Skip to main content

Backchannels Keep the Conversation Flowing (TodaysMeet ELITE 1)


Picture a classroom where students are actively engaged in learning...
Were you imagining a lecture?  Probably not.

Backchannels are digital environments (chat rooms) that provide a place for students to actively participate by posting questions, comments, and ideas.  The teacher monitors the backchannel and responsively addresses student needs in real-time.

TodaysMeet is one of the easiest backchannels to use.  It's browser-based, so it works on all devices with internet access.  Setting up a backchannel takes about a minute.

Let's try it out, first as a user.

Immersion Activity:
  1. Open this backchannel on your browser: todaysmeet.com/selfie_conscious
  2. Share your reactions to this video on the backchannel as you watch:


Creating a Backchannel:

  1. Go to todaysmeet.com and sign up using your Google account.
  2. Pick a name for your room
  3. Decide how long the room will be open and who can join.
  4. For an additional layer of safety, set a password to limit access the chat.
  5. Open your room!
Share the backchannel with your students as an address, link, or QR code.  It's so easy!

Examples from the Classroom:

  • Stacey Roshan talks about the impact on Socratic Seminars in English class
  • Tanner Higgin on giving introverts a voice
  • Backchannels are a great place for students to leave questions for the teacher outside of the school day.  When new students come online, they can catch up on the conversation, find the answers to their questions, and glean new understandings from questions they hadn't considered.
As you prepare to use backchannels in your classroom, think about how you will manage the chat room.  With clear expectations and understanding, backchannels can be a great tool for student engagement. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Like your ELMO but with an iPad (elementary classroom teachers)

I used AirServer to create the infinity mirror effect. We were in a meeting today and Dominic told us about this fantastic idea. As we discussed all things technology he explained one method of using the iPad as a portable ELMO. It was too cool not to share. Step 1 Make sure you have AirServer running on your laptop. 1. Click the Windows key on your keyboard or click the icon in the lower left of your screen. 2. Just start typing AirServer. 3. Click AirServer. Don't see it? Contact technology or your building tech person. Step 2 Connect your teacher iPad to your laptop. 1. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen. Start by swiping in the bezel, the black plastic part surrounding the screen. 2. Click AirPlay Mirroring. 3. Click your name. Step 3 Open the camera app and instant portable ELMO! Anything you see in the camera's len will be broadcast to the big screen. I just used this method to take a picture of my notebook as a demonstration of how co

Annotate PDF? How might I do that?

So I have a PDF and I need to edit it. Here is one method that works pretty well for me. Open Word. Click File .  1. Click Open . 2. Click Browse . 3. Find the PDF you want to annotate. 4. Click Open . Click OK when you see this box. Bam! Your PDF now opens in Word. Note: you maybe have to click Enable Editing at the top of the screen. Finished editing and want to turn it back into a PDF? Click File . 1. Click Save As . 2. Click This PC . 3. Pick a location. I usually save things to my desktop. 4. Click Save as type - and choose PDF. 5. Click Save .

Who is emailing me? The Blue Man Group??? (Add an image to your Google account.)

WHY It is always nice to put a face with a name. Sometimes we need a tiny little reminder of what someone looks like because we don't see them very often. Follow these steps to add/change the image associated with your Google account. HOW Open your email. Click your image. It might just be a blue circle if you have not added something already. Click Change . Find an image you like. Your amazing new image will appear. From now on everyone can put a name to a face!