screen capture of chat session in WebCT

Chat sessions

Tools and services which allow participants to log in to a virtual 'room' and communicate together in real time from their computer

Samples

Using De Bono's hats in a chat

This sample describes a chat activity which is structured around De Bono's hats.

Source Graduate Certificate in Flexible Delivery at Swinburne TAFE
URL (Not publically available)
Use For teachers enrolled in the Teaching and Learning Online module.
Delivery The task is easy to deliver but needs planning and structure. The teacher will need an online learning platform with a chat function such as WebCT or Blackboard.
Customisation This strategy can be easily reworked into a wide range of subject areas.
Availability  

Dialogue preparation for short story writing

This sample describes how learners could use the real time chat facility to prepare dialogies for their short story.

Source Certificate IV in Professional Writing and Editing on the Victorian TAFE Virtual Campus
URL http://www.tafevc.com.au/pl03/teachers/courses.asp
Use Short Story 1A
Delivery Online learning platform with a chat function such as WebCT or Blackboard.
Customisation This unit is designed to be modified by the individual deliverer
Availability This unit is available to Victorian RTOs from the TAFE Virtual Campus. Other states and territories should contact AESharenet.

Why include chat?

You might use online chats in a learning sequence for many reasons. Some options include:

  • have scheduled, structured chat sessions which address specific topics
  • have regular chat sessions for problem solving, asking the teacher or trainer for help
  • allow learners to arrange chat sessions for dealing with teamwork issues and collaboration on assessment tasks and projects
  • invite a guest speaker to join the chat room and have learners prepare by reading an article by the guest)
  • encourage learners to use chat for socialisation and the development of a learning community.

Features

  • participants are all online at the same time - real time (often called synchronous communication)
  • can create the sense of a virtual classrooms
  • allows immediate feedback and problem solving
  • allows interaction between tutors and learners and learners and learners
  • some chat spaces allow for anonymity
  • can become chaotic and unstructured which threatens some learners
  • most systems allow for the chat to be recorded and a transcript can then be placed on the web site for participants and others to read later.

Chat sessions can involve a variety of methods:

  • Text chat
    In a text based chat session participants log on to their computers at the same time and join in a discussion over the internet by typing in their comments in text. Participants can follow the discussion on screen as it unfolds. Contributions are typically very short, often only a few words and seldom more than a sentence or two. Most learning management systems (LMSs) have a text based chat facility. These chat tools gives users the option to contribute privately, one-to-one, as well as to the whole group. Trainers can paste in previously prepared material to save time if needed.
  • Instant messaging (IM) is a form of online communication that allows real-time (or close to real-time) interaction through personal computers or mobile computing devices. Users can exchange messages privately, similar to e-mail, or join group conversations. While typed text remains the primary convention for IM, the technology has allows users to send images, audio and video files, and other attachments to their contacts. Instant messaging can also be undertaken on mobile phones through SMS messages.
  • Voice and audio chat
    Voice chat is synchronous online communication using a variety of technologies including virtual classrooms and Voice over Internet Protocol. These tools a allow the facilitator and participants to meet "live" online from their computers using a microphone or microphone headset for two-way voice communication, as well as text chat.
    Virtual classrooms provide a rich variety of presentation options to show and discuss PowerPoints, websites, documents and graphics. (Many tools also now provide the option of live two-way video using low-cost webcams.)
    Voice over Internet Protocol, also called VoIP (pronounced voyp) is the routing of voice conversations over the internet or through any other IP-based network. VoiP applications are telephone services that allows users to voice and text chat, share files, share hyperlinks, and conference call as well as see each other on video through a web cam.
  • Virtual reality chat
    Virtual worlds are online environments where multiple users can interact together or with characters or interactive environments. In these immersive 3D environments users have a great deal of freedom in choosing where they go and who the interact with. Users participate in the world through an "avatar" or online persona, controlled with mouse movements and their keyboard. An avatar allows a user to choose how much of their real self they wish to portray in the virtual world, potentially allowing them to act as completely different people.
  • Video and audio chat
    Video and audio based (also known as videoconferencing, video chat, webcam chat and web conferencing) provides the most realistic form of real-time communication, although the quality of signal varies depending on the hardware and software used and the connection speed. Some VoiP systems enable webcam sharing, for example Skype. Most virtual classroom services enable users to communicate using voice, text and increasingly video through web cams or streaming video.

Back to top

Integrating chat

Design steps

  1. Set up and name the chat rooms within your online learning platform or service.
  2. Decide on the purpose of your chat session.
    Chat sessions can be used for providing socialising activities between learners and can act as icebreakers for new groups.
    Chat can be used to supplement and add value to discussion forum activities, email interactions, group work, for clarifying and discussing assessment tasks and for undertaking collaborative and problem solving tasks between learners.
  3. Inform learners of the time and purpose of the chat.
  4. Send learners support information and instructions to assist them in using the chat tool.
    Items, readings, discussion starters and a chat session agenda can be posted to the learners through email or discussion forum a day or two before the chat session giving learners time to think about the issues.
  5. Send learners information on how to behave in chat.
  6. Remind learners prior to each chat via email, phone or SMS.
  7. Conduct the chat (draw together threads, prompt participants, time keep).
  8. Save the transcript or archive of the chat and place on the learning management system for review by learners.
  9. Follow up by email or phone with learners who did not contribute during the chat, had problems entering the chat or seemed overwhelmed by the discussion or the technology.

Abbreviated signals that can be used for chat

  • BRB be right back
  • :-) Smiley
  • LOL laugh out loud
  • :) No-nose smiley
  • ROTFL rolling on the floor laughing
  • :-D Very smiley
  • RE regarding what someone has typed
  • :-O Shocked smiley
  • <g> grin
  • :-( Unhappy smiley
  • <bg> big grin
  • >:-( Grimacing smiley
  • BTW by the way
  • :-P Tongue out smiley
  • FYI for your information
  • f2f face-to-face
  • THX or TNX thanks
  • Qs questions
  • asmt assessment

Assessment

Although it is possible to assess participation in chat sessions, there are some issues that need to be carefully considered before you adopt this option. The most common complaints are that some learners will have real problems with chat due to the speed if typing is required, and others have problems with the multiple layers of interaction. This could seriously disadvantage some learners.

The ability to record voice chat provides evidence opportunities for learners requiring feedback on a completed task, describing process, outlining a position or demonstrating grammar and vocational grammar (for example, see the Medical Terminology sample design on this site)

Generic skills

The use of chat sessions provides opportunities for the development of a number of the generic skills such as:

  • communicating ideas and information
  • working in teams
  • problem solving
  • using technology.

Technical notes

Some organisations feel that chat can be a distraction to real learning and have blocked the use of chat behind their firewall. If you want to use it for an educational purpose you may need to speak to your system administrator to have such restrictions removed.

Skills

Most chat platforms are relatively simple to use for both the teacher or trainer and the learner. Basic internet skills and reasonable typing speed is an advantage — careful preparation can help here. If you have poor typing skills, pre-prepare some comments and prompts. These can then be copied and pasted at the appropriate time.

Audio and VOIP based chat platforms and virtual classrooms will require you to set up software and enable headsets (these contain a microphone and speakers to enable users to speak and hear in sessions) to work on computers including those of the learner. You can expect to have to support learners to install software and configure their sound card settings prior to participation in voice chat sessions.

Back to top

See also

From the Framework

More resources from the Australian Flexible Learning Framework

Tools and resources

Social bookmark for this strategy

http://del.icio.us/designelearn/chat

Last modified: 15/9/08