Instant Messaging

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Instant Messaging
Presented by Jen Gregory, Director Instructional
and Learning Services Office of Information
Technology Valparaiso University
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BobbyD211 I knowdont you just love Prof.
Gregorys class? Funnypeep07 Yea I cant wait
for the next class BobbyD211 Oh manhold
on. Funnypeep07 Hello?! BobbyD211
BRB Funnypeep07 Hello?! Funnypeep07 heyWhere
did you go!!
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Instant Messaging (IM)

• Allows for real-time communication with friends
  and colleagues.
• IM is rapidly growing as a primary communications
  technology among corporate, educational and home
  users.
• According to many sources, IM is currently used
  by more than 50 percent of the computing
  population (both home and corporate enterprise)
  and will exceed 75 percent within a year.

http//www.sonork.com/facts_figures.html
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The Good

• You can communicate in real time with family and
  friends.
• Available wherever one can connect to the
  internet
• A safer environment than chat rooms
• You control who is in your buddy list
• IM can be a great communications tool if one is
  shy

Instant Messaging Collaborative Tool or
Educators nightmare! Robert Farmer, Mount Saint
Vincent University, Canada
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The Bad

• If you arent careful when you sign-up for the
  program, your account could be set up so that any
  one can contact you, not just your friends.
• Most IM software encourages you to create
  personal profiles that may include your name,
  age, e-mail address, home address, phone number,
  school and hobbies. This information is then made
  available to any IM user on the Internet.
• Some IM programs offer you the option to join in
  chat rooms with strangers.

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The Bad (continued)

• IM can encourage negative behavior in youth.
  Often used for gossiping and bullying.
• You may receive pornographic spam through your
  instant messaging program.
• You may receive computer viruses via file
  transfers that are not scanned by anti-virus
  software.

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The Ugly

• 37 of online teens have used IM to write
  something that they would not have said in
  person.
• 17 of instant messengers have used IM to ask
  someone out 13 have used instant messaging to
  break up with someone.
• 57 have blocked messages from someone they did
  not want to hear from and 64 have refused to
  respond to instant messages from someone they
  were mad at.
• 22 of online teens who use instant messaging and
  email have shared their password with a friend.

The Instant-Message Generation, Pew Internet
American Life
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The Ugly

• More than half of Canadian students say they
  often or sometimes talk in IM to people
  theyve never met in real life
• More than one in ten students say someone has
  tried to use their name or password in IM without
  their permission
• 14 of kids and teens who use IM say someone has
  threatened them while they were instant
  messaging boys are more likely to say this has
  happened to them

Are You Web Aware? - Instant Messaging, Media
Awareness Network
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"email is increasingly seen (by teenagers) as a
tool for communicating with adults such as
teachers, institutions like schools, and as a way
to convey lengthy and detailed information to
large groups. Meanwhile, IM is used for
everyday conversations with multiple friends that
range from casual to more serious and private
exchanges."
Pew Internet American Life Project Report,
July, 2005
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I've noticed that some students email a
question, and, within an hour after sending the
email, send a another email asking for a
response. I'm willing to hazard the guess that
the students' attempt to press email into service
as an, albeit slow, instant messaging system is
an outgrowth of their experience with IM, among
other things that produce immediate results.
Ernest E. Rothman, Chair Mathematical Sciences
Dept. Salve Regina University, Newport, RI
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a real downside of IM in school is that some
students use it in class to converse with
friends, and some use it on cell phones to cheat
on exams.
Ernest E. Rothman, Chair Mathematical Sciences
Dept. Salve Regina University, Newport, RI
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Since some students are reluctant to come to
office hours or ask questions in class, IM gives
them an alternative way to ask for help. I
never initiated any IM sessions with them.
Rather, I made myself available via IM during my
five scheduled office hours as well as during
some evenings and weekends. It was then up to the
students to contact me.
Ernest E. Rothman, Chair Mathematical Sciences
Dept. Salve Regina University, Newport, RI
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two or three students who had been reluctant to
do so before, started coming to office hours and
asking questions in class. They also continued to
seek help via IM.I received most IM requests
for help the day before exams and during some
evenings just before assignments were due.
Ernest E. Rothman, Chair Mathematical Sciences
Dept. Salve Regina University, Newport, RI
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About 13-15 of my students took advantage of
the IM help at some point over the course of the
academic year. Eventually every student who asked
for help via IM also came to my office hours in
person.
Ernest E. Rothman, Chair Mathematical Sciences
Dept. Salve Regina University, Newport, RI
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GroupWise Messenger
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Your Status
Online - ready to chat
Busy
Away or Idle
Offline
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Personal Away Messages
Jen Gregory (at lunch until 1)
Jen Gregory (off campus)
Jen Gregory (consultation)
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Personal In Messages
Jen Gregory (Online office hours 1-2)
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Uses for IM

• To announce someones arrival for an appointment
  or conference call
• Have an advisor assigned to answer IM questions
  within specific virtual "walk-in" hours
• Outreach with at-risk students
• Online Reference Desks
• Online IT Help Desks

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Uses for IM

• Virtual Office Hours
• Remote Guest Speakers
• Collaborative Work Groups
• Class Discussions
• Lectures
• Mentoring/Buddies
• Recruiting and admissions
• Library consultations

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Drawbacks

• Growing expectation of ubiquitous instructor
  access
• Adds more time to faculty workload
• Time Online
• Time Consuming

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Seven Principles for Good Undergraduate Education
Chickering and Gamson (1987)
Instant Messaging Collaborative Tool or
Educators nightmare! Robert Farmer, Mount Saint
Vincent University, Canada
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Seven Principles for Good Undergraduate Education
Chickering and Gamson (1987)
Instant Messaging Collaborative Tool or
Educators nightmare! Robert Farmer, Mount Saint
Vincent University, Canada
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References

• National Academic Advising Association
• http//www.nacada.ksu.edu/clearinghouse/AdvisingIs
  sues/Instant-Messaging.htm
• Instant Messaging Collaborative Tool or
  Educators nightmare! http//www.unb.ca/naweb/proc
  eedings/2003/PaperFarmer.html
• Office of Instructional and Research Technology -
  Rutgers http//oirt.rutgers.edu/what/instant_messa
  ging.html
• The Professor as Instant Messenger
• http//chronicle.com/jobs/2006/02/2006020701c.htm
  
• Email is for Old People
• http//chronicle.com/free/v53/i07/07a02701.htm
• Being Ernest (Blog)
• http//homepage.mac.com/samchops/B733177502/C15170
  39664/E20050804121845/index.html
• Instant Messaging in On-Site and Online Classes
  in Higher Education
• http//www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EQM0714.pdf