Introduction

• web browsers
• search engines
• chat rooms
• FTP
• images & animation
• regular video & audio
• streaming video & audio
• electronic whiteboards
• MUD's & MOO's
• videoconferencing
• web authoring tools
• push technologies
• site capturing
• intranets

References

Chat Rooms

Modern digital networks allow users from widely separated geographic locations to participate in real-time text-based disucssions using a tool called a chat room. Upon entering a chat room, users can see the screen names of the other participants as well as the contributions to the discussion made by each participant. As dialogue continues, the screen is filled with lines of text as each participant keys it into a field on his or her browser window, then clicks a button to post the text to the chat room. Most chat rooms allow the moderator to archive a document containng the text of the discussion.

For educators, chat room can be a valuable resource as all student can be encouraged to participate in discussions, and the discussion can be revisited by reviewing the archived text. An important concern for educators who choose to use chat rooms with students is ensuring all of the participants are known and that the contributions of all participants can be clearly identified to each user. Chat rooms are well-known to be a venue of online harassment and bullying by students (Media Awareness Network, 2006), so students who use chat rooms with little supervision away from school may fall into inappropriate habits if chat rooms used in school are not monitored.

There are strategies for exerting control over the use chat rooms in schools, however. The option of participants beginning private chat rooms (a feature common in many chat room programs) should be disabled. Only responsible adults should be authorized to create chat rooms, and access to the chat rooms should be limited to only those with permission. One way educators can exert the necessary controls over chat rooms is to use only those installed on intranets or on web directories protected with a secure and constantly changing password.

Although using chat rooms is easily with the capabilities of any educator who is comfortable using the World Wide Web, configuring chat rooms on school servers is going to require collaboration with network administrators.

Resources for chat rooms:

• Perhaps the most appropriate installation of chat rooms in schools is as a part of a learning management system such as ATutor (Adaptive Technology Resource Center, 2004-2006) which allows authenticated users access to a full range of online learning tools.