OTAN News
Use a Backchannel Tool to Increase Student Participation
Image External Link Icon opens in new window or tab by Nikolay Georgiev External Link Icon opens in new window or tab from Pixabay External Link Icon opens in new window or tab
How can you get more students in your class, not just the most vocal or the students who are always raising their hands, to participate in classroom discussions? Consider using a backchannel tool in your class to increase student participation and check for understanding.
A backchannel tool is a feedback and participation mechanism running in the background while you are teaching and managing your classroom. There are a number of advantages to using a backchannel tool, including:
-
Giving quieter or shyer students the chance to ask questions and share their comments and ideas during discussions.
-
Giving students a space to express their personal opinions, which they might not want to say out loud.
-
Sometimes students need more time to formulate a response to a question – a backchannel creates a space for students to contribute once they have completed their thoughts.
-
A backchannel can extend a conversation after class is over, when students are at home or away from school.
-
A teacher can use a backchannel tool to do formative assessment during class time.
There are a number of backchannel tools to try out in class.
-
Backchannel Chat External Link Icon opens in new window or tab
-
Padlet External Link Icon opens in new window or tab (which has a backchannel template)
-
You might also look into a student response tool like Socrative External Link Icon opens in new window or tab, GoSoapBox External Link Icon opens in new window or tab, or Formative External Link Icon opens in new window or tab to gather feedback from students and ask students questions in different formats.
Backchannel tools can increase student participation in class and give a voice to those students who you don’t hear from. Try a backchannel tool and get your students involved!
Article: 'Backchannel' Tools Let Students Ask Questions Anonymously. And That Brings More Voices. External Link Icon opens in new window or tab from EdSurge
Article: 5 reasons to use backchannels and 3 tools External Link Icon opens in new window or tab from NNLM