Transforming Office Hours
by Matt Villano
As a computer information systems instructor at Ivy Tech Community College, Bonnie Willy holds office hours for hundreds of students every week, helping them with everything from programming Java to configuring web servers. The difference between her office hours and those in a more traditional setting: hers are in virtual space.
Using Pronto instant messaging technology from Wimba, Willy conducts her office hours in a chat room, and invites students to log on and ask her any questions they might have. While she has the option of opening up private chats with individual students, Willy notes that she prefers to address most questions in the public chat, so that everyone can benefit at the same time.
“It’s a good way to have one conversation rather that several, and it lets students from different sections talk about the same assignment or article,” she says, likening the software to a “virtual student lounge.” Willy adds that in many cases, students who’ve never met face-to-face strike up friendships in the chat room and frequently respond to each other’s questions before she can even interject. “Once I get them talking to each other, they usually take it from there,” she adds.
Kara Monroe, executive director of Ivy Tech’s Center for Instructional Technology, agrees. “You’d be amazed by how much a bunch of students collaborating with each other in one of these chat rooms can improve the overall lesson,” she maintains.