How can Twitter, or other back-channel tools, foster the interactive exploration of course content?
Whether you want to engage more participants; to encourage tangential conversations; to give voice to the less vocal; or to archive discussions for future reference, the student responses to this 'experiment' are reason enough for consider adding a back-channel to your next lesson.
Would you ever consider allowing students to pass notes during class?
If you've attended a conference, either in person or virtually, where backchannels have been harnessed, you'll understand why this might be worth considering.
With Twitter misbehaving of note, I was lucky enough to chance upon a few tweets late in the afternoon, that drew me to an engaging conversation that was being hosted by a number of fellow Canadian twitterers, bloggers, and podcasters who were lucky enough to be invited to Microsoft's Innovative Teachers Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
I captured 100 seconds of the discussion, and have shared it below so that you can see what true innovation is: Teachers, meeting on their own time, to engage in rich professional dialogue. Clarence Fisher acted as host of the impromptu gathering to discuss issues related to the question: "Is Innovation possible in Classrooms"
Whether or not innovation comes to classrooms any time soon, one thing is for sure: Innovation in staff rooms will have to happen first. Today, I was lucky enough to witness first hand, what an innovative staff room might look and sound like!
As a teacher; learner; consultant; speaker; and collaborator, I'm on the lookout for opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations with others who see themselves as learners. Professional development; project based learning; and Creative Commons are topics that are always on my radar.
