The synchronous communication tools that were covered in the E-Toolkit were ones I have already used.  It was nice to see something familiar.  The tools that I have used so far in my MET career were Wimba, WebCT Chat, and Elluminate Live.  The other tools that I have used, but not in a classroom environment, are Skype, iChat, iMessage, and Chat Moodle.

The challenge in using these tools is due to available technology.  The tools I used for my MET classes, varied in effectiveness depending on if I was using my old Dell or my new MacBook.  Needless to say they worked much easier and the set up was far quicker with my MacBook.  The only problem with the MacBook was using Safari, once I realized some tools worked better on both Google Chrome and Mozilla those problems were gone.

I have found all these tools to work well and easy to navigate.  I think the question is which tool is right for the user.  Wimba and Elluminate were very similar in their ability to use text chat, audio chat, or video chat.  Of the tools mentioned in the E-Toolkit these two would be the most comprehensive and all-inclusive.  Students can participate with text chat only if they lack a microphone and/or camera.  Choosing to use these tools would allow all students to participate if they access to a computer.

The “chat” options are also effective when using the WebCT or Moodle.  It allows the students to connect, do group work, and pose questions to the teacher.  Having these “chat” tools also gives the students some security that only those in the class will participate where as the use of iChat or other instant messaging options can bring people in to the discussion that are not in that class.  The other problem would be the flow of information with the instant messaging options.  They are not as organized and visible to all participants as the “chat” options in WebCt and Moodle.

Skype and Facetime, for Macs, are great options if you are working with a small group.  I feel these tools would limit participation in a classroom discussion.

Choosing the correct tool is the big challenge.  Using an LMS is going to give the teacher and the students more privacy for their discussions and control on the participation for these synchronous communication tools.