Shoutmix
Posted by: ashleytan on: November 14, 2009
I am experimenting with a shoutbox (from ShoutMix) in the EdPsych2 wiki that I maintain.
Screenshot of my EP2 shoutbox
Shoutboxes seem to used by Website owners to interact with visitors, for regular visitors of that site to “shout out” to other regulars, and in commercial sites for customer service and feedback. Basically its use revolves around a simple communication interface that does not require users to use email or install an instant messaging (IM) client.
My planned uses for the shoutbox are for: 1) trainee reflection at the end of class (or outside class), 2) quick announcements or notifications, and 3) IM style communications during e-learning week.
I have started the ball rolling with the first two efforts. The first is a modification of the one-minute paper technique. I value post-lesson reflections, but instead of requiring my trainees to maintain blogs (like I normally do for the ICT course), I ask them to share their “take home” messages SMS-style. The second is an attempt to provide links to current resources like online news articles.
It’s too early to say if the first effort is worthwhile. Both my trainees and I can see what the others are saying and thinking, but they have been at it for just two sessions. I think the habit and value of reflecting concisely will take some time to sink in. I have also not yet used other one-minute paper strategies, so they have not experienced the different ways of using the platform to its fullest.
But I already know that the shoutbox is not a good place for announcements. The item that I share scrolls away as soon as a few participants use the shoutbox. That is why I have a separate “Announcements” page and an “In the Media” page in the wiki.
I’ll have more information as the weeks go by and after I conduct a survey using Google Forms to get feedback mid-course.
November 16, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Hello Dr Tan!
I’ve been using shoutboxes too, in my blogs and webpages where I’d like to gather feedback from the readers. It seems like many of my friends prefer to write in the shoutboxes instead of leaving comments in each entry! Mine are usually not very active as my pages don’t have many readers, but it is always interesting to see what your friends or other readers got to say about what you’ve written.
In my opinion, the shoutbox has limitations like word limit (I do have a bad habit of getting too long-winded at times) and like you’ve mentioned, the updates get “scrolled away” very quickly. Thus it may not be “convenient” to use it as a form of communication among so many of us. Often I attempt to see my peers’ responses, only to be lost scrolling through the pages and pages of one-liners.
I was thinking of some alternative ways, and one of them is to have a blog with one entry for per session, and everyone of us can leave our “take home” messages as comments in each session’s entry. This way we can easily see and share all the comments in one page.
Well, just sharing my humble opinion. (^_^)v
Vernice
November 17, 2009 at 12:08 am
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Vernice. I appreciate the effort!
I have used blogs in my ICT classes for several semesters. I have experimented with both individual and group-owned blogs. While this promotes ownership, it also requires initial set up and continued maintenance of the blogs. I will definitely use group blogs again for the ICT course but am hesitant to use it for the EP2 course as the emphasis is not technology-mediated pedagogies.
I am experimenting with the shoutbox to see if it is a viable one-minute paper platform. I had thought of Twitter, but that would require the same ownership and set up elements.
The shoutbox, despite its flaws, is a convenient one-stop shop to drop a quick thought. I think that it will be good for quick IM style chats.