Backchannel Discussions Guest Post at TeachOIT

My guest post for UMass Amherst's TeachOIT blog got published today! It's about using networked tools to create a backchannel discussion in which students discuss the lecture while it's happening.

"Networked discussions, however, encourage students to channel their desire for connectedness and interactivity into the content of the class rather than their Facebook walls. Being connected through networked discussions offer everyone in class a voice to comment or ask questions, even those who are typically too shy to raise their hands. Not only can all students participate more easily, they are also given an opportunity to create connections between concepts, experiences and other students during class without disruption. A networked classroom is much more active, and for students who have grown up with the participatory nature of the social Web, far more interesting."

Read the rest of it at the TeachOIT blog.

UT Dallas' "The Twitter Experiment"