Chatting It Up
by Pamela Livingston
by Pamela Livingston
This particular article was written to share about an experience a teacher had with getting her students connected to an author of a book they were reading in class. She actually got her students into a live chat with the author. I find this particular approach very inventive. Normally teachers will have their students write letters to the author telling him/her how much they enjoyed reading the book, and more times than not the students don't really get a response from the author. If they are fortunate enough to get a response, it probably is a long time after they'e sent the letter and went to the next grade. So I find this particular means of contact to be very rewarding for the students, especially since they are kind of able to engage with the author in a conversation type of setting. This experience has also opened them up to the use of technology that they may not have necessarily been aware of before, which is awesome!
Question 1: What could be possible reasons for not being able to successfully register for a chat?
Answer: I'm sure there are several reasons but the main reason seems to be the availability of space. If a school is not one of the first to register the likelihood of them being able to participate in the chat lessens.
Question 2: What is the best way to ensure no technological problems during the chat?
Answer: The best way would be to actually execute the process that should be followed the day of the chat a week before the chat at about the same time the chat is supposed to happen during that day. Also, make sure to double check the day before and the morning of. You never know what could happen ; ).
