Chat rooms in the Classroom

I remember when we first got internet access at our home when I was in 5th or 6th grade. The first thing I wanted to do was to join AOL chatrooms and interact with strangers all over the world. Most of the time, the conversations I participated in turned out to be yelling or flirting fests between users, but from time to time I would get into meaningful conversations about life and hobbies. Nowadays, chat rooms have given way to instant messaging and texting, which is typically done between two people who know each other; however, that isn't to say that chat rooms are now useless.

Having discussions between students in a chat room can be a valuable academic experience if students and teachers are properly prepared. Chat rooms are great for hosting literature circles or jigsaw groups. The teacher assigns students into groups and provide them with discussion questions or prompts to prepare ahead of time. Students are then given time to chat within a private chat room with their group members. For ELLs, the teacher can also provide sentence starters and key vocabulary to use during their chat.

Some benefits for using chat rooms in the classroom for group discussions:
- Students who are typically nervous to speak up during class may feel more comfortable expressing themselves via chat
- With classroom discussions, only one person can speak at once. Chatting allows for multiple people to listen and express themselves simultaneously
- ELLs are able to practice their language and typing skills
- Students can chat anonymously with each other adding elements of suspense and fun
- Chat logs can be saved and printed so that the teacher or students may review them later or so that they can be shared with the whole class
(Krajka, 2001)

Before having your students let loose on their own in a chat room, it is vital that they are taught appropriate netiquette, or the do's and don'ts of online communication. Because students may have more confidence expressing themselves online, especially under the veil of anonymity, they are more likely to engage in off-task and inappropriate discussion.

Using chat rooms may be more suitable for ELLs who are able to write at an intermediate to advanced level. Beginning ELLs may not possess enough language to communicate with others in chat rooms to engage in meaningful discussions.

Here are some websites that can get you started with hosting your own discussions in a chatroom:
Tinychat
Chatzy
ePals
Parachat

References
Krajka, J. (2001). Making chat work in the classroom. Teaching English with Technology, 1(4),