Communication Tools Update–Backchannels

This morning at our staff meeting I tried out TodaysMeet for Backchanneling. It was great! It was only between one other person and me, but we kept up a pretty good conversation. Yes, we got a little off topic with some of our remarks, but that’s probably because it was only the two of us reading the thread. When I look back over our transcript, I have a good idea of all that was discussed.

I can see how Backchanneling would help keep sidebars from interrupting a meeting. These types of conversations could be carried on silently among those interested. People can bring up divergent topics to discuss later, and any one who missed something can either scroll back or ask for the detail to be repeated. I have a hard time listening to the discussion when I have comments and questions. I need to share these with someone, and Backchanneling lets me do this. I think it’s pretty cool!

I like TodaysMeet because it seems to be a pretty private Backchannel. Members join in the conversation by going to the web address you provide. When I created the Backchannel I was able to choose how long the chat would remain available. After the chat ended, I was able to print and save a pdf transcript. I’ll have to look into all the archiving options, but this seemed like the sort of chat I could use.

The big question is, could 5th graders handle this? I hate to admit it, but some of them probably need this in class as much as I did at the staff meeting. Once I receive a wireless signal in my room, I’ll have to try it out.

Using Technology to Support Diverse Learners

This is a great website for information about what resources are available to help learners, mostly with communication arts. It focuses primarily on digital texts, and many features that are often inluded that benefit learners. I’ve just begun to explore digital texts on my own, but I have to say that playing with the features (writing notes, looking up words, highlighting) is fun, and can be a way to increase engagement.

One of the most important things to me when looking at audio enhancements in the fluency with which the text is read. I was intrigued by NetTrekker since it has a feature which allows the websites within its searches to be read aloud. The only problem is, I didn’t think that the robot-like voice would really help struggling readers comprehend the material. Maybe it’s better than nothing, so I’ll have to try it out and see how students actually respond to it.