Today'sMeet

What student doesn't want to pass notes during class?  I was one of those nerds in school that loved to pass notes- but they were not usually about social events- they were usually reactions to whatever was being taught in that moment. Today'sMeet  is a program that legitimises that background conversation, and harnesses it's capability by bringing it into a more public forum. To start a TodaysMeet, you go to Todaysmeet.com.  From there, you can start meeting room.  The only information you need to give it, is the name of the meet, and for how long you want to conversation to be available. If you like, you can also create a Twitter hashtag, and make it a Twitter conversation as well. After that, you can share the URL of the Meetup with anyone you would like to invite to the conversation.  The participants write their name and then make a comment. Like Twitter, 140 characters is the maximum length for any comments made. Here is what a TodaysMeet looks like: 

Overall, I think that this tool could be really useful in the classroom.  So often, there are so many students who want to make comments, but there isn't always time.  Also, every class has a few students who are to afraid to make comments publically, but have so much to share.  TodaysMeet looks like a great tool to solution both of those problems.  I am very excited about the fact that TodaysMeet does not require students to sign up to be part of the conversion.  It is also much easier to use than Twitter. One small concern I have is about privacy.  With the link to the conversation, anyone could make comments. As well, as students can comment anonymously, there could be an issue of students making inappropriate comments and not being able to see who is doing it.  My suggestion is to stick with using real names, unless you are particularly soliciting anonymous comments. With some clear boundaries in place, I am quite sure that this tool will be more useful than harmful. 

Here are some ideas I have for using the program in the classroom:

• use to create a backchannel conversation while reading  a novel with the class.
• discuss a film while watching it
• discuss a project on the go- students learning from students
• ask questions/make comments during the presentation of new material
• use it to poll your class
• gather feedback from the class- who understands a concept and who doesn't (have them all press the 'send' button at the same time).
• invite other classes in other places to be part of the conversation
• teach good digital citizenship