My plan for the assignment was to send out an email blast to the staff to find out who was viewing a documentary/ film with their students during the week. My ultimate objective was to have the teachers set up a “back channel” discussion conducted by the students while they were watching the film/documentary. Films/documentaries can sometimes be great resources for the students. However, too frequently teachers set them up to be passive exercises versus true learning opportunities. With TodaysMeet, ideas can be shared, questions can be asked, and conversations can take shape, all within a controlled digital chat room set up by the teacher.
For most of the teachers who implemented ToadysMeet this week, results were very positive. The set-up could not have been easier and the format seemed to really work for the students (see sample below). They were engaged throughout the entirety of the media lesson, actively posing questions and making comments in the chat room. Additionally, it allows the teachers a chance to either stimulate the conversation with a prompting question or provide a model of feedback as the conversation is taking place. Perhaps the strongest element of TodaysMeet is the fact that it allows certain students who are typically more reticent and reluctant to voice themselves in class a new platform of engagement.
One thing that cannot be overlooked when utilizing TodaysMeet is classroom management. Teachers can run into a bit of trouble when “chat” expectations are unclear and the overall lesson plan is underdeveloped. This can lead to students posting irrelevant and in some cases, inappropriate comments. Because TodaysMeet is so simple to use, some may think to set the room up and let the kids “have at it”; this is a big mistake. Teachers need to recognize the need for chat room rules (i.e. netiquette) and structure. For example, every chat should require participants to post at least 1 question about the film, something interesting they learned, and 1 response to another classmate’s post by the end of the documentary. Setting up a structure such as this at the onset of the activity, will lead to less problems later.
In the end, many teachers who I had an opportunity to meet with are excited about using TodaysMeet. It provides a social learning opportunity where there was not one before. This time, technology is actually people together rather than creating more isolation. In this case, students are actively participating during what use to be a somewhat passive and individualistic exercise. Watching a film or documentary will never be the same!
Today’s Meet Transcript:
To me, owning property is a sign of financial stability, control, and material happiness. I believe it's part of the American dream today. 06:01PM Wed, 20 November 2013 GMT by Ariel
"If America needs it, they build it." Does this statement still ring true today? 05:55PM Wed, 20 November 2013 GMT by Mrs. Pizzi
The same technique of manufacturing- assembly line- was also used by Ford for car making and the house by Levitt and Son. 05:58PM Wed, 20 November 2013 GMT by Andrew
Amy's got the right statistic. Higher than the 1950's...does that make the 2000's a greater generation? 06:02PM Wed, 20 November 2013 GMT by Mrs. Pizzi
It just starts to raise questions like to what extent are we going to go to achieve this "perfection" 06:08PM Wed, 20 November 2013 GMT by Lisa
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