A chat room is a digital space where learners and teachers can get easily in touch. Both teachers and learners can ask different types of questions and the answers can be given in real time. Through the questions of the learners, the teacher gets a good impression of the level of knowledge and understanding. In addition, some of the chat room tools provide a mood barometer that teachers can easily use to check the level of “well-being” of their students.
With regard to the guidance of the students, chat rooms are possibly the digital equivalent of classrooms where people meet and talk. These virtual spaces should provide a welcoming culture where every participant is treated with respect and every question is valued.
Most Learning Management Systems (LMS) and online lecture platforms (teams, Zoom) offer a chat. Additional tools that offer the possibility to virtually meet in a (chat) room are:
Backchannel Chat
Is a discussion tool with the following features:
- Live Chat (no page refreshment needed)
- Teachers can add files to the chat
- The chat is saved via transcript
- Teachers can send private messages to students and vice versa
- Students can vote on messages
PALMS Backchannel Chat (YoTeach!)
Teachers can create chat rooms, post questions, moderate discussions and delete responses. Additional features: teachers can submit a drawing, create a poll or use the voting feature.
Mattermost
Is a browser-based open-source chat software. In addition to private and open channels, private messages can also be sent.