Objects of Interest

Backchannel communication is a secondary electronic conversation that takes place at the same time as a conference session, lecture, or instructor-led learning activity (ELI.)

How Does It Work?

Although backchannel communication began—and often remains—in the purview of students or audience members, indi- vidual instructors across the college and university spectrum have adapted the tools of social networking or collaborative editing to set up accounts for class backchannel participation in the courses they teach. Educational conferences, too, sometimes provide chat rooms where participants can discuss presentations in real time. Participants might also hold private electronic conversations about conference activity with fellow attendees and colleagues who could not attend.

Does Twitter change the relationship between presenter and audience? Does it change the whole conference? For those of you that went to Tweetups, who tweeted (or blogged) about events you attended, do you think the backchannel changed your conference experience? Does the backchannel provide a more engaging conference experience?

These are questions I will be asking myself as I attend various conferences this year. What do you think? 

7 Things You Should Know About Backchannel Communication