There are always conversations going on in the classroom, whether the teacher is aware of them or not. It is the tradition in education to stop any and all communication that the teacher cannot control.
It's time to stop for us to stop kidding ourselves. Can we really control all of the communication that goes on in the classroom? The notes passed back and forth when the teacher writes on the board, the slight kick to a classmates shin under the table, the whisper to a classmate during a lesson, or the ever so stunning wet toilet paper to the chalkboard as the teacher stares in amazement.
All of these instances are examples of students communicating, whether it's for a positive and educational manner or not. It's time to stop fighting the things that naturally happen in the classroom, and start embracing them. Using them, even.
TodaysMeet, created by James Socol, is a tool that can help with all of the different conversations that happen, all at the same time. Remember that note being passed back and forth while the teacher was writing on the board? What if that note is really a question about last night's homework? What if the student just wanted to make sure they did problem #5 correct before the teacher collects the work?
What if the whisper across the table was a student saying, "I didn't hear that last part, what did you write in your notes?" And what if that kick under the table is because the student in the middle of the whispers is trying their best to hear the teacher, but can't because the students are whispering too loud?
Should students be punished for not being about to hear the teacher? Should they be left clueless about an important vocabulary term because other students were whispering to each other, trying to figure out what the teacher said five minutes ago?
I don't believe any teacher wants a student to miss anything or leave the classroom clueless. This is where TodaysMeet could really help. It allows students to have backchannel conversations in a nearly silent space with no login required and extra conversation (ex. Twitter).
TodaysMeet helps students and teachers move into more of a 21st century classroom embrasses by allowing students use the technologies they're accustomed to (desktop computers, laptops, mobile devices) to have conversations with each other while the teacher is giving a lesson, a student is presenting a project, or a guest speaker is giving a talk.
TodaysMeet allows teachers to give up the idea of having complete control over all communication and conversation and lets students have some power over their learning. Will it completely cut out conversations that don't center on the topic being covered by the teacher? Probably not, but it will most likely keep students from throwing wet toilet paper, since they'll have their hands busy typing!
