Google Meet Chat

Google chat can be enabled or disabled during meetings. If a teacher wants to disable the chat feature in a breakout room, they must do that manually. Enabling chat provides a way for students that do not like to use their camera or microphone a way to communicate. Chat can be used for teacher to student and student to student discussions.

Google Meet Q&A

The Q&A feature can be turned on by the facilitator. It does not ask questions that can be answered via text. The questions are designed to be answered verbally. This feature is separated from the chat and streamlines the process of receiving and answering questions. This is designed more for student to teacher discussions.

LMS Messages

Both Google Classroom and Canvas have the capability for you to message students. This is designed for teacher to student discussions. However, a student can post to the Google Classroom stream and reply to one another, if it has been enabled.

Padlet

Padlet is a type of discussion board. It can be used for a wide variety of purposes. Participants can post a type of note that can include various media such as images, memes, gifs, music, videos, voice recordings, screencasts, drawings, GPS locations, embed codes, and text. Padlet can be used for teacher to student and student to student discussions.

Google Docs/Slides/Jamboards/Drawings

Google has a built in comment feature that can be used as a chat backchannel. It is designed to be used to comment on content in the document, but it can be used for teacher to student or student to student chat/messaging.

Flipgrid

Flipgrid serves many purposes, but using it as a backchannel should not be overlooked. Create a whole class, small group or individual topic where students can record a question or comment for you, alone, or the whole class to view and then respond to. The moderate setting will allow you to adjust who sees the video comments.

Parking Lot

Use sticky notes at a designated place in the room where students can leave questions and comments. This is good for whole class, public inquiries, and comments.

Question Comment Box

If questions and comments are better entertained as private or anonymous, consider a closed container where questions and comments can be inserted and then retrieved by only the teacher.

Discovery Ed SOS Strategy: Paper Chat

Discovery Ed describes this strategy as "Paper Chat is a teaching strategy that allows students to develop critical thinking and communication skills, while ensuring that every student's thoughts and opinions are heard. Students respond to a question, and then continue the conversation, by communicating on paper about a selected topic." This SOS Strategy can easily be adapted to meet the needs of a back channel with the right directions from you, the teacher. View details HERE. More SOS strategies can be found on the Discovery Ed site under the Instructional Strategies tile.