Chats in Elementary School

I love the idea of chats in elementary school! I definitely see it being successful at least fifth grade and older, but it may work for third or fourth grade depending on the application and the students. Chats are a great tool for teachers to be able to aid students on homework and assignments, as well as stay connected with them on breaks. Group projects would also be greatly aided by online chats with the teacher and even just among group members depending again on their age and skill level. The only thing that makes chats difficult is finding a time when everyone is available. I think the way to avoid this problem would be to establish a class chat time at the beginning of the year. Of course not every student would be able to make every chat, but if at the beginning of the year you talked with parents and students and selected a time that was acceptable for most families you would give them a chance to incorporate it in their schedules. After the class time was established, for instance 7:30 every Tuesday, the teacher could decide the topics and students to attend the chats. A schedule might be worked out where for instance all students attended the chat on the first Tuesday of the month, then special groups were assigned based on group projects, reading groups, or any other special interest portion of the class that needed an individual chat that month. With this method every student would be required to chat probably only twice a month so families would not have to worry about keeping every Tuesday open so their child could make the chat. Like in Professor Luongo's class the chats could be recorded and posted somewhere so all students could access them as review or if they missed the session. Even if some of the topics that were discussed in the chats could have been covered in class I think the idea itself with engage students. Today's learners are immersed in the world of technology so the format itself interests them. Also regular classroom chats help develop and sharpen a students ability to think on their feet, as they must respond to information as soon as they receive it. Unlike in the classroom, however, I think there is less fear about volunteering questions or comments or speaking your mind, as students are not face to face. Also, since chatting has become useful for us in our education today with the introduction of hybrid and online classes who knows what will be expected of these students another ten years from now when they are in high school, college, or the workforce. As a future educator I hope to be able to use online chats as an effective tool in my teaching.