference. I do NOT allow students to call me on a phone as a teaching tool. I did it once and most of my nontraditional students bypassed the LMS. It became a management issue with me.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I think live chats could be relevant in some things. Personally, I teach medical billing and coding and I do not find chat very helpful at all. I prefer talking to the students on the phone to teach in a conference call.
Zakevia,
I agree, I actually use chatting for all of my office hours f2f courses or online. That way I can be consistent.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hello Mary,
I too use the chat room to answer any questions student's may have and I may also use it for virtual office hours if a student need assistance on an assignment or run a few idea they may have for a given assignment/project. I think in the right way, the chat is just as effective as face-to-face office hours.
Zakevia
