Getting Students to Get Involved with OnLine Chat
I think that in this day and age that most students go to online schooling because they can keep their current work/home, etc. schedule. I am wondering, however, since everyone has different schedules how an instructor can encourge students to participate in live chat. Does anyone have any thoughts?
Melissa:
I believe the purpose of the Chat session is the primary factor that will influence participation. If students are convinced that they are likely to gain from the Chat sessions, they are more likely to participate.
Satrohan
I just feel the chat has too many negitives. It's too easy to get off topic. and too hard to monitor... Forums are a better organized way to give and receive information. I've adopted a forum for my actual classroom classes. Each student MUST post their assignments on the forum. as well as ALL assignments are given on the Forum with a clear DUE DATE..
I'm an graphic design instructor so it's nice to see everyone's work on the forum. I also post their grades and INSTRUCTOR NOTES: for them to read.
Everything is in writing.. and cannot be disputed.
Andrew:
Please clarify hwere you post the students' grades and Instructor Notes. Thanks.
Satrohan
I should think that online chat should be offered at several different windows of time, if it is to be used for evaluation. By doing this, if someone works, is ill, whatever the reason, they can then make sure to benefit from the chat.
Interaction in a chat might be then graded by say, participation in four "chats" per term, with opportunity for 12.
Any thoughts?
Laura
Laura:
Agree on the first point of several offerings at different times, once the Instructor can accommodate all timeframes.
Without knowing the Subjects of the Chat sessions and to what degree they are relevant to the course objectives, I cannot draw any conclusions on grading based on the number of Chats over the total.
If the Course Delivery Platform suports archiving of Chat sessions, you might want to use this feature to enable all students to review the contents of all Chat sessions.
Satrohan
That is a very good question. I have access to online chat for different classes; however, very few people participate for whatever reason. They usually email. Maybe it is less time consuming when one does not have to reply and respond.
I agree with the forum. In my experience, chat rooms have never worked. But, in my undergraduate class at Hunter, we had a very dynamic forum where it was required to post at least 1 response, but many of us got into long discussions on several topics. Time frames are a primary factor,
This is a really good idea, Laura. I had never thought of doing that, but I will now.
Thanks!
Is a Forum the same as a Threaded Discussion (asynchronous)?
Yes, the trick is to make sure that what you are defining is asynchronous.
Jon
You may want to consider posting an announcement on the topic of the upcoming live chat - as Satrohan mentioned, students who think the live chat will help them are likely to come with questions, and are likely to participate more.
Good point - I try to schedule them out well in advance, and stagger times, to get the greatest total involvement - Jon
This is a good idea
I find the same students involved in the chats. I think your idea is a good one to create student involvement balance.
