eLearning and Instant Messaging

Does instant messaging (IM) have a place in an effective eLearning system? I think it can, although many may disagree, especially when it comes to K-12 education. With many parents, instant messaging has come to be known as one of the "bad things" that their children do on the Internet, one of those things that it not education. But I think that instant messaging can become an important and necessary part of any eLearning solution. The reason is that instant messaging is a form of synchronous communication, and this type opf communication is a necessary part of the learning process. It is especially more important when the learner is accessing the eLearning envirnoment from a remote location, in which there is no local synchronous communication with other students and/or instructors. Teamwork and collaboration are very important skills for students at any level to have. While team work and collaboration can be done via email, this is not enough. Email is asynchronous, and has obvious limitations as a communications medium. True eLearning requires a rich communications element, and I think that IM should be part of that.

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3	03/12/07 20:37 EDT	Maria: I think instant messag...