Good+Words

//The **back** end of the conversation is the **beginning** of the conversation.// Ceraso, Claudia (2007, September 22). Back Channel. Retrieved June 3, 2008, from ELT notes Web site: [|http://eltnotes.blogspot.com/2007/09/back-channel.html

Backchanneling 101

It's Elementary #16 on Monday, April 7, 2008, was about defining Edtechtalk. In the chatroom, one person said that the chat during a live show contributes depth and breadth to the topic being discussed. Another person commented, "The chat contributes other connections to the topic - people sharing personal experiences, questions, etc." This sort of backchanneling occurs in every live show at Edtechtalk. At PETE-C Steve Dembo referred to backchanneling as synthesizing. It is indeed a way to examine what we are learning. It is a way to examine our metacognition. It is connecting our prior knowledge with what we learn. It is collaborating with a network of people. Backchanneling is essential to our learning. As the lead learner in my classrooms, I need to uncover a way to effectively use chatrooms to backchannel. Middle school learners tend to use chatrooms to socialize to the total exclusion of backchanneling, connecting, synthesizing. Adults often socialize too, but then we turn to using chat to extend our thinking. (Durff, 2008)

Synthesis is like throwing a rock into a pond. First there is a splash, and then the water ripples out, making little waves that get bigger and bigger. Basically, you are putting all the strategies together and doing something with it. Sandra Wallace, 2006 at busyteacherscafe

But others are genuinely interested in a lecturer's topic and want to talk concurrently about what is being said. They may also like to pass around links to Web sites that relate to, and may refute, a speaker's point. For them, wireless technology allows a back channel of communication, a second track that reveals their thoughts and feedback and records it all for future reference. Guernsey, L. (July 24, 2003). In the Lecture Hall, A Geek Chorus. //The New York Times//, Retrieved June 7, 2008, from http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE1D7153FF937A15754C0A9659C8B63