Backchannel

Backchannel is the use of networked computers to maintain a real-time online conversation alongside the primary group activity or live spoken remarks. The term was coined from the linguistics term to describe listeners' behaviours during verbal communication.

The term "backchannel" generally refers to online conversation about the conference topic or speaker. Occasionally backchannel provides audience members a chance to

First growing in popularity at technology conferences, backchannel is increasingly a factor in education where

Twitter is also widely used today by audiences to create backchannels during broadcasting of content or at conferences. For example, television drama,[6] other forms of entertainment ^[7] and magazine programs.^[8][9] This practice is often also called live tweeting. Many conferences nowadays also have a hashtag that can be used by the participants to share notes and experiences; furthermore such hashtags can be user generated.

History

Victor Yngve first used the phrase "back channel" in 1970 in a linguistic meaning, in the following passage: "In fact, both the person who has the turn and his partner are simultaneously engaged in both speaking and listening. This is because of the existence of what I call the back channel, over which the person who has the turn receives short messages such as 'yes' and 'uh-huh' without relinquishing the turn."^[10]

Such systems were widely imagined and tested in late 1990s and early 2000s. These cases include researcher's installations on conferences

In her article referring to the "Parallel Channel," PC Forum host Esther Dyson wrote, "around that point, the audience turned hostile." Many commentators later attributed the audience's hostility to the information people shared while surfing and communicating on their laptops during Nacchio's remarks.

Effect

Research has demonstrated that backchannels help participants to feel as contributing members, not passive followers^[13][14] and make them feel more social.^[15] However, the research is mixed on the nature of this discussions, and especially regarding social interaction on the backchannels: some cases report vast interaction where as others highlight that interaction on the platform was considered low.^[16][17] There are indicators that these tools however engage different members of the audience to provide their input.^[18]

Use in education

Since its inception in 1998 at

In 2009 Purdue University developed a tool called Hotseat that enabled students to comment on the course lectures in near real-time using social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

Using a backchannel for educational purposes can function as a formal class activity or even an independent discussion without instructor participation and awareness. Aside from the normal discussion, a backchannel can also be used for note taking, asking questions, offering suggestions on different topics, and sharing resources with other students and faculty members. There are many different media networks out there that can be used as a backchannel. Including Twitter, Facebook, Yammer and Instant Messaging.

Experiments