Affinity Spaces
Many have argued that the new participatory cultures represent ideal learning environments. We can call such informal learning cultures affinity spaces. Affinity spaces are about connectivity. They are a social connection to those around us who have a natural liking or attraction to ideas of sameness. These are the participatory cultures that are affected to a large extent by the type of e-learning spaces that provide a degree of informal mentorship through the creation and sharing of work with others. In an affinity space, people relate to each other primarily in terms of common interests, endeavors, goals, or practices. These are the spaces where people learn, participate more actively, engage more deeply with popular culture than they do with the contents of their brick and mortar classrooms.
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Backchannels of Participatory Learning
The best suggested method for introducing a backchannel to your classroom would be to develop a virtual jigsaw. This will allow the students to participate in a virtual conversation while being facilitated by the classroom teacher. Backchannels that are asynchronous can be used for various classroom formal or informal discussions about current events, collaborative projects, readings, portfolios, and many other content specific activities generated by the teacher. The purpose behind the asynchronous backchannel is to provide immediate feedback or responses to learner. The teacher can also generate questions on the backchannel to support students in the construction of a project. Students can use the backchannel to describe their work to others; while other participants provide feedback or advice. Participation on the backchannel can help in the formation of a community among groups of learners who otherwise would be unable to communicate formally or informally.
TodaysMeet
TodaysMeet (http://todaysmeet.com/) is a free chat service that can be used for holding a back-channel discussion with students and colleagues. TodaysMeet is completely free to use. Setting up a chat area in TodaysMeet is very simple. To set upyour chat area just select a name for your room (that name becomes the url for your chat area), how long you want your room to exist, and select an optional Twitter hashtag for your chat area.
To invite people to your chat area send them the url. What makes TodaysMeet different from similar services is that TodaysMeet doesn't have a public gallery of chat rooms containing questionable content. TodaysMeet also doesn't place inappropriate advertising on your chat area. I use TodaysMeet when we watch films in the classroom. Having an active backchannel allows students to ask questions and post comments while watching the film. I also use TodaysMeet during lectures or presentations as place for students to record their questions for discussion. |
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