This course is my first experience with chat rooms, and it hasn't been very positive so far. It seems semi-chaotic, with people "interrupting" each other so that it is hard to glean the important part of the chat, which is Sanjay's summary of what we should have gotten from the lecture. I can see why the "interruptions" occur--when nothing appears to be happening on screen, it looks like it is safe to type something, whereas really someone else may be typing at the same time and you just don't realize it, so various people provide input at once, making the flow hard to sort out.
My suggestion is that we all remain quiet at the begining and let Sanjay give his lecture, so to speak, by describing the point of the reading. Then when that has been done, he can tell us that he is ready for questions, and then we can begin typing. This would also be helpful to those who can't attend the chat, because the most important part of the chat would be at the beginning of the text document that is posted after the chat. It also helps with "note taking" if you are trying to compile a Word document, for example, with the high points of each chat.
What do you all think?
My suggestion is that we all remain quiet at the begining and let Sanjay give his lecture, so to speak, by describing the point of the reading. Then when that has been done, he can tell us that he is ready for questions, and then we can begin typing. This would also be helpful to those who can't attend the chat, because the most important part of the chat would be at the beginning of the text document that is posted after the chat. It also helps with "note taking" if you are trying to compile a Word document, for example, with the high points of each chat.
What do you all think?
