TodaysMeet (http://todaysmeet.com/) is a free, real-time text chat program, which can be applied in the language classroom for discussion, making comments, sharing ideas, providing feedback and brainstorming.
Several Steps to Nail TodaysMeet
1. Navigate to http://todaysmeet.com/
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2. Create a room
-select a name for your room and create a unique URL.
-choose how long will the room date be saved.
-send the unique URL for other audience to enter the room.
3. Type your name and join the chat
4. Type the message in the chat area
TodaysMeet in Language Teaching and Learning
- Teachers can provide a question or a topic for students to discuss and then type their answers and results in the chat area. During this process, teachers can check the language and provide feedback for students. In the same time, students can read others' answers and ideas from the chat area.
- Students can discuss together via TodaysMeet to complete a task or prepare a presentation.
- Outside the classroom, students can post their questions in the chat area via TodaysMeet and teachers can provide answers or comments to students.
- Teachers can save the content of the chat and send it to students for reviewing.
Benefits of TodaysMeet in Language Teaching and Learning.
- In some context of language class, the phenomenon of reticence may not be rare and some students are reluctant to answer teacher's questions in front of the class. With the use of TodaysMeet, students are more willing to express their opinions and ideas actively.
- TodaysMeet is a specific-purpose tool with simply and user-friendly layout. Teachers and students can easily access this tool for instant text chat. No complicated log-in process or difficult installation are required.
- Students' reading and writing skills can be improved during the process of using TodaysMeet.
- The application of TodaysMeet for eliciting students' ideas would be more stimulating than asking students answering the questions in front of the class.
- Students can read and share their peers' ideas and opinions.
- The interaction between teachers and students, students and students would increase in and outside the class.
Limitations
- Only typed text chat is available in TodaysMeet. Users can not communicate via audio or voice.
- Audio or video files can not be sent to each other via TodaysMeet. In the collaborative task, e.g. preparing PowerPoint for presentation, students would like to send their PowerPoint to their peer or teacher for comments. Unfortunately, this function is not available in TodaysMeet.
- There is a 140-word limitation in the chat area for each time. Complete long sentences or passages may have to be separate into two or more sections in the chat area.
- The chatting might become chaotic and important points might be easily ignored when too many students are involved in the chat room or too many responses are displaying.
- Little training on listening and speaking skills.
- Privacy of the chat could not be protected since no password is needed to enter the chat room.
Further Reading
- Todaysmeet - realtime text chat for lectures and events http://www.knowledgenetworklearning.net/tools/10moregreat/todaysmeet/
- How to Teach English with Technology (Chapter 6 How to use chat)
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