Using IM as an Educational Tool

Lih-Ching Chen Wang and William Beasley's article on using IM (instant messaging) as a format for structured class discussion was full of good ideas. The authors describe their experience using it in an online learning course, but it sounds like it has a lot of possibilities for campus education, too. Even in a traditional classroom, structured debates could be held at a pre-agreed upon day and time. It would also be useful to meet "fifth-hour" requirements that so many classes have. What really appeals to me about this idea is having a written record of what everyone "said." Here are some other benefits to using IM in a course:
1. There is a written record of all conversations.
2. It gives people time to choose their words carefully.
3. It can be done on the weekend, or if the professor is out of town.
4. Students can be pulling in other materials found on the internet during the conversation and immediately sharing them with other students.
5. Students retain a high degree of control over the discussion.
6. Participants can enter into private side-conversations with other students or the professor (the authors list this feature as both a positive and a negative).
7. can free students from the traditional, passive role of knowledge recipient and can shift the professor into a facilitating role.

There are some drawbacks, of course:
1. It requires everyone to have reliable access to technology and a reliable internet connection.
2. IM discussions allow many to "speak" at once, which can result in "flooding," in which one's screen fills with too many different threads to respond to all at once. This can be intimidating for novice users.
3. There is limited ability to express emotion, which severely limits non-verbal communication
4. The professor can be sidetracked too often by having to help students troubleshoot technology or software problems.

Response:
Overall, I found this article to be very helpful and full of good ideas. Although I have limited experience using IM, I can think of a number of helpful applications. It might be a nice way to help students at home, especially if they knew that I am usually on my computer at a certain hour every night. Students might also be able to help tutor each other or do group work at home if they could get everyone online at the same time. Perhaps college students who would like a chance to help tutor high schoolers but don't have time or reliable transportation to drive back and forth to different schools could be available online for at certain times. So I have lots of ideas that sound very appealing- time for me to learn more about IM, right?

Chen Weng, L. and Beasley, W. "Type II Technology Applications in Teacher Education; Using Instant Messenger to Implement Structured Online Class Discussions." In Computers in Education, 12th Edition. Annual Editions. (2007).