I class last week we used back channel to have a discussion about technology in the classroom as well as the concept of using back channel in class. It was a way for us to talk about our topic without taking time out of class to discuss it. We had a separate conversation through back channel, while the professor was teaching and discussing other topics. This was a distraction i felt to focus on both. I felt like I was sucked into the back channel dissuasion and didn't focus on what the professor was saying. I think the back channel was a good way to say the way you truly felt because you didn't have to verbally say what was on your mind. There was none of the pressure of sharing your opinions out loud to the whole class. I think this would be very effective for some individuals.
Back channel can be very useful, but at the same time it can be a distraction. I think that it would depend ion the students and the class as a whole. The teacher will have to decide if it will work effectively with the group of students. It might be that it wouldn't be effective during a teaching/lecturing moment, but rather it would be effective during an individual work time. This will be a judgement the teacher makes. It is good for the student that is shy or has anxiety when speaking out loud and sharing ideas. It can also be a large distraction and the sound of typing can be a distraction as well.
Back channel can be used in a variety of ways in a classroom. It can be used when the students are working independently and the students can help each other and ask questions without being a distraction to the class. It can be used to share ideas about something before learning the subject and the teach can use it to assess prior knowledge. Then once the students learn the concept the teacher can pull the conversation back out and they can reflect on what their original ideas were. This would also show the growth of the students. It can also be used how we used it in class to have a discussion but to not take the time out of class to have a verbal/ oral discussion. We were able to get more done and multitask using back channel.
The back channel does serve both good and not so good purposes. I guess it all depends on the environment it is being used in.In our small class it was very distracting, but in a larger class it gives everyone a chance to speak their opinions. I agree that it would best be used for independant work though because the constant clicking of the key board could be quite distracting.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the back channel can be a distraction. Although it could helpful in a large class or in a class of older students, I think for elementary education educators this will not be a tool we should use.
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