TodaysMeet (www.todaysmeet.com) is a Web 2.0 tool that allows students to “backchannel” ideas, questions, and comments during classroom lectures and / or class activities. The advantage to TodaysMeet is a real-time, organized, and visually public conversation that can take place on any Internet-connected platform.
Some of the applications for this program can be a virtual Socratic Circle lesson, a “silent” debate, or a “Twitter-like” class activity. This is also a good tool for the students who do like to talk during class...they can be heard using TodaysMeet! Teachers can also use this site as an anticipatory lesson or a formative assessment. Professionally, administrators and teacher leaders could set up a TodaysMeet forum and get instant feedback at meetings, professional development days, and professional learning communities.
Setting up a “meeting place” is quick and easy. Once you enter the website (www.todaysmeet.com) you will be asked to create a room. This unique URL can be active for anywhere between two hours to one year! When the meeting place is created, simply give the URL address to your students and watch the comments post. Students can write back in any teacher-directed criteria, including “text language. ” With only 140 characters to write, students must be concise in their responses.
Backchannel: http://www.todaysmeet.com/help/backchannel
How to use TodaysMeet (Video):
Need a tutorial to get started? Today's Meet Tutorial
Here's an article talking about the pros and cons of Today's Meet and back channeling:
How can a back channel be used in your classroom?
What benefits would there be to students having a conversation about the learning going on in the background while instruction is taking place?
Could this be a method for flushing out misconceptions or confusion before major assessments?
