Journal #2

Speaking Math Using Chat in the Multicultural Math Classroom
By Janet Graham and Ted Hodgson
Learning and Leading with Technology
February 2008 Issue

Summary
This article focuses on how math classes can use chat rooms and forums to help students learn math. A chat room is an online ongoing talk between two or more people. It is like e-mail but you don’t have to wait so long for a response it is instantaneous. Children use chat rooms all the time at home to stay in contact with their friends. Students can now use this same technology to help them in the classroom.
There is a bit more structure involved in a classroom based chat room verses a common online chat room such as AIM. Teachers have control over what their students write for the most part. Teachers help to guide students learning by giving them assignments to complete in the chat room. For example, students would respond to a teacher’s question such as, “Are a factor and a zero the same thing? If you said yes, define factor. If you said no, tell the difference. Use the words: expression and factor.” A question like this gives students the opportunity to discuss among themselves to discover the answer in a fun, creative way.

Questions:

1) Can this idea be used in non-math classrooms to benefit students?
Yes, I believe that this is a great idea that could be used in any classroom. As a future teacher I would like to implement this idea in my lesson plans. Students respond well to other students’ feedback and have the ability to bounce ideas off each other. I would use this idea in my U.S. History class to help students review for exams. I would ask each student to explain one important battle that occurred during the Civil War. Students would be required to explain where the battle occurred, when it occurred, who were the important generals involved and lastly who won. I believe that this would be a good exercise for students to not only help them review important information but also they could help fellow classmates who are struggling.
2) How might this be a negative influence in the classroom?
This could be a negative influence in the classroom because students who do not have access to a computer at home would find this assignment to be very difficult. As a teacher I have to remember that not all my students come from family’s that can afford to own a computer. If a student had to go to the school or public library to complete this assignment it might make this assignment less enjoyable for that student to complete.