Synchronous Social Networking

Some things just shouldn’t be done asynchronously. Dancing, for example, really is more enjoyable if it is done in sync with your partner.

Social networking is largely an asynchronous activity, but I’ve been exploring the exciting things that can happen when social networking tools are used synchronously in the classroom or computer lab – it’s actually really fun! Here’s a couple of examples:

Chat Attack: Next time you want to want to have a class discussion, try using a chat room instead. Now everyone in the room – from the loud to the shy – can share their thoughts and be part of the conversation.

Group Write: For a frenetic twist on the quick write, have all your students log in to the same Google Doc (you can make a document open and editable to anyone with the link). Then ask them to write a 500-word summary together in under a minute, or time them to see how long it takes to correct all the grammar mistakes in a passage. The possibilities are endless.

Want to see some more ideas? Check out my iTunes U course “Social Networks in the Classroom.“