Analyzing an Annotated Chat
Purpose:
- To provide models of good chat facilitation
CHAT PRACTICE
Here is an example of how to conduct the first chat for your course. The first chat for the course is more structured than most of the chats. But it can give you an idea of what types of things a facilitator may be doing during the chats. Notice what the facilitator is doing to keep the participants involved, to address their needs, and to keep the momentum flowing. The facilitator is Sally and her comments are in bold. The facilitator whispering to the participants will be shown in red.
The first chat of the course:
Frank: It is great to be part of the chat tonight.
Sally: Welcome, Emily.
Emily: Thanks! Nice to be here.
Sally: Did you have any trouble getting on?
Emily: No. Thanks for asking.
David has joined.
Sally: Phillip, are you using your computer at home or
at school?
Frank: The computer at school.
Sally: Are Tiffany and Albert with you?
Frank: Who are they?
Sally: There are four people from Denver.
Sally: This is your chance to meet each other.
Sally: Have you bookmarked the LInC Online home page?
Frank: Yes.
Emily: Yes.
David: Yes.
Sally: Emily, are you and David at the same site using
separate computers?
David: No, I'm at home.
Emily: I'm at school tonight.
David: So are there only five of us online?
Sally, the facilitator gets to chat a few minutes early to
welcome people and help them get to the right place.
She is greeting each participant as they arrive. She is talking
to them to establish a rapport and to begin to bond with them.
Sally: Very good. It is 6:00 and time to start our class
tonight. Our first goal tonight is to introduce ourselves and
get to know one another. Our second goal for our chat tonight
is to answer any questions you have about the LInC course and
the products you will create. We also want to be sure you know
how to subscribe to the listserv, to use the electronic bulletin
board, and to bookmark the home page.
Let me introduce myself. I'm Sally and I will be your facilitator
for the course, though you will be speaking with others as well.
I teach 7th & 8th grade science at West Junior High School.
Sally: Who's next?
David: Sally, is that the town of Middleton?
Sally: Yes.
David: I use to live in West Middleton.
Notice that the facilitator
is filling the participants in on the goals and the product for
the chat. She organizes the goals and gets started.
Sally: No kidding! That must be the reason you are in my
group!
Sally: Tell me about your school and yourself.
David: I'm a technology education teacher at a high school.
Sally: How about you, Emily?
Emily: I teach physics and chemistry in California at the
same school as David.
Frank: I am a science teacher at West High in Madison. I teach
an IB curriculum in our college-bound school. From my understanding,
there are a number of teachers from other schools in Madison.
Sally: Frank, you are correct.
Sally: Are you planning on doing a project together?
David: We haven't talked about that yet.
Sally: What's an IB curriculum?
Frank: IB is like a Europeon version of advanced placement.
Sally: Just so you all know, if you are registered as a
team, you may choose to do a project together or by yourself.
Emily and David, you may think about it for a few more weeks.
Emily: Okay, sounds good.
David: Me too!
Sally: Frank, so far, you are the only one of the Madison
group who has signed on this evening, but it's still early.
David: Sally, I assumed that the five users were online.
Frank: From my understanding we should have a Molly and Lydia
signing on unless they are having problems.
David: So who is Laura?
Laura: I am Laura. I coordinate LInC at Fermilab.
Sally: Yes. We have a Kathleen and a Tiffany. Do you know
either of them?
Laura: I have a background in education (secondary math) and
computer science.
Notice how the facilitator
is interacting with the participants and asking clarifying questions
to keep the momentum flowing.
Sally: Now that we have had a chance to introduce ourselves
let's address your concerns. Do you have any questions about
the course?
David: We are online for two hours, right?
Sally: Yes. Did you look at the assignments?
Emily: I have a question about chatting. Some of the responses
seem to show up quickly and others are not so quick. Is there
a predictability to it, such as your responses will always show
up sooner?
Sally: The responses appear as they are typed and submitted.
I have no special control. The speed is not predictable. It has
to do with the function of the connection and the speed of typing.
When the introductions
slow down, it is time to move on to the next goal. Sally has
asked the participants to ask their "burning" questions.
It is important to get their issues addressed so that they can
concentrate on the rest of the class.
Sally: Do you have
your browser window and chat window both open as a split screen?
Since this is the first
time they are looking at a Web page while chatting, Sally asks
if they have their windows set up to do this. She will provide
help if they don't.
Frank: Will we be getting information via the Web site during
the week?
Sally whispers to Frank: Yes, you will
get information via the Web site during the week. The assignment
page and chat schedule will supply current assignments. You will
also receive personal e-mail from the facilitators and group
e-mail from the listserv.
Emily: No, I have the browser minimized. Should it be active?
Sally: Yes. Arrange the windows next to each other.
Sally whispers a response
to a participant so as not to confuse other participants who
are working on getting their browser window and chat window up
at the same time.
Sally: Let me know when you have both windows open. Tell
me, "Yes" or "I'm there" --so I know you
are ready for the next step.
Emily: Okay, they're both open.
David: Me too!
Sally: Are you on the home page?
Emily: Yes.
Sally: Frank, are you all set?
Frank: To the home page on the browser??
Sally: Yes. You want to be able to view the chat and browser
at the same time so we can all be looking at the same thing.
Frank: Yes, I am.
David: Me too!
Sally: Great! Now we're ready. This is an exciting program
to be involved with. I took it here at Fermilab two years
ago, before it went online. Your efforts WILL be worthwhile.
Sally is starting to establish a format with the participants.
Asking them to give her a response when they are where she asks
them to be lets her know she can go on. It is like turning to
a page in a book and waiting for everyone to get to the home
page before moving on to the next level.
Next Sally asked those who had not responded if they were
on the page. She helped guide them and then answered their questions.
It does not pay to move on until everyone is there and ready
to go.
Sally: Let's begin by taking a look at a sample product
from a past participant. On the homepage, click on the End Products
link on the navigation bar at the top of the page.
Frank: O.K.
Sally: Scroll down and take five minutes to look at the
six components of the project you'll be creating. Don't disappear!
Let me hear your questions.
Emily: So what does one of these projects look like?
Sally: Emily, at the top of the page, click on the large
rings. This will take you to the LInC home page. You'll find
sample projects to read "at your leisure". . .
For now, let's look at the 100% Recyclable one. It's a
bit shorter than the rest.
Sally starts giving them a tour of the online materials. It
is important for the participants to have a clear idea from the
beginning of what their end products for the course will look
like.
She gives participants a set time to load and browse the page.
She has them be active by telling them to ask questions about
what they see.
When answering questions, she directs them to resources they'll
be able to make use of after the chats as well.
Notice how Sally uses the format . . . to indicate she has
more to say.
Nathan has joined.
Nathan: Am I in?
Nathan: Well, where's Erik?
Sally: Welcome, Nathan! Please join
us on the End Products page. We're looking at the six parts of
project specifics. Laura is trying to "move" Albert
over to our channel.
Nathan: O.K. Give me a minute.
Nathan: I did look at the end products and saw how detailed
they were. I assume I am at liberty to pick out any topic to
use for my own project.
Sally: Yes, you can select the topic. Some topics lend
themselves more than others. We'll have some discussions about
that. Do you have something in mind?
Nathan: I know I have to come up with new material of a global
nature for the school. We are now considered to be an International
Baccalaureate School. Please forgive my spelling on that one.
Sally: What are you considering?
David: I'm thinking of watersheds or technical literacy.
Erik has joined.
When Nathan joined the chat he was obviously frustrated because
he just now got on to the chat. He was looking for another classmate.
Instead of stopping the chat to address his interruption, Sally
just told him where the class was and what he needed to do so
that he could join into the conversation smoothly. Sally whispers
to Nathan so as not to interrupt the flow of conversation.
Notice that one of the facilitators (Laura) is playing "traffic
director" to move Albert onto the correct channel so Sally
can concentrate on moderating the chat.
Sally continues answering participants' questions and getting
to know the participants' ideas.
Erik: HI EVERYONE.
Sally: Glad you made it!
Sally whispers to Erik: Erik--glad you
made it. Would you type your responses in lower case letters.
Otherwise it looks like you are shouting at us. I know you aren't,
but the others might not know.
Nathan: Well it has to be chemistry related. I thought, perhaps
something on the effects of acid rain in various geographic regions;
but I think I might be taking on too much at once.
Sally: Nathan, you're supposed to think of a project to
develop to use with the students involving technology. Any topic
is fine as a unit. I guess you were tied down at school.
Nathan: Hey Albert, I was wondering when you would get here.
Erik: Yeah, I was busy whispering to Laura. She set me straight.
I was on the wrong channel.
Nathan: Albert, did you get a chance to figure out what you
wanted to do yet?
The facilitator welcomes
Erik and lets him know privately that he may unintentionally
appear to be shouting.
Erik: ?
Sally: Erik, did you have a question or were you just saying
you didn't know what you wanted to do yet?
Erik: I really haven't had a chance to even look much at the
material. Sorry.
Sally: That is okay--there is time to think about your
ideas. Let me interrupt for just a second to explain the ? .
If you have a question or want to make a specific comment you
can type in ? and the facilitator will call on you as soon as
possible. It is like raising your hand in a class and waiting
to be called upon. It helps us keep the chat focused and organized.
Let's give it a try--or at least try to use it in our chats.
She checks to see if Erik has a question since he just got
on.
Sally jumped on an opportunity to tell the participants about
the ? strategy for asking a question or making a comment during
a chat. Hopefully, Sally will restate this format and start her
next chat out using it so the students will get used to using
it to communicate.
Sally: Do you know if Lydia is joining the course? We haven't
heard from her, yet.
Nathan: I'm not sure about Lydia. I do know her; she is quite
the mover and shaker in science education.
Sally asks about another
team member that hasn't arrived to see if her teammates know
if she is having problems connecting. Sally will call Lydia later
to help her get online or ask the lead facilitator to call her
during the chat.
Sally: The nice thing
about this program is that you'll get LOTS of feedback. Be prepared
to complete several drafts along the way. We want your project
to be a really great learning experience for your students.
The facilitator lets
the participants know up front that the project is an iterative
task rather than a one-shot assignment.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Emily: When will we need PageMill by? It's "on order."
Nathan: So, I gather we will be downloading it?
Erik: Probably have to buy it. I don't think we have it. I'll
check.
Sally: Adobe PageMill Web editor. We won't need it for
a few weeks. You can put format in Web pages as you create the
project or use plain text first and then format it. You should
order it now if you don't have it.
Emily: Thanks.
Nathan: O.K. So I can just rough draft it?
Sally: It's not difficult to use . . . MUCH easier than
writing in source code!
Erik: I agree, but if you want to really get spicy, you need
to understand a little code.
Sally: Erik, you're right about that.
Nathan: O.K. You assume I know what that is. The most programing
I did was over seven years ago to create my own interactive software
using a laser disc and a computer program.
The facilitator takes
the opportunity to remind people to purchase needed software.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nathan: Would the best suggestion for getting started be to
look for various Web sites to use?
Sally: If you have an idea for a project, please "contain
your excitement" for a little while. Otherwise, you may
find yourself backtracking to change something. In other words,
make some notes but don't invest a lot of "sweat equity"
at this time. We'll be having some discussion about engaged learning
and integrating technology that you may want to consider in your
topic choices. . . .
Sally: Don't look for Web sites yet. Right now your best
strategy would be to look at sample projects to get an idea of
what you will be doing.
David has joined.
Sally: Welcome back, David.
The facilitator lets
participants know there are some activities coming that may affect
their project choices, so they should not invest too much time
on a specific topic just yet.
Sally: Please return to the LInC Online home page. Let's
sample the navigation bars.
Nathan: O.K.
Erik: Isn't that the home page?
Sally: Yes, the one you bookmarked. Please bookmark it
now if you haven't already.
Sally: How would you get to the course syllabus?
Emily: Click on Introduction, scroll down to Aurora University
link
Sally: You're correct, Emily. A reminder, there is no fee
for this course but you must pay the university credit and will
receive forms.
Nathan: I got it.
****************************
Sally: Great! How do you get to the electronic bulletin
board?
Sally: Any ideas, yet? You didn't all desert me, did you?
Notice how Sally is getting the participants familiar with
important pages such as the home page, assignment page, and communication
tools by asking the participants how to find them. It isn't enough
to ask if they know where they are if the participants have seen
the pages. Unfortunately, the participants may say yes when they
really mean no. It is best to take them there yourself.
The facilitator makes sure that the participants have bookmarked
the home page. It is the hub of our materials and the participants
can find links to most everything they need for the course here.
Emily: COW is one way I think. But it looks like there is
another one listed in the table of contents
(electronic communication at tech_com_cmc.shtml). ??
Erik: Under Technology pages where Emily's syllabus is.
Sally: Either way is fine. Let's try COW. Just click on
it from the home page.
Nathan: I was at COW earlier. I believe you are right.
Sally: Click on Enter COW.
Emily has quit saying: Ping timeout.
Sally: Your name is everything before the @ on your home
e-mail address (all small letters). The password is the same.
Sally: Click on the Aminstrivia and Announcements link.
Sally: Enter your information in Getting to Know You. If
you want to get fancy, include a URL for
your favorite Web site.
Sally: It has to start with http:// to automatically be
made a link.
Nathan: O.K., I'm there.
Sally: How are we doing? Is no news good news?
Sally: Write your responses to introduce yourselves in
the box below the red lettering marked "your reply."
Erik: O.K. This is pretty cool. This is just for our group?
Sally: Everyone in the course should have a message. .
. .
Sally: This is for collaboration and sharing in the course.
COW is the bulletin board tool that this class used.
The facilitator is showing them the electronic bulletin board
because they need to post their responses there. She is making
sure the participants know where and how to post their first
assignment. This time and energy will save participants time
in the future.
Emily has joined.
Emily: Hi. My chat stopped working and it wouldn't work for
a while. Sorry.
Emily: Where are we? I last left off when you asked about
bulletin boards.
Sally whispers to Emily: I know you
must have been frustrated. Some Internet providers time-out connections
periodically. Thanks for rejoining us so quickly.
Sally: Emily, we are entering our profile in COW. Please
join us.
Sally: Frank, are you there?
Laura: David, are you able to get into the COW?
Emily: Sally, I entered a profile, but what were you saying
about responses below the red lettering. Where is that?
Sally: Did you click on Administrivia and Announcements?
Sally: If not, please do so.
Emily: Now I have. I was kicked off for a while. Now what?
The facilitator welcomes Emily back
and lets her know it is not her fault that she was disconnected.
Sally: Click on "Read new 11" next to "Getting
To Know You."
Emily: Thank you. I found it.
Laura: Do you see the text box at the bottom where you can
enter your own response?
Frank: We need to fill in the info to get an account?
Emily: Yep, I'm working on it. Thanks.
Sally: No, you already have an account. This is to introduce
yourself to everyone.
Sally: Did you get into COW?
Frank: Yes.
Nathan: What do you suggest is the next step?
Sally: Did you complete the Getting to Know You?
Nathan: Sure did.
Frank: No.
Sally: In that case, return to the home page and look at
the assignment page for Sunday.
Sally: Frank, that's O.K. You can work on it.
Sally: A point of information, you'll need to subscribe
to the listserv if you haven't already done so. The instructions
are on the assignment sheet.
Notice how the facilitator
is very specific about what participants should see and click
on.
Sally: Have you all found the assignments section? Please
respond.
Emily: Yes.
Erik: Yes.
Frank: Yes.
Nathan: Not yet.
Notice the participants
responding "yes" so that she knows they are with her
during her explanation.
Sally: David, did we lose you?
David: I'm here, almost caught up.
Sally: I'll wait.
Sally: I thought I'd lost you . . . or maybe you'd gone
to dinner. :-)
Sally: Since we only have a few minutes left in tonight's
chat, do you have any questions?
Erik: Not yet.
The facilitator checks on a participant who hasn't said anything
lately.
She uses a smiley to let him know she is joking.
Sally: I'll be contacting you by phone within the next
two weeks. What would be the best time to reach you? Would it
be O.K. to phone you at home?
Emily: 2:15 to 3:15 at work or anytime after that at home
would be great.
David: I don't get home till after 5:30, otherwise I'm fine
with that.
Erik: 11 AM to 4 PM at school.
Nathan: I can be reached at (444-555-6666). I'm up around
8 a.m. and awake about 10 a.m.
Frank: After 7:00 p.m. at home.
Nathan: Was there anything else?
The facilitator arranges times for introductory phone calls
to participants on her teams.
The phone numbers should be deleted from the chat logs (transcripts)
if these logs are posted on the Web, especially if the logs are
not password protected.
Sally: Sounds great. Once you have completed subscribing
to the listserv and filling out the evaluations for Sunday, you'll
begin the simulation which will be due the following Sunday.
I'll "see you" here next week and possibly talk to
you before. Post any questions you have to the COW, and we'll
get them . . .
Sally: answered for you.
She reviews their assignment
for this week and gives them a preview of what is coming after
that.
Sally: Is there anything else for tonight?
David: No.
Erik: No, thanks, good night everyone. John boy?
Emily: No questions here. Thanks.
Frank: No.
The facilitator checks if there
are any final pressing questions people need answered tonight.
Sally: Have a great week! Thanks for being on time and
participating. I hope you all feel more comfortable now that
your initial questions have been answered and that you have bookmarked
the important starting pages for the course. The crash course
in COW will also help you get started. Keep in touch--e-mail
me if you have any questions. I will be eager to read your responses
in COW. Good night everyone.
Frank: Good night.
Emily: Thanks for you help. Good night.
David: Until next week.
Erik: Thanks. I will be e-mailing!
Nathan has left.
David has quit saying: Broken pipe.
Erik has left.
Emily has left.
The facilitator thanks them for
coming, encourages them to feel free to contact her whenever
they need to, and brings closure to the chat.
Sally has left.
Sally leaves the chat
after her participants have left so participants know she has
heard their comments.
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Frank: It is great to be part of the chat tonight. Sally: Welcome, Emily. Emily: Thanks! Nice to be here. Sally: Did you have any trouble getting on? Emily: No. Thanks for asking. David has joined. Sally: Phillip, are you using your computer at home or at school? Frank: The computer at school. Sally: Are Tiffany and Albert with you? Frank: Who are they? Sally: There are four people from Denver. Sally: This is your chance to meet each other. Sally: Have you bookmarked the LInC Online home page? Frank: Yes. Emily: Yes. David: Yes. Sally: Emily, are you and David at the same site using separate computers? David: No, I'm at home. Emily: I'm at school tonight. David: So are there only five of us online? |
Sally, the facilitator gets to chat a few minutes early to welcome people and help them get to the right place. She is greeting each participant as they arrive. She is talking to them to establish a rapport and to begin to bond with them.
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Sally: Very good. It is 6:00 and time to start our class tonight. Our first goal tonight is to introduce ourselves and get to know one another. Our second goal for our chat tonight is to answer any questions you have about the LInC course and the products you will create. We also want to be sure you know how to subscribe to the listserv, to use the electronic bulletin board, and to bookmark the home page. Let me introduce myself. I'm Sally and I will be your facilitator for the course, though you will be speaking with others as well. I teach 7th & 8th grade science at West Junior High School. Sally: Who's next? David: Sally, is that the town of Middleton? Sally: Yes. David: I use to live in West Middleton. |
Notice that the facilitator is filling the participants in on the goals and the product for the chat. She organizes the goals and gets started. |
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Sally: No kidding! That must be the reason you are in my group! Sally: Tell me about your school and yourself. David: I'm a technology education teacher at a high school. Sally: How about you, Emily? Emily: I teach physics and chemistry in California at the same school as David. Frank: I am a science teacher at West High in Madison. I teach an IB curriculum in our college-bound school. From my understanding, there are a number of teachers from other schools in Madison. Sally: Frank, you are correct. Sally: Are you planning on doing a project together? David: We haven't talked about that yet. Sally: What's an IB curriculum? Frank: IB is like a Europeon version of advanced placement. Sally: Just so you all know, if you are registered as a team, you may choose to do a project together or by yourself. Emily and David, you may think about it for a few more weeks. Emily: Okay, sounds good. David: Me too! Sally: Frank, so far, you are the only one of the Madison group who has signed on this evening, but it's still early. David: Sally, I assumed that the five users were online. Frank: From my understanding we should have a Molly and Lydia signing on unless they are having problems. David: So who is Laura? Laura: I am Laura. I coordinate LInC at Fermilab. Sally: Yes. We have a Kathleen and a Tiffany. Do you know either of them? Laura: I have a background in education (secondary math) and computer science. |
Notice how the facilitator is interacting with the participants and asking clarifying questions to keep the momentum flowing. |
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Sally: Now that we have had a chance to introduce ourselves let's address your concerns. Do you have any questions about the course? David: We are online for two hours, right? Sally: Yes. Did you look at the assignments? Emily: I have a question about chatting. Some of the responses seem to show up quickly and others are not so quick. Is there a predictability to it, such as your responses will always show up sooner? Sally: The responses appear as they are typed and submitted. I have no special control. The speed is not predictable. It has to do with the function of the connection and the speed of typing. |
When the introductions slow down, it is time to move on to the next goal. Sally has asked the participants to ask their "burning" questions. It is important to get their issues addressed so that they can concentrate on the rest of the class. |
| Sally: Do you have your browser window and chat window both open as a split screen? | Since this is the first time they are looking at a Web page while chatting, Sally asks if they have their windows set up to do this. She will provide help if they don't. |
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Frank: Will we be getting information via the Web site during the week? Sally whispers to Frank: Yes, you will get information via the Web site during the week. The assignment page and chat schedule will supply current assignments. You will also receive personal e-mail from the facilitators and group e-mail from the listserv. Emily: No, I have the browser minimized. Should it be active? Sally: Yes. Arrange the windows next to each other. |
Sally whispers a response to a participant so as not to confuse other participants who are working on getting their browser window and chat window up at the same time. |
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Sally: Let me know when you have both windows open. Tell me, "Yes" or "I'm there" --so I know you are ready for the next step. Emily: Okay, they're both open. David: Me too! Sally: Are you on the home page? Emily: Yes. Sally: Frank, are you all set? Frank: To the home page on the browser?? Sally: Yes. You want to be able to view the chat and browser at the same time so we can all be looking at the same thing. Frank: Yes, I am. David: Me too! Sally: Great! Now we're ready. This is an exciting program to be involved with. I took it here at Fermilab two years ago, before it went online. Your efforts WILL be worthwhile. |
Sally is starting to establish a format with the participants. Asking them to give her a response when they are where she asks them to be lets her know she can go on. It is like turning to a page in a book and waiting for everyone to get to the home page before moving on to the next level. Next Sally asked those who had not responded if they were on the page. She helped guide them and then answered their questions. It does not pay to move on until everyone is there and ready to go.
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Sally: Let's begin by taking a look at a sample product from a past participant. On the homepage, click on the End Products link on the navigation bar at the top of the page. Frank: O.K. Sally: Scroll down and take five minutes to look at the six components of the project you'll be creating. Don't disappear! Let me hear your questions. Emily: So what does one of these projects look like? Sally: Emily, at the top of the page, click on the large rings. This will take you to the LInC home page. You'll find sample projects to read "at your leisure". . . For now, let's look at the 100% Recyclable one. It's a bit shorter than the rest. |
Sally starts giving them a tour of the online materials. It is important for the participants to have a clear idea from the beginning of what their end products for the course will look like. She gives participants a set time to load and browse the page. She has them be active by telling them to ask questions about what they see. When answering questions, she directs them to resources they'll be able to make use of after the chats as well. Notice how Sally uses the format . . . to indicate she has more to say. |
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Nathan has joined. Nathan: Am I in? Nathan: Well, where's Erik? Sally: Welcome, Nathan! Please join us on the End Products page. We're looking at the six parts of project specifics. Laura is trying to "move" Albert over to our channel. Nathan: O.K. Give me a minute. Nathan: I did look at the end products and saw how detailed they were. I assume I am at liberty to pick out any topic to use for my own project. Sally: Yes, you can select the topic. Some topics lend themselves more than others. We'll have some discussions about that. Do you have something in mind? Nathan: I know I have to come up with new material of a global nature for the school. We are now considered to be an International Baccalaureate School. Please forgive my spelling on that one. Sally: What are you considering? David: I'm thinking of watersheds or technical literacy. Erik has joined. |
When Nathan joined the chat he was obviously frustrated because he just now got on to the chat. He was looking for another classmate. Instead of stopping the chat to address his interruption, Sally just told him where the class was and what he needed to do so that he could join into the conversation smoothly. Sally whispers to Nathan so as not to interrupt the flow of conversation. Notice that one of the facilitators (Laura) is playing "traffic director" to move Albert onto the correct channel so Sally can concentrate on moderating the chat. Sally continues answering participants' questions and getting to know the participants' ideas. |
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Erik: HI EVERYONE. Sally: Glad you made it! Sally whispers to Erik: Erik--glad you made it. Would you type your responses in lower case letters. Otherwise it looks like you are shouting at us. I know you aren't, but the others might not know. Nathan: Well it has to be chemistry related. I thought, perhaps something on the effects of acid rain in various geographic regions; but I think I might be taking on too much at once. Sally: Nathan, you're supposed to think of a project to develop to use with the students involving technology. Any topic is fine as a unit. I guess you were tied down at school. Nathan: Hey Albert, I was wondering when you would get here. Erik: Yeah, I was busy whispering to Laura. She set me straight. I was on the wrong channel. Nathan: Albert, did you get a chance to figure out what you wanted to do yet? |
The facilitator welcomes Erik and lets him know privately that he may unintentionally appear to be shouting. |
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Erik: ? Sally: Erik, did you have a question or were you just saying you didn't know what you wanted to do yet? Erik: I really haven't had a chance to even look much at the material. Sorry. Sally: That is okay--there is time to think about your ideas. Let me interrupt for just a second to explain the ? . If you have a question or want to make a specific comment you can type in ? and the facilitator will call on you as soon as possible. It is like raising your hand in a class and waiting to be called upon. It helps us keep the chat focused and organized. Let's give it a try--or at least try to use it in our chats. |
She checks to see if Erik has a question since he just got on. Sally jumped on an opportunity to tell the participants about the ? strategy for asking a question or making a comment during a chat. Hopefully, Sally will restate this format and start her next chat out using it so the students will get used to using it to communicate. |
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Sally: Do you know if Lydia is joining the course? We haven't heard from her, yet. Nathan: I'm not sure about Lydia. I do know her; she is quite the mover and shaker in science education. |
Sally asks about another team member that hasn't arrived to see if her teammates know if she is having problems connecting. Sally will call Lydia later to help her get online or ask the lead facilitator to call her during the chat. |
| Sally: The nice thing about this program is that you'll get LOTS of feedback. Be prepared to complete several drafts along the way. We want your project to be a really great learning experience for your students. | The facilitator lets the participants know up front that the project is an iterative task rather than a one-shot assignment. |
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Emily: When will we need PageMill by? It's "on order." Nathan: So, I gather we will be downloading it? Erik: Probably have to buy it. I don't think we have it. I'll check. Sally: Adobe PageMill Web editor. We won't need it for a few weeks. You can put format in Web pages as you create the project or use plain text first and then format it. You should order it now if you don't have it. Emily: Thanks. Nathan: O.K. So I can just rough draft it? Sally: It's not difficult to use . . . MUCH easier than writing in source code! Erik: I agree, but if you want to really get spicy, you need to understand a little code. Sally: Erik, you're right about that. Nathan: O.K. You assume I know what that is. The most programing I did was over seven years ago to create my own interactive software using a laser disc and a computer program. |
The facilitator takes the opportunity to remind people to purchase needed software. |
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Nathan: Would the best suggestion for getting started be to look for various Web sites to use? Sally: If you have an idea for a project, please "contain your excitement" for a little while. Otherwise, you may find yourself backtracking to change something. In other words, make some notes but don't invest a lot of "sweat equity" at this time. We'll be having some discussion about engaged learning and integrating technology that you may want to consider in your topic choices. . . . Sally: Don't look for Web sites yet. Right now your best strategy would be to look at sample projects to get an idea of what you will be doing. David has joined. Sally: Welcome back, David. |
The facilitator lets participants know there are some activities coming that may affect their project choices, so they should not invest too much time on a specific topic just yet. |
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Sally: Please return to the LInC Online home page. Let's sample the navigation bars. Nathan: O.K. Erik: Isn't that the home page? Sally: Yes, the one you bookmarked. Please bookmark it now if you haven't already. Sally: How would you get to the course syllabus? Emily: Click on Introduction, scroll down to Aurora University link Sally: You're correct, Emily. A reminder, there is no fee for this course but you must pay the university credit and will receive forms. Nathan: I got it. **************************** Sally: Great! How do you get to the electronic bulletin board? Sally: Any ideas, yet? You didn't all desert me, did you? |
Notice how Sally is getting the participants familiar with important pages such as the home page, assignment page, and communication tools by asking the participants how to find them. It isn't enough to ask if they know where they are if the participants have seen the pages. Unfortunately, the participants may say yes when they really mean no. It is best to take them there yourself. The facilitator makes sure that the participants have bookmarked the home page. It is the hub of our materials and the participants can find links to most everything they need for the course here. |
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Emily: COW is one way I think. But it looks like there is
another one listed in the table of contents Erik: Under Technology pages where Emily's syllabus is. Sally: Either way is fine. Let's try COW. Just click on it from the home page. Nathan: I was at COW earlier. I believe you are right. Sally: Click on Enter COW. Emily has quit saying: Ping timeout. Sally: Your name is everything before the @ on your home e-mail address (all small letters). The password is the same. Sally: Click on the Aminstrivia and Announcements link. Sally: Enter your information in Getting to Know You. If
you want to get fancy, include a URL for Sally: It has to start with http:// to automatically be made a link. Nathan: O.K., I'm there. Sally: How are we doing? Is no news good news? Sally: Write your responses to introduce yourselves in the box below the red lettering marked "your reply." Erik: O.K. This is pretty cool. This is just for our group? Sally: Everyone in the course should have a message. . . . Sally: This is for collaboration and sharing in the course. |
COW is the bulletin board tool that this class used. The facilitator is showing them the electronic bulletin board because they need to post their responses there. She is making sure the participants know where and how to post their first assignment. This time and energy will save participants time in the future. |
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Emily has joined. Emily: Hi. My chat stopped working and it wouldn't work for a while. Sorry. Emily: Where are we? I last left off when you asked about bulletin boards. Sally whispers to Emily: I know you must have been frustrated. Some Internet providers time-out connections periodically. Thanks for rejoining us so quickly. Sally: Emily, we are entering our profile in COW. Please join us. Sally: Frank, are you there? Laura: David, are you able to get into the COW? Emily: Sally, I entered a profile, but what were you saying about responses below the red lettering. Where is that? Sally: Did you click on Administrivia and Announcements? Sally: If not, please do so. Emily: Now I have. I was kicked off for a while. Now what? |
The facilitator welcomes Emily back and lets her know it is not her fault that she was disconnected. |
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Sally: Click on "Read new 11" next to "Getting To Know You." Emily: Thank you. I found it. Laura: Do you see the text box at the bottom where you can enter your own response? Frank: We need to fill in the info to get an account? Emily: Yep, I'm working on it. Thanks. Sally: No, you already have an account. This is to introduce yourself to everyone. Sally: Did you get into COW? Frank: Yes. Nathan: What do you suggest is the next step? Sally: Did you complete the Getting to Know You? Nathan: Sure did. Frank: No. Sally: In that case, return to the home page and look at the assignment page for Sunday. Sally: Frank, that's O.K. You can work on it. Sally: A point of information, you'll need to subscribe to the listserv if you haven't already done so. The instructions are on the assignment sheet. |
Notice how the facilitator is very specific about what participants should see and click on. |
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Sally: Have you all found the assignments section? Please respond. Emily: Yes. Erik: Yes. Frank: Yes. Nathan: Not yet. |
Notice the participants responding "yes" so that she knows they are with her during her explanation. |
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Sally: David, did we lose you? David: I'm here, almost caught up. Sally: I'll wait. Sally: I thought I'd lost you . . . or maybe you'd gone to dinner. :-) Sally: Since we only have a few minutes left in tonight's chat, do you have any questions? Erik: Not yet. |
The facilitator checks on a participant who hasn't said anything lately. She uses a smiley to let him know she is joking. |
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Sally: I'll be contacting you by phone within the next two weeks. What would be the best time to reach you? Would it be O.K. to phone you at home? Emily: 2:15 to 3:15 at work or anytime after that at home would be great. David: I don't get home till after 5:30, otherwise I'm fine with that. Erik: 11 AM to 4 PM at school. Nathan: I can be reached at (444-555-6666). I'm up around 8 a.m. and awake about 10 a.m. Frank: After 7:00 p.m. at home. Nathan: Was there anything else? |
The facilitator arranges times for introductory phone calls to participants on her teams. The phone numbers should be deleted from the chat logs (transcripts) if these logs are posted on the Web, especially if the logs are not password protected. |
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Sally: Sounds great. Once you have completed subscribing to the listserv and filling out the evaluations for Sunday, you'll begin the simulation which will be due the following Sunday. I'll "see you" here next week and possibly talk to you before. Post any questions you have to the COW, and we'll get them . . . Sally: answered for you. |
She reviews their assignment for this week and gives them a preview of what is coming after that. |
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Sally: Is there anything else for tonight? David: No. Erik: No, thanks, good night everyone. John boy? Emily: No questions here. Thanks. Frank: No. |
The facilitator checks if there are any final pressing questions people need answered tonight. |
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Sally: Have a great week! Thanks for being on time and participating. I hope you all feel more comfortable now that your initial questions have been answered and that you have bookmarked the important starting pages for the course. The crash course in COW will also help you get started. Keep in touch--e-mail me if you have any questions. I will be eager to read your responses in COW. Good night everyone. Frank: Good night. Emily: Thanks for you help. Good night. David: Until next week. Erik: Thanks. I will be e-mailing! Nathan has left. David has quit saying: Broken pipe. Erik has left. Emily has left. |
The facilitator thanks them for coming, encourages them to feel free to contact her whenever they need to, and brings closure to the chat. |
| Sally has left. | Sally leaves the chat after her participants have left so participants know she has heard their comments. |