Next 5 phenomenas

After our group had narrowed down different perspective of IM culture, I am focusing on the educational IM. I have found some interesting phenomena from the articles and videos as the following.

1. IM in education may help to ease the tense relationship between teachers and students
   
2. more adults or seniors are using IM due to the educational purpose
3. children or teenagers know about the difference of language in IM and in written paper (from the video "teenagers teaching seniors")
4. Other than communcation, IM provides the function of files or inventory sharing
   
5. the findings are around the same in terms of the benefits and drawbacks of IM in education
6. although IM is widely used, IM in education is not
7. IM in education seems useful, but the findings do not show whether is it practical
8. there is not enough evidence showing that the benefits could outweigh the drawbacks
9. all in all, whether is it benefiting depends on individual effort
   

Your Online Life is What You Make of It

The MSN messenger ads

IM in secondlife

IM nightmare?

Teenagers teaching the seniors?

Article 10

Instant Messaging in On-Site and Online Classes in Higher Education

Jeong, Wooseob (2007). Instant Messaging in On-Site and Online Classes in Higher Education. Volume 30, Number 1, EQ Archives. Retrieved on 14th Mar, 2009 from
http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/InstantMessaginginOnSitea/40014

SUMMARY

Similar studies on IM usage in classes, the author agreed that IM might be useful while at the same time there are obstacles. IM could be use for emergency communication needs. Students also find it easier to communicate, felt a stronger sense of community, and had more venues for informal and social communication about class material, the school and their common degree program. With such, the author conducted a study to identify the IM technology's potential, its obstacles and its ideal conditions to use. He found that students have highest satisfaction of using IM for distance learning on top of using it in classroom. The positive prospects of IM that he had found included encourage instant communication which is much more better than emails, expands the students' comfort zone as they might be shy to raise questions face-to-face, and facilitates flexible office hours. While on the negative side, there might be potential for miscommunication due to lack of verbal and visual cues, privacy and intrusiveness issues, and the availability of the instructor and the informality of the communication are still the concerns. The author also found that there were students who do not think that IM is useful due to lack of time and lack of accessibility.

QUESTION

The article brought up a critical issue which is the digital divide. Shouldn't this be considered as well before implementing the incorporation of IM in education?

Article 9

Instant Messaging – Collaborative Tool or Educator’s nightmare!

Farmer, Robert (2003). Instant Messaging - Collaborative Tool or Educator's Nightmare!. Retrieved on 14th Mar, 2009 from

http://www.unb.ca/naweb/proceedings/2003/PaperFarmer.html.

SUMMARY

The paper studied about IM including its usage among students and its advantages and disadvantages. Besides, he also mentioned about IM in education which is my concern that IM is used as a collaborative tool. He stated that the blending of education and learning along the Internet is natural but it is critical to have good connectivity. Immediate and constant connectivity is essential in education to be a useful communication platform. He listed out seven principles which are encourages contact between students and faculty, develops reciprocity and cooperation among students, encourages active learning, gives prompt feedback, emphasizes time on task, communicates high expectations and respects diverse talents and ways of learning.

Similarly with other relevant findings, there are benefits and drawbacks of IM in education. It helps in distance learning, provides active learning, increased collaborative opportunities and it is available globally. Yet it introduces new layers to the learning environment which may or may not be effective, misusage or security issues. At the educators point of view, it may increase the faculty's workload, time of work as longer hours would be spent on teaching and students will expect ubiquitous instructional access.

QUESTION

Despite all the drawbacks and benefits found, why is context factor not included in the consideration since we do not see IM being used in institution of other countries like Singapore?

Article 8

Instant Messaging in Education

Rothman, Ernest (2005, August 04). Instant Messaging in Education.
Retrieved on 14th Mar, 2009 from
http://homepage.mac.com/samchops/B733177502/C1517039664/E20050804121845/index.html.

SUMMARY

This article was about the author's personal experience of integrating IM in his teaching. He thought that students think email as a slow service, but IM produces immediate results. Thus, he decided to use IM because he found that students are reluctant to go to office hours or ask questions in class, IM could be an alternative way for them to seek help. He did not initiate the chat with the students, but rather he gave his IM initial to them in case they need help. He made himself available during office hours and even in the evenings or weekends; also longer time when nearer to exams or assignments due dates. He observed that after a few IM sessions, students who had been reluctant had started to go for office hours consultation and ask questions in class. They also continued to seek help via IM. Although the author continues to use IM in teaching, he did not plan to engage in any formal assessment. He did not state any reason on this.

QUESTION

How do educators deal with the problem of security risk, for instance students may hack into teacher's computer using the information they have gotten for the IM usage in class? Wouldn't it be a force for educators NOT to use IM for educational purposes?