IM

To me in 2001(when I was a freshman in college), instant messaging used to be just a social tool to keep up with old friends from home and to get to know new friends better that I met in college (yes, my roommate and I would even IM each other in the same room!). Up until now, I had never really seen the benefits of using this collaborative tool in the classroom, however, it makes great sense!

Students can practice their "netiquette" since typed text is the only way to determine the tone of an IM conversation. They can multi-task and talk to several people at once (as mentioned in the reading), as well as continue other tasks at the same time. IM offers real-time conversation, rather than the waiting game of other correspondences like e-mail.

The one drawback (similar to what we see with text-messaging nowadays) is that students prefer to use shorthand to type and text, including numbers, shortened words, etc. Unfortunately, this habit can transfer over into their school writing if they're not careful.

Before we can invite this tool into our classrooms, there are several hoops to jump through with the higher authorities in the county to explain the educational purposes and advantages to tools such as this. I'm sure this will prove to be a tough feat, but well worth it in the end.