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What is a backchannel? A backchannel is a digital conversation running concurrently with a class activity. It creates an outlet for students to engage in class discussions in a variety of ways. A backchannel does not replace classroom discussions but enhances them for all students. Why use a backchannel? You can use a backchannel to capture your students' curiosity. Use a backchannel to ask your students what they are curious about, what makes them skeptical, or if they have a burning question about the content. You could even use the information your students provide to help guide personalized projects based on students' interests, resulting in authentic learning opportunities Use a backchannel to connect the conversation. Students become more engaged when they have to monitor the backchannel while in class. You can keep it running at all times, or you could consider pausing in class to check in with the backchannel as a group. Encourage students to answer other students' questions; once they are teaching something, you know they know the concept! Use a backchannel to create ubiquitous opportunities. When students are asked to communicate over multiple modalities, they are able to develop their thoughts over time and engage in authentic learning. Learning is then no longer tied to a desk in a brick and mortar classroom; students can learn and contribute at any time. What tools can I use to start a backchannel? There are so many tools out there that you can use to create your own backchannel. I'm only going to highlight a few below and link you to them directly. These are tools I've used to create a backchannel in my classes, plus they are free! *click on the images below to visit the websites directly
Below is also a great infographic from the Langwitches Blog explaining backchannels in even more detail as well as some helpful websites for your own reference. So, how do you use backchannels in your classroom? Please leave a comment below! Resources: 10 Ways to Use Backchannels in Your Classroom The Backchannel: Giving Every Student a Voice Five Platforms for a Classroom Backchannel Chat 
Consider how you are engaging your students both in and out of the classroom. These three recommendations are only a few of the variety of ways you can support your students' ownership of their own learning. Do you have ways that you engage your students that you have found successful? Please share them below in the comments!
This week's Tech Tip Tuesday is coming back around to the concept of SAMR. You'll recall we had a discussion about SAMR a few weeks ago. You can revisit that discussion here, and you can review the levels with the image below.  While SAMR is a great model to explore the integration of educational technology in the classroom, there are still some issues that we should consider. For instance, the model tends to privilege the two levels of redefinition and modification. This privilege can have the unintended consequence of marginalizing good, quality teaching that does not employ digital technology. There are still great lessons that use non-digital (re: paper and pen!) technology. Also, by placing substitution at the bottom of the model, it can negatively impact teachers who are otherwise willing to try new technologies in their classroom. By creating this hierachy, it can feel like a long way to climb up the ladder in order to "effectively" integrate technology. It is also important to point out that SAMR tends to focus on the task instead of the people in the classroom. It seems to still rely heavily on a teacher-focused classroom instead of a student-focused one. So what if we focused on the people instead of solely on the task at hand? Kathy Schrock expanded on a model created by Jen Roberts in order to explore the combination of Bloom's, SAMR, and the integration of technology. You can see the image below.  As you can see by including Bloom's, the instructor can focus on higher-order cognitive skills. By then building on SAMR but focusing more on people over tasks, the instructor can move away from a teacher-centered classroom and more to a student-centered, tech-integrated classroom. This shift allows for more choice and more student autonomy while addressing students' needs and interests and focusing on authentic learning. Want to learn more? Check out How to Integrate Google Apps with the SAMR Model
Many educators today are doing their best to move away from the traditional lecture format in their classrooms. This shift is a positive one in order to support student-centered learning. However, there are still times when it is necessary to focus the attention back to the front of the room, whether for a video or a traditional lecture. How do we make sure our students are still engaged even when they are asked to sit and listen? You can create a backchannel in your classroom to ensure their engagement and regularly monitor their formative learning. Creating a backchannel is easy using educational technology. There are a number of tools you can use to create a backchannel, and I offer links to a handful below. So, really, why use a backchannel? Won't that just distract my students? Well, no. Your students are already using a backchannel in your classrooms, whether it is whispering, texting, passing notes, or even jumping on social media. So why not offer them a structured backchannel to refocus the conversation on the content information and give them productive ways to collaborate? Backchannels offer ways to have a more organic conversation with your students. Instead of having students raise their hand and interrupt lecture, they can type their questions in the backchannel. The conversation becomes more relevant and happens more organically. The answers to the questions also become more relevant because you can encourage students to collaborate and help each other out by answering other students' questions. This takes some of the work load off the instructor and puts the onus of learning back on the students, where it really should be anyway. You can use a backchannel on most devices that connect to the Internet, so you can encourage your students to bring their own devices or technology (BYOD/BYOT). As a secondary form of classroom communication, the backchannel is a way for the instructor and other students to clarify and collaborate simultaneously with class instruction. Students are constantly engaged and encouraged to take part in an active discussion. It gives students different options for their voices to be heard. Backchannels are a great use of formative assessment because the instructor is able to immediately see if students understand the content, or if it is necessary to go back over material that students don't seem to understand. Students can also go back to the backchannel after class and use that conversation as part of their class notes, providing another way for them to review the content material. Finally, if you are flipping your classroom, you can create a backchannel that is used asynchronously by your students to continue the conversation. Students are encouraged to challenge one another and answer each other's questions. The instructor can jump in when necessary to clarify any misunderstandings, but the learning and active discussion really falls to the students. Below is a list of popular tools you can use to create a backchannel in your classroom. Many of these tools allow the instructor to monitor and delete responses in real time, allow for class privacy, and can easily be shared as links for the students to access. You can click on the links below and explore each tool individually to get an idea of what would work the best for you and your students.
So how do you use backchannels in your classroom? Please leave a comment and let us know! |
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Designer Information
Julie K. Marsh is a long-time educator, a PhD candidate at The College of William and Mary focusing on curriculum and educational technology, and the Coordinator for Distance Education and Instructional Design at Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing in Richmond, Virginia. Her current research interests include Design Thinking, Community of Inquiry, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), creativity in the classroom, open sourced educational resources, and participatory culture.
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