Using Electronic
Chats for Instructional Purposes *
Karen L. Murphy,
Texas A&M University (kmurphy@tamu.edu)
Mauri P. Collins,
Northern Arizona University (mauri.collins@nau.edu)
I. WHAT AN ELECTRONIC
CHAT IS
A chat facility affords
a different type of computer "talking" experience in which you talk
to many people. Imagine a large number of students mingling with one another
perhaps at the Student Union. Whatever you say can be heard by everyone else
in your group. You can join the conversation or just listen. An electronic
chat is a series of real-time, short (usually 1 to 3 lines) text phrases and
sentences exchanged with the other chat users who are logged onto the same
computer system and facility. Individual lines of text scroll up the screen
as they are entered.
II. WHERE THE LITERATURE
IS
- Topics: IRCs, MUDS
and MOOs, asynchronous computer conferencing
- Disciplines: Communication,
Sociology, Anthropology, Education
III. CHAT PROGRAMS
AVAILABLE
- Closed conferences
(e.g., FirstClass, LotusNotes)
- Internet (Web) chat
- MOOs and MUDs
- IRCs
IV. ADVANTAGES OF CHATS
IN INSTRUCTION
- Fosters immediacy and social presence
- Allows one-on-one advising
- Can present timely issues
- Useful for brainstorming & decision-making
- Builds a community of learners
- Supplements other forms of communication
|
Best used with:
- small groups of 2 to 5 when without a moderator or
structure
- students working collaboratively in task groups
- students who know each other
- students who know each other's communication styles
|
V. LIMITATIONS OF CHATS
IN INSTRUCTION
- Didactic lectures
- People who are dispersed over time zones
- Large groups (over 5)
- Students with poor typing skills
- Students who are not native speakers of English
|
- Students on different time schedules who can't get
together at one time
- Students inexperienced with electronic communication
- Students who cannot manage "conversational chaos"
- Situations without communication protocols or structure
established ahead of time
|
VI. MODERATING CHATS
- Who moderates
- Leaderless vs. led
- How much moderating
should occur
- How much training should
occur in advance
- Explicit training or
training-by-example
- Distinguishing moderator
"voice" from other participants
- Development of protocols
- spontaneous or structured
VII. FOLLOWUP OF CHATS
- Post log or transcript
of chats
- Have students reflect
on chats
- Do content analysis/discourse
analysis
* This research is based
on the AERA paper "Development
of Communication Conventions in Instructional Electronic Chats" by
the same authors.
Roundtable presented
at the Annual Convention of the American Educational Research Association
Chicago, March 24-28,
1997
[Resources]
Last
revision June 13, 2000
Brought to you by emoderators.com
|
Berge
Collins Associates
|
|
|
|
|
|
September 9, 2006
|
|
|
