Jumping into two terms that I’ve heard thrown around and had some background on but not much personal experience with.
Definitions of each in my own thinking. Blogging is an online platform or website that an individual or group uses to express thinking using multi modal communication, including images or other media. Back channeling is a digital conversation that is going on ‘behind the scenes’ so to speak of the learning students are engaged in.
My personal experience in blogging was limited to reading other people’s blogs when they showed up on my facebook feed and the titles engaged me enough to want to read them. Starting this blog for class is exciting for me as I hope to turn it into something more after class….either personally or professionally I’m not decided yet. I guess we will see where the inspiration leads.
Back Channeling I have had personal experience with, I just didn’t realize what it was while engaged with it. Many times in different trainings or presentations I’ve attended, other attendees and I will be posting on twitter, hash tagging the event’s name, and commenting on each other’s thoughts. Less publically, my colleagues and I will often end up in group text messaging threads…which definitely allows for more honest thinking and sharing when it is more private among a trusted group.
I’m looking forward to trying more back channeling ideas during my own presentations to my different staffs. I’ve tried plickers, polleverywhere and padlet in previous trainings, with relatively great success. Some teachers have even taken them back to their classrooms as engagement strategies. I’d really like to try Today’s Meet next. Which tools have other presenters tried and found success for staffs that are very ‘virgin’ in 21st Century Learning? Staffs that are less tech savvy than others?
I am glad to see that your understanding of these tools is increasing!
ReplyDeleteI am a strong advocate for blogging with students as I have found it to have a dramatic impact on student writing and communication skills as they realize that they have an authentic audience that they can interact with through comments.
Back channeling can be a great tool too and the way you describe using Twitter or group text threads are some of the most common examples. The nice thing about specifically planning for it using a tool like Twitter is that it can also be used as a way of gathering feedback and formative data. Group texts are great for the participants but don't do much for the presenter.
The tools you mention (Plickers, Poll Everywhere, and Padlet) are some of my favorites to share with teachers. They are a little different from back channels though as most often they are used for formative assessment during a lesson or session rather than as a way for participants to participate with one another directly. I haven't used Today's Meet yet myself but I have heard good things. Another student response system you might try is Socrative; it is similar to Poll Everywhere but includes some other response options.
Thanks for your great post and participation in the course!