E-Mail vs. Live Chat vs. Threaded Discussion

As an educator, I use many forms of communication throughout my day and the school year.  Whether it be the use of email, so I can keep a record of my expectations, suggestions, and comments in regards to my students and their parents, or the use of a threaded discussion to promote inclusivity in the classroom in moderating a group discussion on a given topic, and lastly, live chat for that quick and efficient way of reaching a student or co-worker to convey a brief message or task.  If I had to choose between the three, I wouldn’t be able to because I find all three to be very useful.  I am a huge fan of keeping record of what is said, so there is accountability on all ends with using email.  Live chat is perfect for a quick task, reminder, or to stay focused message where there is instant gratification with a response.  Threaded discussions are great for assignments that will include all students to participate and grow from one another’s comments. 

E-mail discussions are an efficient way of communicating with others when you need to keep a record of the discussion.  Teachers communicate with staff, students, and student parents on the daily, so being able to keep track of what is being discussed is crucial to keeping all involved accountable and up to speed.  Compared to a live discussion, e-mail allows for thoughtful responses.  Sometimes you need time to process a situation and being able to e-mail allows you to decompress, soak in the information being discussed, and to respond appropriately.  Finally, e-mail discussions are good practice with students so they can see how one should appropriately communicate using their words.  Being able to teach them that using “fo-sho,” “lol,” and “fml” are not appropriate to use when communicating with teachers, future employers, well, anyone that is.  The downside to e-mail is there can be an overload of information if not formatted properly.  You can also have confusion if you send a confusing email.  Make sure to always be brief, explicit, and structured when sending an e-mail.  Live chat is another form of communicating teachers utilize on the reg.  LOL!  See what I did there with reg and lol?

A live chat discussion is straight to the point.  If I need to connect with a student to remind them about their assignment due, answer a quick question regarding the day, or to communicate with a staff member during school hours, live chat is my go to.  We use Google Hangouts at our school and it is quite efficient, well, just as long as all staff remember to log on and monitor their messages.  We have also found live chat to be a effective forum for communicating with our students who do independent studies.  Independent study students can get overwhelmed with assignments or confused and being available to them during the day to answer questions allows them the access and understanding that they deserve.  Some students can take advantage of this by thinking it’s a way to befriend you or take up your time, which can be better spent on guiding them with the task at hand.  Like any assignment, explicit directions and expectations are key to keep students from abusing this line of communication.

The advantages for teachers, and students, communicating through threaded discussions are numerous.  Just like e-mail, threaded discussions are an easy way to keep record of what is being discussed.  How threaded discussions differ from e-mail is that you or the students are able to leave comments to each thread posted, which is one of its advantages.  Another advantage is threaded discussions allow students to communicate with one another on assignments, tasks at hand, and projects.  Having the ability to read their peers comments and teacher comments allows for a new point of view and how to improve.  I have had success holding threaded discussions regarding difficult topics.  A threaded discussion is inclusive for all students, meaning we have all had those days were a student is afraid to speak their point of view or participate into a group discussion, so a threaded discussion alleviates that fear and allows for a student to participate.  If no guidelines are set, students can sometimes mistake the threaded discussion as a chat room and stir the group off topic.  Making sure the teacher not only sets up guidelines and expectations for the threaded discussion, but also monitoring the discussion to confirm all students are following the expectations.

Determining what form of communication is best for you as an educator comes down to trial and error.  What works for you?  I can speak from experience and as you have read, there are pros and cons for all three, but the pros outweigh the cons.  I highly recommend you implement these three forms of communication into your curriculum and daily practices to see what works best for you.