The Back Channel - Power shift

A somewhat disturbing report on the growing power of the audience.

http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2009/10/09/how-speakers-should-integrate-social-into-presentations/

We have less to worry about than those at educational conferences (our school bans cell phones from the classroom - although I'm sure surreptitious texting still occurs), but the ability of students to communicate with each other is going to grow - and it's becoming less and less intrusive every year.

I'm thinking of encouraging a back channel now, perhaps through a classroom Ning, that I can observe and students can post comments to as a form of feedback. Encourage it as a positive tool before it grows into a virtual heckling device.

Cheers,

Ron Neufeld
Canada's Best Boarding School