Sessions

Adapting Oral Communication Activities post COVID-19 Using Moodle Chat Rooms

What is to be done when Covid-19 measures prevent students from engaging in oral communication activities in class? In this presentation I will explain how an oral conversation warm-up activity routinely used in my classes pre-Covid-19 was adapted to use through Moodle’s live messaging chat room resource. The warm-up activity is a 5–10-minute, low pressure, free-conversation activity, coined Chit Chat. Before Covid-19 restrictions, the activity was conducted in pairs of students, face-to-face. In response to the change to classroom protocols that restricted student interaction at the beginning of 2020, this activity was moved online and realized through Moodle's chat room. At the end of the semester a survey was carried out to assess student perceptions of the warm-up activity. Results were encouraging based on 5-point Likert scale items, and open-ended responses were also positive. These points will be expanded upon in the presentation, and the presenter will also provide their thoughts on the experience of using live messaging chat rooms in class.