This is a great article about using the backchannel with students. Such good advice here!
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12 Jan 12
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Not speak aloud to anyone during our backchannel, communicate only via chat.
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Summarize important facts that collaboratively would make up a study guide for the Social Studies test.
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- Listening
- Reading the ongoing conversation
- Writing a summarized comment
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25 page long chat log that I saved and printed out
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extremely important to go over the chat log with the students
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I made sure that I pointed out well written comments and congratulated their authors for contributing to the “collaborative study guide”.
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16 Dec 11
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22 Nov 11
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11 Nov 11
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10 Oct 11
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27 Sep 11
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23 Aug 11
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13 Jul 11
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My philosophy, instead of shutting tools such as chatrooms completely out, is to use them in a safe environment, engage students and use teachable moments to talk about safety and etiquette.
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- to have some “free time†(always school appropriate of course)
- to get used to the specific platform. Where do you type you comments? Where do you post it? How and in what order do you read the comments?
- to get the “giggles†and “goofiness†out
Not one of them knew or had heard of a Backchannel. I explained that it was a group of people who used computers or smartphones
to maintain a real-time online conversation alongside live spoken conversation.
One thing I learned from these experience is that you cannot throw students (not even adults for that matter) into a chatroom and expect them to be able to stay focused, stay on target and use this tool naturally in a productive way.
You need to give students an opportunity:
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- Not speak aloud to anyone during our backchannel, communicate only via chat.
- Listen to the conversation between the teachers
- Summarize important facts that collaboratively would make up a study guide for the Social Studies test.
- Listening
- Reading the ongoing conversation
- Writing a summarized comment
- keyboarding skills come in handy
- some students randomly posted off topic comments and/or continued the conversation started in their “free” time at the beginning of class.
- students posted repeated statements (did not follow the log by reading what had been posted previously)
- Some students did not only posts incredible summarized comments, but also added great additions from their own background knowledge about the subject.
- Students also added facts to the chat that had been previously mentioned in their classroom, but had not been repeated during the live conversation.
- Students started using the backchannel to ask questions.
While their teacher and I would be having a conversation about the topic of their Social Studies review, students were to:
I explained to the students that we were using a backchannel for various reasons and that it would not be as easy as they might anticipate. They would have to practice multitasking
After the about 20 minute review, the 25 page long chat log that I saved and printed out, revealed the following:
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What is a “backchannel” you ask?
Backchannel is the practice of using networked computers to maintain a real-time online conversation alongside live spoken remarks.
Backchannels are used more and more in the educational field, during face to face conferences and lectures, as well as virtual conversations. With smartphones and portable computers one can participate and contribute to a conversation, provide documentation and help facilitate by connecting others who are not present.
How were we going to adapt this concept to our elementary school classroom and students?
21st century skills demand that we prepare our children to communicate, collaborate and connect to each other, but also to information. Media and Information literacy are extremely important areas of integration to our current curriculum.
Using a private chatroom as the platform to practice all the above mentioned skills was to harness the students’ excitement for chatting as a means of communication, review material previously discussed in class and collaboratively compile and organize information.
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17 May 11
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26 Mar 11
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22 Mar 11
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08 Mar 11
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30 Jan 11
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students sign in with their first names (only)
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use @username if they were addressing or responding to a specific person.
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- Not speak aloud to anyone during our backchannel, communicate only via chat.
- Listen to the conversation between the teachers
- Summarize important facts that collaboratively would make up a study guide for the Social Studies test.
-
- Listening
- Reading the ongoing conversation
- Writing a summarized comment
-
- keyboarding skills come in handy
- some students randomly posted off topic comments and/or continued the conversation started in their “free” time at the beginning of class.
- students posted repeated statements (did not follow the log by reading what had been posted previously)
- Some students did not only posts incredible summarized comments, but also added great additions from their own background knowledge about the subject.
- Students also added facts to the chat that had been previously mentioned in their classroom, but had not been repeated during the live conversation.
- Students started using the backchannel to ask questions.
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26 Jan 11
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24 Jan 11
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07 Dec 10
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27 Oct 10
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19 Oct 10
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17 Oct 10
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12 Oct 10
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08 Oct 10
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01 Sep 10
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25 Aug 10
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17 Aug 10
Cheska LorenaHow-to and insights on introducing backchannels in the classroom
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14 Aug 10
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06 Aug 10
Anne FoxExcellent post detailing how backchannelling can be used to good effect with YLs
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05 Aug 10
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04 Aug 10
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Sarah White"Chatrooms have acquired a bad reputation. Children are being warned that entering a chatroom will get them kidnapped, abused and possibly killed. As with everything, if you use scare tactics and simply tell children “not to do it”, they will automatically been drawn to whatever you are trying to keep them away from. My philosophy, instead of shutting tools such as chatrooms completely out, is to use them in a safe environment, engage students and use teachable moments to talk about safety and etiquette."
backchannel elementary chat students teaching langwitches backchanneling blog
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03 Aug 10
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02 Aug 10
J ShumakerMy philosophy, instead of shutting tools such as chatrooms completely out, is to use them in a safe environment, engage students and use teachable moments to talk about safety and etiquette.
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Charlyn TrussellInformation on using backchanneling/chatting with elementary school students.
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01 Aug 10
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Kathleen MorrisBlog post about backchanneling with primary students. Backchannel is the practice of using networked computers to maintain a real-time online conversation alongside live spoken remarks.
backchanneling backchannel elementary chat students teaching langwitches blog
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31 Jul 10
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Silvia Rosenthal TolisanoChatrooms have acquired a bad reputation. Children are being warned that entering a chatroom will get them kidnapped, abused and possibly killed.
As with everything, if you use scare tactics and simply tell children “not to do it” , they will automatical -
Dorie GlynnRT @langwitches: Backchanneling with ElementarySchoolStudents http://bit.ly/aKmM0B #rscon10
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16 Apr 10
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14 Apr 10
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13 Apr 10
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10 Apr 10
MusicTech Web2.0Backchanneling with Elementary School Students
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07 Mar 10
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05 Mar 10
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04 Mar 10
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06 Feb 10
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01 Feb 10
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14 Jan 10
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- Not speak aloud to anyone during our backchannel, communicate only via chat.
- Listen to the conversation between the teachers
- Summarize important facts that collaboratively would make up a study guide for the Social Studies test.
- Listening
- Reading the ongoing conversation
- Writing a summarized comment
It was also a good time to remind students, that everything they write “can and will be used against them”. All their comments are attributed to their username and tagged with the time that it was posted. If the teacher were to ask to please hold any comments at any point in time, any student who did not follow direction would be very clear.
While their teacher and I would be having a conversation about the topic of their Social Studies review, students were to:I explained to the students that we were using a backchannel for various reasons and that it would not be as easy as they might anticipate. They would have to practice multitasking
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This section is really important - set up guidelines before using this with students!
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08 Jan 10
Barbara LindseyAnother great description of a wonderful elementary classroom project by Silvia Tolisano
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28 Dec 09
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14 Dec 09
Ty Yost"Backchanneling with Elementary School Students
by Langwitches ~ November 19th, 2009. Filed under: 21st Century Learning, 21st Century Skills, Collaboration, Communication.
Chatrooms have acquired a bad reputation. Children are being warned that entering a chatroom will get them kidnapped, abused and possibly killed." -
10 Dec 09
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06 Dec 09
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23 Nov 09
Linda McNeilThe Ultimate Free Desktop Organizer - A Screen Saver and Desktop Wallpaper With Purpose!
LPN courses PACS backchannel elementary langwitches blog students chat teaching technology
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22 Nov 09
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Donna DesRochesMy philosophy, instead of shutting tools such as chatrooms completely out, is to use them in a safe environment, engage students and use teachable moments to talk about safety and etiquette.
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21 Nov 09
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Chatrooms have acquired a bad reputation. Children are being warned that entering a chatroom will get them kidnapped, abused and possibly killed.
As with everything, if you use scare tactics and simply tell children “not to do it” , they will automatically been drawn to whatever you are trying to keep them away from.
My philosophy, instead of shutting tools such as chatrooms completely out, is to use them in a safe environment, engage students and use teachable moments to talk about safety and etiquette.
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I have used Tinychat, a private chatroom platform, previously with my elementary students with great success. We were Skyping with another class in the “Around the World with 80 Schools” project. I was looking for a way to involve the group of students, who did not have an active role in speaking with our Skype partners in addition to wanting to document what was being discussed during the conversation.
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- keyboarding skills come in handy
- some students randomly posted off topic comments and/or continued the conversation started in their “free” time at the beginning of class.
- students posted repeated statements (did not follow the log by reading what had been posted previously)
- Some students did not only posts incredible summarized comments, but also added great additions from their own background knowledge about the subject.
- Students also added facts to the chat that had been previously mentioned in their classroom, but had not been repeated during the live conversation.
- Students started using the backchannel to ask questions.
After the about 20 minute review, the 25 page long chat log that I saved and printed out, revealed the following:
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20 Nov 09
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Maggie VersterA great blogpost about using "chat channels" with primary school students but for that matter with any students.
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William GaskinsChatrooms have a acquired a bad reputation. Children are being warned that entering a chatroom will get them kidnapped, abused and possibly killed.
As with everything, if you use scare tactics and simply tell children “not to do it” , they will automatic
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