Backchanneling at Conferences

In I felt naked…, Paul Bogush says,

“I have always been a bit undecided about the whole backchannel and people surfing the web thing at conferences.”

This had me thinking about how I feel towards backchanneling and realized that it doesn’t bother me.

As a presenter, I am offering information to others and how they receive it is up to them. I feel that these people chose to be there and as a professional, I need to treat them as adults and not children forced to be in my class. If people are so bored with my presentation and they are surfing the web, then the problem lies with me and not them. I need to engage them enough to where they want to surf in order to get more information about my topic or lead them to asking other questions. I want them to want to know more about what I’m sharing and hopefully the next time I present, they will want to hear more about what I have to say.

I went to one presentation where the presenter encouraged people to get out their laptops and use their cell phones. Throughout his presentation, he surveyed people and asked them to respond either by using their laptops or cell phones. That is a great way to make the presentation interactive and it helped me pay attention better because I was waiting for this opportunity.

I have taught graduate classes and encouraged my students to bring their laptops to class. I see my lessons as a presentation just like I would do at a conference. When I share new tools or concepts, I encourage them to go to the website that I’m talking about so they can see if they have any questions. Sometimes they might refer to a website that is opposite of what I’m saying and so they need clarification. I would rather have this discussion then have an audience who is bored to tears thinking about the grocery list they need to write out.

I have been to conferences where I have been asked to close my laptop and I find that very insulting. As a professional and an adult, I think that is a decision that I should make. If the presenter is that worried about holding my attention, then they need to look at what type of presentation they have. This also makes me think that this presenter has some kind of inferiority complex which makes me not trust the information that will be shared. I know I may be wrong in this thinking but that is how it makes me feel.

If I know how this makes me feel, I do not want to be that kind of presenter. I want to be an open and transparent presenter who is willing to let people use whatever tools they need in order to be engaged. If they are checking their emails or playing on facebook, then I am not engaging them enough to interest them. I would offer websites or tools for them to check out and even encourage them to look at the site at that moment. I would poll the audience on certain topics in order to engage them in the conversation. In fact, I find the thought of others bringing in their laptops as a sign that they want to be engaged in the conversation and will look through any fluff that I might try to offer. This keeps me on my toes and forces me to make sure that I have my information correct or at least can refer to where I got my information.

People choose to come to my presentations and their time is valuable. I want them to feel that the information I share will in some way improve their lives. If they spend the time resenting me or wishing they had their laptops then I am defeating my purpose and more than likely, they will not return to any presentation I do.

Of course, this is just the way that I feel and you may feel differently. Please share your thoughts!

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'An Event Apart Design Conference - December 2009 - San Francisco, CA'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49503002894@N01/4167212375 by: kris krüg

Backchanneling

In SpEdChange, Ira talks about backchanneling. He mentions how he has used it in his class and how they all benefited by this.

He says, “Every few minutes I looked up at the screen and checked the conversation, and typically I adjusted the discussion, or picked up on a question being asked there, or commented on an answer or a comment. In a big class it gave me real access to far more students than I can possibly get by watching for raised hands. And it let me - and the class - hear from many who never raise their hands. Honestly, I could even judge, much more clearly than usual, what was connecting and what was missing.”

What a power tool this appears to be! I plan to try this in my university course that I’m teaching next summer. Ira mentions another teacher who feels this is a distraction and another feels that backchanneling is an “unharnessed resource.” I think as in any kind of tool used in the classroom, if students know that you are monitoring it, it will be used appropriately. I also feel that it gives everyone an opportunity to have a voice in more ways than are possible without it. If students are engaged in the lesson, how could they not use it appropriately?

I love the thought of having a shy student feeling comfortable asking a question this way? By backchanneling you are not interrupting the speaker and if monitored, the speaker can answer the questions at an appropriate time. I think it also keeps people from interrupting each other and helps students really listen to what the speaker is saying, Many times my students focus so much on remembering their question that they stop listening to what is being said. If they can backchannel the question, they will be listening for the answer.

I believe that some teachers tend to be intimidated by backchanneling but they need to look at the positives which outweigh the negatives. I think it gives immediate feedback to the teacher, which could make our lessons more interesting and more relevant. This is a great example of why good teachers are the ones who are flexible and not rigid. Ira talks about how he adjusted the discussion which I think says a lot about him as a teacher. He is willing to adjust his teaching in order to make sure his students understand what he is talking about. How many times have you heard a speaker drone on about something and you were lost about 20 minutes ago and still have no idea what he is talking about? What a waste of time for both, the speaker and the audience!

I am looking at Google Moderator and it looks interesting. I think I will recommend that we use plurk though because I like that the conversation is all in one place and can be saved. What are your thoughts on backchanneling in the classroom? Should this be used only at certain age levels? Would elementary level students be able to use this? Please leave your suggestions, thoughts, opinions in the comment section so everyone can read them.

Photo credit: Original image: 'What's Your backchannel' http://www.flickr.com/photos/35468142410@N01/528230215by: Deb Schultz