Closed Chat Rooms
So I’m jumping through hoops using Google docs with my kids, having them use it to type questions in so their peers can answer the questions as we read, when a kid says to me, “so what is this? a chat room?” And I realized, yes, that is what I turned it into – a chat room.
And I feel like a fool for knowing so little about chat rooms, because they were the big internet story in, what? 1996? But I always thought they were silly back then, and until today, I still thought they were silly – seemed like places for lonely people and sexual predators (I know it’s a simplification, but the point is not what is real, but what my impression was, because my impression was engough to keep me uninterested).
So my question: is there a way my district can use/access/host something like chat rooms for times like these? Chat rooms are blocked when I search general web sites that do them, so it would have to be a highly controlled area – I’m sure there’d be much more fear about these than there is about blogging or other Web2.0 technology.
But I’m determined, because this does not come out of a desire to use cool technology, but to help my students read better. My quest is for my kids as they read to be able to use their peers as resources – they’re working quietly, reading, writing double entry journals, but I can’t get to them to answer all their questions – but what if they could get to each other? If we were all signed into a chat room (or two if it got overwhelming) they could type questions as they came up, and their peers could answer them, and it would all take place silently, not disturbing anyone else. Is it possible without going blackboard? Is it doable for practically free?
Filed under: Uncategorized and
And then I realize after forcing myself into google docs, that the ability to put answers next to questions – to go back up the document, is a key attribute here, and chat rooms wouldn’t be able to do that. Plus I’ve got the ability to do anything I would normally do in a word processor, like insert a table or such thing, like we did here.
Have you tried Moodle? Moodle is really cool. You will have to talk your IT people into installing it on your server. Moodle has a built in chat area, forum, tests, quizzes, documents, and you can import files for your use. Moodle is a walled garden or private. Currently, I am using it via my schools Intranet. In the future I hope to have it on the main server and open to outside access. Also, I am going to look into Google docs further to see if they would be useful for my classes. Thanks.
I’ve used moodle — it’s very easy and looks good, too, and I bet your students would do well with it. Last year I was on a team that had won a grant, and all the material from the grant people went through a moodle. The software is free and available at moodle.org. I’ve actually thought that a school faculty could use moodle for some of those faculty memos that fill our file folders, (at least here in my school they do) or other odd and ends.