DimDim online discussion for book clubs

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Permalink Reply by Michelle TeGrootenhuis on July 12, 2009 at 7:59pm

I haven't used DimDim. Looks promising. Here's a link to a video description of what can be done.

http://www.dimdim.com/products/dimdim-video-tour.html

It LOOKS a lot like the elluminate software that we use here at CR2.0 for Saturday morning sessions.

What grade do you teach, Kim?

Anyone interested in trying it out?

Permalink Reply by Kim Kerian on July 13, 2009 at 9:37am

I teach 3rd grade. Angela Maiers said "dimdim" has great potential so yes, I am anxious to try it out. I haven't used elluminate yet though. What success and usage have you had with using elluminate in your classroom? I'm up to try anything new and exciting! :)

Permalink Reply by Michelle TeGrootenhuis on July 13, 2009 at 12:15pm

I've only participating on Saturday morning sessions here on CR2.0 using Elluminate. Haven't tried it out in the classroom yet. I just discovered a wiki for using Skype int he classroom. I wonder if there's a wiki on using dimdim or elluminate in the classroom?

The url for the skype wiki is: http://skypeinschools.pbworks.com/

Permalink Reply by Kim Kerian on July 13, 2009 at 7:43pm

This will be good to look at also because I haven't figured out "skyping" yet. Thanks for the skype wiki to check out.

Permalink Reply by Carrie on July 13, 2009 at 6:14pm

Hi everyone!
My students loved using dimdim for our book club discussions. We met at 7p.m. on certain weeknights, and it was completely voluntary. Most of the class participated, and they begged for more. I did find it helpful to let them "play" with the chat feature and white board feature before beginning our book chat. Once they got that out of the way, they were ready to have a fun discussion. Ha! The kids held their discussion through the chat feature, and I used the video/audio feature to talk to them. Parents laughed when they heard me tell the kids it was time for bed. They were having so much fun that they didn't want to stop at 8 p.m. :-)

Permalink Reply by Kim Kerian on July 13, 2009 at 7:48pm

I am going to have to give it a try. Sounds like you had great success with it. Is it easy to set up? Your comments make me very excited to try it!

Permalink Reply by Michelle TeGrootenhuis on July 14, 2009 at 7:23am

Wow! Sounds exciting! What % of your students participated? Do you think those without Internet access at home felt left out? What books did you read/discuss?

Thanks so much for sharing!