Backchannel Chat  as a

Classroom Tool

Your Presenters

Sarah Sutter: Wiscasset High School art teacher and technology integrator, adjunct professor of digital imaging at the University of Maine in Augusta, Google Certified Teacher.  ssutter@svrsu.org  twitter: edueyeview

Deb Taylor: Wiscasset High School foreign language teacher, M.A.T. in French student at UMO. dtaylor@svrsu.org  twitter: dtaylor5671

Some Reminders

• This session is being recorded and can be accessed again later

• Additional resources can be found at: http://sutterworkshops.wikispaces.com/Backchannel+in+the+Classroom

Let's chat

Who are you?  Where are you from?  What do you teach?

What is a backchannel chat?• Synchronous / Real-time • Online• Primarily text based • Conversation• Question asking / Question answering• Communication forum• Shared space• Feedback tool• Alongside and in reaction to a spoken event,

video, image, presentation, etc.

Concerned about Multitasking?They’re not!

Why use a backchannel in class?

• Engages students who otherwise may not contribute

• Evens the playing field for involvement 

• Can't be dominated by the loudest voice

• Allows students to ask Q’s without waiting until the end

• Allows teachers to answer Q’s on the fly without interrupting

• Gives students the chance to answer Q’s from their peers

• Allows teachers to see where the understanding or confusion may be

happening as live events unfold

• Demands engagement with the material to participate

• Provides a record of the discussion or other interaction for reflection

Why “CoverItLive”?

Other possible tools:Chatzy (paid or free)Google Presentation, Google Docstext chat on Skype, iChat (See link to the comparison chart on the wiki)

• Moderated

• No login needed for students to participate

• Embed code for wikispace or other webpage

• Not blocked by BESS

• Allows for direct messages to individual students

from the teacher / originator of the chat

Examplesfrom our classrooms

Spontaneous, collaborative story-telling

Revision of the story

World Cultures : Comments during a video on Christianity

Modern Western Civilization - 

Reactions to a film about the 

Forbidden City

American History 

A movie about Trench Warfare

Collaborative note-taking

Commenting on peer

presentations

And students liked it!

How could YOU use a backchannel chat?

How?

• Cover It Live www.coveritlive.com

• Create an account and log in

• Click “Try It Now”, “Events”, “Add New”

• Enter title, date, and time

• Copy Embed code and Embed in webpage

• Start your live event!

Accessing your Chat

• Students can go to the url of the chat.

• Chat can be embedded in a website or wiki

• The chat can be involve people off-site

Let’s give it a shot!

In Practice

• Preface the experience with guidelines/expectations for

behavior, contribution, etc. 

• Students need to choose a name (first only?) to login

• To respond to someone specifically, use the @ symbol

• Opt not to set quantity guidelines - let it be open

• Like other types of chatting,remind students that there likely

will be more than one conversational thread going on at a

time

• Remind them it will be archived for reflection or review later

Questions & Comments