When I was presenting the EdTechConnect Widgetizing the Builders, one of the widgets I wanted to share was a chat box that could be embeded into assignments or quizzes. Now, you might wonder why anyone would want to embed a chat box into an assignment. After all, don’t most schools have IM’s blocked within school grounds?
So let’s brainstorm a little
* Students can ask questions that you or their peers could answer
* Group discussion is possible even after school hours
* Teacher can hold evening office hours from his/her own sofa while watching Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
* Students can collaborate for group work
* Chat is behind a passcode, so private to that specific class
* Discussion can be saved and used in class the following day
* Students can get instant feedback from each other, rather than waiting until class the next day
And so on. You get the idea. Unfortunately for me, the site I had chosen to show off, ChatCreator, was down during my webinar! Horrible example. ChatCreator is back up, but I figured it’d be good to have a backup handy, just in case.
This morning I found GeeSee. It’s the same sort of thing, instant chat box for your web site, blog or unitedstreaming assignment/quiz. It’s MUCH prettier than ChatCreator, and has some nice features. Unfortunately, it’s kinda bloated, and has a minimum width of over 450px. This blog theme max’s out at around 370, so I can’t embed it well into this blog. Instead, I’ll just provide you with this obnoxious smiley, which will open the chat in a new window. But if you’re looking for a chat to embed into your own blog or website, then GeeSee is worth bookmarking!
While our information services department at the district may think we’re circumventing their policies, I can see a lot of possiblities that might make it worth it!
I agree with your premise on uses of instant messaging… but too many web 2.0 tools, Geesee for sure, are too hungry for money.
Reload Geesee a few times and check out their adverts … I like my job in public education to use this particular tool.
Please don’t let me or my comments stand in the way of web 2.0 as I am totally on board with how much potential is there…
Wow, I didn’t see that. Yikes! That’s a great point. Appreciate you mentioning it. I always check to see if a tool is free or not, but fergot to check whether it was “Ad Free”.