Journal 7 : Instant Messaging

Instant Messaging

I picked instant messaging to write about. As I went though classroom 2.0, I noticed they didn't have much to say about it. So I checked out a few other sites to see what they had to say about it.
First off, for any of you who don't know what instant messaging is, let me give you the definition. Instant messaging is a form of real-time communication. It is done over the Internet in text form.
It's a mix of talking on the phone and sending an email. Like I said before, it is real-time, so you know the person is right there, seeing what you are writing at the exact same time. Unlike email, you never know when the person wrote it or when the person you are sending it to, will read it.
There are many applications of instant messengers. A few of the popular ones are: AIM, Yahoo Messenger, G-chat, and MSN messenger.
My favorite is G-Chat because I use gmail. I don't have another program open to use it. Also, G-Chat has collaborated with AIM, so if you already have AIM, you can just add it to your G-Chat, so you only have one program running.
They have made programs that are like that also. You can put all your instant messaging applications into one program, so you don't have to have 5 running at the same time. This comes in handy when you have friends who are apart of AIM and Yahoo and G-Chat. Not everyone is always going to be under the same application.
I think instant messaging could be very handy with your students. Depending how much you are on the computer. With me for example, I'm always playing on the computer when I get home from work. If my students need help, instead of sending me an email and then waiting for me to reply, I can be right there helping them in real-time. I also think it will help my students communicate with each other better. They don't have much time during the day to talk to each other. Instead of talking on the phone at night to just one person. They could be talking to a few of their classmates at the same time.
There are downfalls to this. There could be a lot of cheating going on. But if you as a teacher a prepared to go the extra mile and figure ways out to avoid that, instant messaging could be great for the class room.